kurt M

Same here, not the leauge as many of you old guys with my first student in 01 but I still learned good stuff when I took the program on 05. I go over the paperwork and some added notes I have compiled over the years to fresh up after a layoff of any time. quick reminders of the small but important points during the intial interview and the like.

smlporsche

Another good point.
Just because someone is a "Nationally Certified Instructor" does not mean they know all there is to know. At least that's the case with me

Veloce Raptor

IMO, argualbly the most important and least understood skillset.

Brian P

I don't see why "taking the program" magically makes you a good instructor. Yes, it helps and is better than nothing, but surely taking a day long class doesn't suddenly gift the powers of communication on people.

DogInBlack

Exactly! That is why all attend the program should not be approved. The one day should test the candidate as well as provide information for the newbie instructor to begin teaching. Newbie instructor, me for example, will continue to learn from experienced instructors regarding different situations.

va122

The ability to teach is more important then the ability to drive. A good teacher has the patience and communication skills to find a way to relate to the student. This is more a personality trait then an issue of ability and very hard to quantify.

The instructors in my region SDR are all very good and experienced, and we all got certified. To give credit where credit is due

va122

I used to run with Traquest when it was in existance, (it became Chin on the East coast and NCRC on the west) and they asked for an instructor feedback from the students. Maybe we should adopt this system.

I agree, that the 1 day course does not make a good instructor but neither is years of instructing. I had a student whose hands were both at 12 o'clock on the wheel and none of his instructors picked up on that.! The ability to teach is very subjective

Bull

Did somebody say it did "magically make you a good instructor"?

I think "taking the program" does go a long way towards determining if the candidate has the baseline communication skills, temperament and driving skills to be able to become a good Instructor.

Bull

In my opinion and experience, I don't believe you can separate the two (actually three) skills. What value is the ability to teach well if you don't know the correct driving skills to teach? I wouldn't subordinate either one to the other.

Brian P

Nobody said it "magically makes them a good instructor", but I was reading between the lines based on how many people seemed to place importance in the "program".

I don't think "taking the program" does anything for determining baseline communication skills, temperament, or driving skills. Given that the primary way to fail the course is by not attending it, I think the main purpose of the course is to offer techniques and to lay out what it is that PCA is trying to teach. If there was a higher failure rate of people taking the "program", then I might be more inclined to believe that some determination was being made.

Bull

I felt the same, or similar, until I saw how the "program" was conducted in some other Regions.

Of course, if the "Program" is not presented and followed up on in a proper manner, then it is just a group of people going through the minimal steps in order to keep the National folks happy. I wouldn't base an evaluation of the potential usefulness of the National Certification Program on one Region's implementation of it.

Tom W

I think Larry's 3 points are a great summary. I believe the PCA national training helps, but does not guarantee, that all 3 are met.

I also believe that someone can be a good instructor for first-time-at-the-track students and be lacking in some driving skills (eg, heel-toe downshifting). That doesn't make them a bad instructor if they are limited to novice students. A not so great driver becomes more problematic when the skill level of the students advances or if they give students rides to "show how it's done" and show a car being poorly driven.

In our PCA region, all students are very strongly encouraged to fill out an instructor evaluation. This goes to the CDI and is eventually forwarded to the instructor. Instructors also fill out a form on the students. In our club the instructor assigned in the morning is often different than the afternoon and the student evaluation form goes to the afternoon instructor to supplement the verbal hand-off between the instructors.

PedroNole

In our region, you have to be invited to take the program. Unspoken is that if you aren't thought to be a good driver/instructor candidate already, you won't be invited...

I don't think the program necessarily made me a better instructor but it didn't hurt and nobody knows everything...except my wife.

Brian P

I think it's matter of what's being taught. For instance, I can teach my 8 year old how to swing a tennis racket or a golf club. However, if she got good at it, I'd quickly get her to someone who has more knowledge.

Similarly, if the goal is to teach someone who is a track virgin how to be safe and have fun, then the primary lessons are going to be finding the right line, straight line braking, laying on the power only when the wheel is straight, and flagger awareness. I think that almost anyone with 50+ days (which is still white run group material in some regions) has the necessary skills to teach that.

If the goal is to help a white run group student who is plateauing and help them figure out how to conserve momentum, then yes, you would need someone who can actually drive well within the instructor group.

If the goal is to help a fellow instructor or a racer get better, I would agree that you need an excellent driver (not necessarily better than the one being instructed).

All 3 examples above need someone who can find a way to teach in the manner that student needs to learn in order to effectively communicate the messages.

I rank communication MUCH higher than driving skill for an instructor.

Phokaioglaukos

Could you post a copy? I don't thinks this is universal in the PCA and it's a good idea. Students have log books with instructor comments; instructors should have comment forms, even if they go just to the instructor and not the CI or other "official."