The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Instructors: teaching ability/compatibility

sigcurious · February 13, 2012, 07:06 PM

An observation at the range today got me thinking about instructors and new students. There was an instructor/student pair in the lane next to me, and the student was consistently shooting high. It's hard not to look over when the target hanger gets shot that much. During the hour or so they were next to me the instructor was unable to get the student to bring his shots down.

Towards the end the student was looking pretty discouraged, and I can't help but wonder if a poor instruction experience just steered a potential shooter away from the hobby.

How is a new student to differentiate between lack of ability in shooting from being a novice and lack of proper instruction?(whether due to inherently poor instruction or just a mismatch of teaching and learning style)

Have any of you guys had a similar experience, where for whatever reason, the instructor was not helping at all?

I ask because I've been thinking about getting some 1 on 1 instruction, but as a former trainer(skiing & snowboarding and sales) I know sometimes a student and instructor just don't match(which seemed to be the case I observed today). In my past, if I could not connect with a student or employee, I could get them with someone that could better help them. But at the rates private instruction goes for, I'd dislike being locked in with someone who wasn't able to help me hone my shooting skill due to incompatibility.

February 13, 2012, 07:06 PM	#1
sigcurious Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2011 Posts: 1,755	Instructors: teaching ability/compatibility An observation at the range today got me thinking about instructors and new students. There was an instructor/student pair in the lane next to me, and the student was consistently shooting high. It's hard not to look over when the target hanger gets shot that much. During the hour or so they were next to me the instructor was unable to get the student to bring his shots down. Towards the end the student was looking pretty discouraged, and I can't help but wonder if a poor instruction experience just steered a potential shooter away from the hobby. How is a new student to differentiate between lack of ability in shooting from being a novice and lack of proper instruction?(whether due to inherently poor instruction or just a mismatch of teaching and learning style) Have any of you guys had a similar experience, where for whatever reason, the instructor was not helping at all? I ask because I've been thinking about getting some 1 on 1 instruction, but as a former trainer(skiing & snowboarding and sales) I know sometimes a student and instructor just don't match(which seemed to be the case I observed today). In my past, if I could not connect with a student or employee, I could get them with someone that could better help them. But at the rates private instruction goes for, I'd dislike being locked in with someone who wasn't able to help me hone my shooting skill due to incompatibility.