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craiggo View Drop Down
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Posts: 1810 		Post Options Post Options   Quote craiggo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Slow learner
    Posted: 13 May 13 at 10:50pm
I have to say that I struggle to teach adults for the very same reason as your instructor seems to. I find it increasingly frustrating when people just don't feel what the boat is doing and then over analyse everything. I've often been asked why I don't become an instructor, and that's why!

Often clubs and centres look to experienced people to be instructors, and many say yes in the belief that they can help and pass on their knowledge but they really ought to think if they are suitable and not experienced to teach. It's wise to know your own limits.

Edited by craiggo - 13 May 13 at 10:54pm
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Moet View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Moet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 13 at 11:39pm
Yes, from what my education friends tell me, teachin adults is an entirely different skill. I don't think I am over analysing things though. I just want to know what to do and I need to understand it so that I know what to do when. Instinct follows knowledge 
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MerlinMags View Drop Down
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Posts: 588 		Post Options Post Options   Quote MerlinMags Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 May 13 at 10:28am
Please ignore the off-topic banter that creeps into every forum thread! Everyone is still keen to help you, they just like to tease each other as they do it.

It sounds like you are the sort of person who wants to understand the exact reasons behind what you are doing...but so many people are happy to try sailing without the background knowledge. E.G. "I should pull on this rope when the sail flaps? OK!" and that is as far as they want to go.

You are not wrong in any way. It just sounds as if the instructors might be used to dealing with the other sort of people, who don't want to ask questions!

It is hard to ask questions afloat though, as there isn't always time. Are you able to save them up for when you're all ashore?
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pondmonkey View Drop Down
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Posts: 2202 		Post Options Post Options   Quote pondmonkey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 May 13 at 10:57am
Originally posted by craiggo

I have to say that I struggle to teach adults for the very same reason as your instructor seems to. I find it increasingly frustrating when people just don't feel what the boat is doing and then over analyse everything. I've often been asked why I don't become an instructor, and that's why!

Often clubs and centres look to experienced people to be instructors, and many say yes in the belief that they can help and pass on their knowledge but they really ought to think if they are suitable and not experienced to teach. It's wise to know your own limits.

my brief experiences of using my £350 RYA Instructor qualification was completely the other way around.  I actually only liked teaching the adults, sadly the majority of course participants were kids being dumped during school holidays at a 'cheap creche'.  I found the adults listened, and asked questions... 

However the adult courses were short lived, so I soon returned to shop and bar work for pre-Uni beer money as I couldn't stand the brats (or their parents) any longer.  The odd kid who actually seemed to like sailing was lost in the melee of little sh*tes who just wanted to water fight, and then surprise, surprise, moan a lot that they were cold.    

Secondly, the thought of spending those long uni summer vacations 'losing money' as a sailing instructor abroad was frankly inconceivable.  I think it's different now, they send some of your salary home so you can't drink it, and of course, there's minimum wage now.  But back then a lot would come back worse off financially, albeit with a nice tan and bad experiences with 'sun in' on their curtains.



Edited by pondmonkey - 14 May 13 at 11:48am
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Moet View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Moet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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.
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Moet View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Moet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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
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Late starter View Drop Down
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Posts: 481 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Late starter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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.
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Moet View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Moet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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 :)
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Jack Sparrow View Drop Down
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Posts: 2965 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Jack Sparrow Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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.
Farr 3.7 Class Website
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Moet View Drop Down
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Posts: 21 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Moet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post 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.
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