Sean,
Thank you for the compliments. Why anyone would question the value of becoming an instructor based on my own interest is a bit comical.
The teacher’s that teach the young of America and prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow are constantly learning.
They are required to take classes to get their master’s degree. Why the heck would anyone think, hey why do they need to learn if they are teaching?
Teaching others is one of the best ways to learn any skill.
The "you" in my post was to address anyone who chooses to read the post and felt it was pertinent to themselves.
If the reader doesn't feel it pertained to them, then it didn't I could have said the word “anyone”
but I thought the word “you” would read more pointed.
I hope this makes some form of practical sense!
I am going to make one last post regarding this subject. I hope this is listened to closely because it is not pool related.
As a manufacturing engineer, I went to college and earned a Bachelors Degree.
That was the culmination of 16 yrs of education in an accredited curriculum (elementary, high school, and college).
That means "something" when you are job hunting, especially the first time after obtaining the education.
Does that mean I will do a good job, or even qualified at the position I am applying? No.
Does it mean that is the only requirement for an open position, or I am the best candidate?
No, someone with years of experience without the formal education can also be (and in most cases, are more) qualified than someone with just an education.
What it does mean is I went through a plan of study and have a specific minimum comprehension of agreed upon pertinent subject matter. 3
Training and experience was still required, and that is why it is difficult for many people to get that first job after college.
I have worked with colleagues who did not have a formal education, but their 'on the job" training made them phenomenal assets to our team,
and taught me things I could have never learned in class.
That is why in my career there are additional "certification" programs for professionals.
There is no way to learn ALL the information during a certification class, most of that knowledge had already been obtained.
The process of certifications is nothing more that someone else stating, "This person meets the minimum requirements defined for this title".
How that person obtained the knowledge and how long it takes them to obtain that knowledge should not be criticized. It really should be applauded!
One last professional example: the accountant compared to the CPA.
A CPA tends to be in more demand than an accountant. A CPA has passed a very difficult exam, licensed by the state.
An accountant probably just graduated an accredited program. Do I need a CPA? It depends on my needs or preference.
Is the CPA at 25 yrs old “better” than the older accountant who has done the job for 46 years?
Who knows, but the state he was certified (our government) says he is qualified for certain tasks.
The accountant who has not passed the CPA examination is not qualified.
If anyone who posts here doesn’t like any certification criteria, create a new criteria.
See if the revision is accepted and implemented for whatever certification you are concerned with its degree of difficulty to obtain.
Squabbling in a public forum over what is or isn’t does not benefit those who you are trying to help.
Oshua has already made this point and I couldn't agree more!
I had told friends of mine hey check out this thread and see what people are saying about me.
This was to entice them to use the forum and hopefully get them even more interested into pool.
Now, I will no longer refer them to my original thread because of the bickering.
THAT has been a net affect of the discussions about certifications.
I don't think anyone is knocking certifications. They're not a bad thing.
I made a post earlier saying that a certified instructor doesn't guarantee someone is a great pool instructor --- that's a stone cold fact. Just like not having one doesn't mean someone is a horrible instructor --- that's a stone cold fact.
You can't compare pool instruction to CPAs versus a book-keeper. You also can't compare pool instruction to something really academic, like medicine, science or in your case engineering. If you want to compare pool instruction to anything, it might be something trade-based like plumbing or carpentry.
In each trade, you really start as an apprentice to a journeyman (or something similar). In each of those examples, there are a ton of different ways to do stuff, some are far better than others. That's how pool instruction works -- and some work better for some than others.
How do tell the best carpenter among a group of 20 if you're looking to have a deck built? Simple--- it's outcome based. See who made the nicest deck, not someone with the most certificates. Who is the best pool instructor? Probably the one with the most successful students (the biggest delta in ability from the time they met the instructor until they stopped). Also, probably the instructor with the most positive feedback.
Although pool is complicated-- teachers that simplify and reduce the game to the lowest common denominator are the most successful. If your brain processes pool "in the infinite" -- you'll never improve.
That said -- I've found pool instruction to be similar to the "academic" side of learning in a few ways. I've found that certain instructors are better in some areas than others and vice-versa. I think the best instructors are actually "specialists" -- those who take one subset of pool and REALLY master it (think about how many kinds of engineers there are).
Therefore, it's not crazy to think one could benefit from multiple instructors---- the way golfers have a short game coach, swing coach and maybe a putting coach. Some may also have sports psychologists as well for the mental side.
I almost never post in this section, but when I do I'm posting rock-solid information based on the question and I post with 100% conviction. Although I've made decent money with pool lessons, I'm don't think of myself as a teacher/instructor. I don't care to and I don't have the time. I've helped produce pool instructional material -- so would something like that count? Eh - who cares.
People that post here usually know they can without being torn apart because what they say is correct. Those without that level of certainty won't keep posting, even if they do. So this entire subject is a moot point.
