Bernd's page on instructors

[Bernd]

But I'd prefer a certified instructor any day of the week over my father. (sorry dad, but it's true)

I think that is cause you know that the certified instructor here didn't have to learn to drive like Michael Schumacher but instead HOW to teach different students. And you also know that he can drive the car himself cause without a drivers license he would not be allowed to become certified as a teacher...

Very good post!

[LaMouche]

the rationale behind my (slightly sarcastic) remark was that I don't think didactics can ever be content-insensitive. quite the contrary, I think that beyond a universal communication theoretic core (pragmatics+psychology) all that is really relevant for a given field is proper to the field, or at least a set of strongly related fields. maybe the way to teach chemistry is roughly the same as the way you teach physics, but it's already not applicable to math, even less to philosophy, and then have nothing to do with the way you teach someone how to swim or how to cast a rod.

that's why I think it takes casting instructors to devise the appropriate ways to teach casting.
but I'll happily concede that a communication specialist may come handy here and there. :p

[Chris Dore]

Great, great frontpage Berndt!

I guess its the difference between an instructor who teaches '10 - 2' and the one who teaches slow, medium and fast false casting to the student, to simplify things.

[Eikre 9’0” #5]

Hi Lamouche,

Great post. I would only like to add some things.
In 1-on-1 trainings my choice of teaching methods is based as much on the content of the training as on the individual.

Questions I ask people before we start the coaching are: What profession does he have? What did he study? How did he like to study? In his opinion, what works best for him to learn: visual, verbal, logical or physical?

My own learning style is visual/logical. But I teach trainees who have different and even opposite learning styles.

[alex vulev]

All well and good, but some of us need to be able to teach people how to catch fish too. Control of the rod and line are great, but if you've got no idea of any other aspect then I'm not sure how much use it is. Where the fish live, how they behave, what they eat, how to land, how to unhook etc etc. These things are important to all of the beginners I've taught so far. And most intermediate "casters" like a bit of fishy advice too. Only a tiny minority of people want to learn how to cast just to stand on the grass and cast. Whilst that is awesome, 100% of people the people I've taught had wanted to catch more fish.
Teaching casting well is obviously essential and I'm as much a casting geek as anything else, but knowledge of the quarry, experience, and most of all a passion to learn as well as teach are essentials in my book too.

very good points. ill gladly take lessons from a fly angler/instructor who will regularly outfish me. On my local waters im still able maybe to outfish God.

[Michal Duzynski]

... but not all socer coaches are, or were best players,
personal trainer doesnt have to look like Arnold Shwarzwnegger to train somebody for Mr. Olimpia
We keep continue to talk for a long time what is good,what is right, bottom line is that Good Instructor, has to have knowledge on the subject his teaching( nobody knows everything), has to open minded, has to accept critisism without anger, and has to learn from misteakes and some times from failer ( dont know the spelling) that comes along the way.
Let the student/client decide if the instructor is good.

Cheers
mike

[LaMouche]

Let the student/client decide if the instructor is good.

that comes a little short.
the whole problem of the certification process (ie the topic of Bernd's FP) is to give some guaranties to the potential student that the teacher knows what he s doing. Once you seen him/her in action, obviously, you know what to think, but the whole point was to spare you the test (at least to give you confidence it won't be a sheer waste of time and money).

[Michal Duzynski]

....but on the end, who is to decide what is best?
AAPGAI is, great, TLT is awsome,EFFA is in Europe, IFFF, is the most international, and so on so on.
Teaching fly casting is not a grosery store, where you can get a bag of peanuts at any time.
There are great casters/instructors all over the world, and they have families,jobo, and even if they want they can not (there is no time...), recive certifications from all the assosiations, to be the best instructor on the market.
Some of us are with IFFF, and do the best of it, and who said they are not as profesional as master at AAPGAI, we dont know what they practice,study in their free time.
I agree with Brend, on his thoughs, and I would like to see, reexamination,after a period of time, to see if the certification that was given away is still in play.
If I have a driving licenens,and then have a problem with my eyes, who is to blame that I caused an accident- nobody ask me to renew my licence.

All the politics in between all the assosiations, whos the best-more professional- who gives a FUCK!!!
Tommorow I need to teach 14 years old boy how to throw a nice loop, how to connect backing ro the reel, backing to the fly line, fly line to the leader,fly to the leader.I need to show him looking at the river, where the fish probably would be, how to wade in the fast current, how to attach tippet after he lost his fly on the tree,and more,more and more,and Im not even a master,but Im freaking passionate to share my knowledge!!!!

Cheers
mike