QUALITIES OF A GOOD INSTRUCTOR

摘要

Throughout our fire service careers we will encounter countless "instructors." Some conduct or assist in a class in which we are enrolled. Others may be informal instructors with no educational background, such as the seasoned 20-year veteran who helped you learn the ropes during your first days at the fire station. As time passes and we encounter more and more instructors, we begin to classify them, rather unscientifically, into the good, the bad, and the indifferent. The vast majority of fire service instructors find themselves among the indifferent. They do a fine job explaining the subject matter and seem competent, but the students are not overly impressed. When the students get back to their fire stations and their chief or officer asks them, "How was class?" they will usually respond with, "It was okay." The evaluations from the class have few, if any, constructive comments, and on we go to the next subject. Occasionally, these same students will give the chief a report such as, "It was great!" and will expound on the subject matter and the activities presented in the class. Their enthusiasm gives the impression that they learned something, and the difference is usually because of the efforts of the instructor.