So what does it take to be an “Instructor”. See Bob Jewett's outline for the “Recognized Instructor Course” http://www.sfbilliards.com/richandout.pdf. The applicant learns, “What to teach,” “How to teach it,” and “Course Organization.” This is accomplished by testing the applicant's ability and then presenting the materials for how to teach the basic course.
The “Basic Course” ( http://www.sfbilliards.com/basics.pdf) includes the following material: Cue selection, chalking, basic stance, sighting, and stroke mechanics. This is followed by an intro to Progressive Practice and a video analysis. A review of these outlines indicates that this is an organized approach to teaching people who desire to be a recognized instructor.
You cannot teach people to be good teachers. You can explain what is needed to be a good teacher, such as organization and how to interact with students as Jewett does in his workshop outline. You cannot instill what it takes to be a good teacher because these are basically personality characteristics that have to do with one's ability to manage interpersonal relations under specific circumstances. The management of interpersonal relations can be taught but it is far beyond what is taught here and is usually not learned in a classroom environment. We have all met state licensed teachers in middle school, high school and college who had years of experience wrecking young lives. A desire to be a teacher and the ability to teach are not the same thing, whether one is paid or unpaid. A teacher is a special kind of person with specific desires.
It is reasonably well known that success breeds success. Good teachers can point to their outstanding students and usually do not hesitate to do so. It has been shown that Nobel Prize winners are often the mentors for other Nobel Prize winners. And students are more than pleased to tell others the names of teachers and mentors who helped in their development. In my opinion an instructor who cannot tell you who his students are does not have any significant students. I can name the names of all of my significant teachers and most of my students who have gone on to positions of public importance. Among professional pool players it is not uncommon to hear them state from whom they learned. It can be concluded that often professional players are also not hesitant to identify their teachers and mentors.
The BCA and other organizations have designed certification programs for any of several reasons, not least of which is to help people make money by establishing a guild. There is nothing wrong with this, physicians and state certified teachers among others have established modern day guilds in which “unrecognized” people are pushed aside. In the high school arena a PhD chemist cannot teach a chemistry course because the chemist has not been state certified to teach high school. If you review what state certified teachers are required to learn it is not much different than what Jewett teaches with the addition of a practicum.
A review of what is taught in a basic pool workshop will show that the materials do not differ much from what is available in any of several books. Robert Bryne's works are among the best in this area. So why should a student pay $300.00 for the material readily available for about $15.00 in a book format (http://www.amazon.com/Byrnes-Standard-Book-Pool-Billiards/dp/0156005549). Let alone the idea that it is available for free in most libraries unless the “Instructor” can give good reason why the student should study with him or her.
The pool instructors certification programs are nothing more than an attempt to establish guilds until such time as they can show reasons why they are more than this. Some of the abrasive personalities on this forum who list themselves as certified instructors is a tribute to the idea that teaching skills cannot be easily taught.
In the interim, I simply ignore those who claim to be a pool instructor because they have paid for some course of instruction until they can demonstrate that they are indeed real teachers.
As the saying goes on this section, I am not a pool instructor, but I am a retired Professor
I agree to a certain extent, Joe. I was frustrated by the inabilities of my earliest teachers to communicate to me when I was learning to play. It took me all that much longer to progress because I spent half the time trying to read between the lines and discover what exactly they were trying to say. They were right off the streets, some were pool hustlers. They also didn't hear me when I asked questions. Their answers had very little to do with what I was asking.
That's the main reason why I started to teach. It was because I felt I had the knack for communicating and wanted to help other aspiring players, so they didn't have to go through what I went through.
The credential didn't make me a better teacher but the courses I took did help give me food for thought, which is always a good thing.
But now when I train an instructor, I spend a lot of time discussing the personalities of the people they will be encountering and how they reveal themselves by the way they play pool. A good teacher will recognize the subconscious signs a student is giving them. That is what I work on with the teachers who take my course. While this may come naturally to some, it is a trait that can be developed and improved on over time.
I think that due to my experience and observations of people over the years I've been teaching that I do help people to become better teachers.
And at least I know I give them food for thought. I also think I'm not the only one in the BCA program who helps aspiring instructors in that way, which is why I think that the program can be a good thing.
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just the way he rolls... 
