Slow learner

   Thanks Pierre and Jack. The instructor also rang - was probably told to - and said things such as "well we like people to do sailing hours in between levels 1 and 2" and I said that if that was so then they shouldn't take people in to level 2 without requiring them to do a certain number of hours and if they didn't do that then it was their responsibility to manage that. He also said that there is always a range of abilities and of course I agreed but again that was their concern as teachers etc. Anyway, he said "now that I know" he said he would take account of it. I also said it wasn't enough to jsut put someone on  a task such as keyboards, but that they had to say what was required at that job and yes it had been covered before but learning involves repetition and refreshing etc. It almost seems as if he thinks that if he has told me once then I am supposed to be an expert at the task. I can't believe this has been so difficult. I can't also believe that I have been so assertive about "what I expect as a customer". Go me!

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Moet Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 12 May 13 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Post Options Post Reply Quote Moet Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Slow learner Posted: 20 May 13 at 9:34am
	Thanks Pierre and Jack. The instructor also rang - was probably told to - and said things such as "well we like people to do sailing hours in between levels 1 and 2" and I said that if that was so then they shouldn't take people in to level 2 without requiring them to do a certain number of hours and if they didn't do that then it was their responsibility to manage that. He also said that there is always a range of abilities and of course I agreed but again that was their concern as teachers etc. Anyway, he said "now that I know" he said he would take account of it. I also said it wasn't enough to jsut put someone on a task such as keyboards, but that they had to say what was required at that job and yes it had been covered before but learning involves repetition and refreshing etc. It almost seems as if he thinks that if he has told me once then I am supposed to be an expert at the task. I can't believe this has been so difficult. I can't also believe that I have been so assertive about "what I expect as a customer". Go me!

Jack Sparrow Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 08 Feb 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2965	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jack Sparrow Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 20 May 13 at 8:57am
	Good for you. Always best to talk over things and give feed back. Any good business is happy to know what there customers actually feel.
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Pierre Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 15 Mar 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1532	Post Options Post Reply Quote Pierre Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 20 May 13 at 7:35am
	Hi Moet, That sounds like progress then. At least they have bothered to listen and take some action. Let's hope there is an improvement from the instructor and that you get to make some progress. Good luck

Moet Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 12 May 13 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Post Options Post Reply Quote Moet Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 20 May 13 at 3:18am
	I finally got an opportunity to talk to someone in the teaching office and expressed my disappointment at the course and that I didn't feel competent when I was expecting to do so at the end of the course. The NZ ones are shorter than the RYA ones and they do this because the price of the RYA accredted ones are much higher here than what they think most NZers will pay. I told him that I had been thinkign about doing one of the RYA ones because I wasn't learning, that the guy students took over and that as a result there were things that I hadn't even done, let alone learned to do. I got a good hearing and he has given me 3 free sessions and is going to speak to my teacher (I have one 8 hour day left to go) about my concerns. So at least they listened and have taken some steps to help me get to competency. I'll see how this goes before I chuck it in.

Moet Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 12 May 13 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Post Options Post Reply Quote Moet Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 20 May 13 at 12:05am
	Hi Jack Sparrow. I'm in Wellington but it isn't a large country and I can take some time off work to go where there is good instruction.

Jack Sparrow Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 08 Feb 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2965	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jack Sparrow Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 19 May 13 at 11:53pm
	Where in New Zealand are you? I have some contacts over there that might be able to point you in the direction of some more reasonable instructors.
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Moet Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 12 May 13 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Post Options Post Reply Quote Moet Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 19 May 13 at 10:40pm
	Oh dear, the weekend didn't get much better. I have actually done a comparison between the RYA and NZ YA training courses and there seems to me to be one significant difference. While they have the same content more or less, the RYA ones actually say words to the effect of "By the end of the course you will be able to...." which is quite a significant difference from the NZ ones that say "we cover the following...." The guys keep jumping in to do stuff and take over and Ii have not yet been able to rig the yacht for example. There are no all women courses, which may or may not make a difference. One more week of the course. There is another club nearby that is supposed to have nicer people and they use 2-person dingys for learn to sail rather than keel boats and that might work, but am getting pretty down about it. Talked to a friend yesterday, another woman, same age as me, who had also done the course at the club I am doing mine at, and she found the same thing, so there you go. I see there are some clubs in the country that are accredited to the RYA courses so I might contact one of those and see if they can help - I jsut want to become competent and feel reasonably competent. It seems to be such a struggle to get some decent training that works for me, as gauging from what my friend said, I may not be alone. I have been reading the website I mentioned earlier and have picked up really useful things such as "when sailing close to the wind, pull the sails in. When sailing away from the woind, let them out". It is things like that that really help and seem so simple to pass on, but that isn't happening in my course. Please, only helpful comments as my confidence is really at a low here. Thanks :)

Late starter Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 24 Feb 07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 481	Post Options Post Reply Quote Late starter Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 16 May 13 at 11:44pm
	Its a shame your course packs up and goes home at the end of sailing, as most of the courses I've been on ended up in the bar where the sessions events were discussed over a couple of drinks. Great for students as it's a chance to ask questions in a very informal and relaxed setting, and great for us instructors as we love to talk sailing all the more with a drink in hand ! Re the instructor at Uni thread - instructing was my only paid employment whilst I was at Uni. I loved it, always struck me that a bad session instructing was way better than the other student work alternatives. My DI ticket also got me on a plane to the US with Bunac during summer vacations as an instructor in a New England summer camp. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, made possible thanks to learning to sail/doing my badges at my local gravel pit SC.

Moet Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 12 May 13 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Post Options Post Reply Quote Moet Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 16 May 13 at 3:20am
	I have found a website and am reading it every night and at last things are beginning to congeal and make sense. The website if anyone is interested is www.sailing.about.com Edited by Moet - 16 May 13 at 5:27am

Moet Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 12 May 13 Location: New Zealand Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Post Options Post Reply Quote Moet Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 14 May 13 at 11:39am
	Well it is good to hear that that was teasing... the way they structure the course day is that we sail the second half of the day and then pack up and go so no time for questions during. But I have found a gpod website that starts at the basics again so reading through it all helps remind me of what it is all about. And I am going to be a bit more assertive and ask directly for a tai hoa for 5 mins while someone runs through my task before we set sail.