How to become an instructor?

Garys

Garys

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Where can I find classes to become an NRA and MSP certifed instructor? I'm encountering a fair number of friends who are interesting in getting their LTC and would like to be able to give them good information, not just what I've picked up here and there over the years.

Thanks.
 
I did Ken Wilkinson's course in CT. You won't learn anything new about guns in the instructor course that you didn't already know though.

It's more about how to teach it the NRA way.
 
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Scouter-Rick or Jon Green are your best bets. They are both superb TCs who really know how to "teach the teacher".

If you have any questions on what is involved beyond the course (and there is PLENTY involved), feel free to give me a call, you should have my number. I'll answer anything I can.
 
I went through scouter_rick. Great class, and awesome guy. The wait is what kills you. 8 weeks for the NRA to process, 2 weeks to mail out your credentials, then you have to mail into the SP. Total turn around time is more than 2 1/2 months from time of class.
 
LenS said:
Scouter-Rick or Jon Green are your best bets. They are both superb TCs who really know how to "teach the teacher".

If you have any questions on what is involved beyond the course (and there is PLENTY involved), feel free to give me a call, you should have my number. I'll answer anything I can.
Click to expand...
I got mine from Rick and my Range Safety Officer from Jon. Can't go wrong with either of these guys. And when you become a instructor be a good one. (They both carry a big stick and justifiable so)
 
bill o said:
I did Ken Wilkinson's course in CT. You won't learn anything new about guns in the instructor course that you didn't already know though.

It's more about how to teach it the NRA way.
Click to expand...
The whole point is to teach someone how to teach the material and the "NRA way" is very good. Despite knowing a fair amount about guns and having plenty of experience with presentations and training, the course was invaluable in terms of learning how to present the material.
 
For me: Shotgun instructor from Scouter Rick; Basic Pistol from Jon Green.

Part of it is proximity - Northborough (i.e. GOAL) is much closer to me than Rick's location. If you have no Basic Instrucotr cert, it's a 2-3 day commitment, and the days can be long. Travel time should be factored in, IMO.
 
I did my Basic Pistol & Home Firearm Safety with Jon Green and Darius Arbabi. It was 2-1/2 or 3 days.

I did my Personal Protection in the Home with Scouter-Rick.

Rick and I did the Personal Protection Outside the Home with someone from CT who came up to MA to teach it.
 
The GOAL Instructor Courses are booked through September. I am unable to schedule anymore due to the fact that the range we use for live fire is undergoing renovations. I am available to offer this at a GOAL affiliated club August 24-26. Course would include GOAL's BFS Law Primer, NRA Basic Instructor Training, Basic Pistol Instructor and Home Firearm Safety Instructor. Ring me at the office for further info: 508-393-5333 ext 21
 
I'm in the middle of a series of instructor classes right now, but am also willing to offer the classes required for Basic Pistol Instructor / Home Firearm Safety Instructor or other disciplines at a club that has people interested in them. PM or eMail me for more information or to discuss possible dates.

Ken
 
You wont really learn anything about gun in th course, its basically just how to teach it the way the NRA wants it taught ie weapons are suddenly not weapons any more. I ended up making my own power point, and I cover more than basic pistol does. Just like the safety course itself, I'm sure your mileage will vary depending who you take it from.

Mike

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
 
I have to really take issue with some of these posts.

"The NRA Way" as somehow automatically bad is seriously mis-stated in this thread.

I'm as big a critic of the NRA as anyone you're likely to find. But their methodology for training new shooters is absolutely solid.

More to the point, if you have a training counselor who is worth a tinker's damn, you will learn a TON about how to teach what you think you already know. Doing and teaching are very different things. You will know the difference in your first class if it consists of anyone but your buddies.

I have made a living teaching, doing seminars, etc for years. teaching people about guns and shooting is fundamentally different in technique from teaching anything else. Did you know for instance that novice shooters will do better and be able to more easily move to more complex operations when started from a sitting position with a rimfire pistol? Do you already know that every new element: standing, caliber, stance, follow-up-shots, trigger release and reset and speed each add wholly new elements to the shooter?

I'm a pretty damned good teacher. and Im a solid shooter. *I* didn't grasp any of this until I had an excellent training counselor train me on them. (Ken Maurer, for what it's worth).

If it's just a piece of paper to you, don't waste your time. Go post your curriculum and quals to the MSP and get your course certified.

If you actually want to learn how to teach shooting, you can't go wrong with the training on how to teach basic pistol, rifle, or whatever discipline. Basic Pistol is the START. Good instructors add a lot more content to that course for the same money. My Mass. Basic Pistol was pretty crappy. But I've watched others teach the same class and learned a LOT from them. All instructors are not created equal. If it's just a piece of paper for you, than maybe you don't have the passion to do the job we all would hope for.

I know I hated having the whole training requirement to start with. But don't let that sour you on the value of that training. You can add anything you want to basic pistol and still give out the cert. I hand out basic pistol AND HFS, but that's a small portion of the 20-hour course that's my bread and butter. If it's just being able to certify your friends, don't waste your time.
 
I have taken
Basic pistol / home firearm safety instructor
Chief range safety officer
personal protection in the home instructor
personal protection outside the home instructor
basic rifle instructor

All with Scouter Rick. Every class was an absolute blast! You WILL learn quite a bit, some from the material, some from Rick's vast experience, and a lot from the experience of others in the room. You will also make some great friends. :)

Becoming a good instructor takes putting in a lot of time and effort after the class. The work is a lot more than what i thought but the reward is just as awesome! Congrats on embarking on this journey!
 
The only serious gripe I have with the NRA doctrine is the dissociation they emphasize between a gun and a weapon. I also agree that teaching what you know is much more difficult than it seems, especially if you aren't a natural teacher. I'd also recommend making a good power-point to go along with/supplement the NRA course. I always hate being taught something with inadequate media. My presentation is complete with animations of the internals of everything to go along with my explanation.

Mike
 
crazymjb said:
The only serious gripe I have with the NRA doctrine is the dissociation they emphasize between a gun and a weapon.
Click to expand...

That is for the basic courses. You have to remember that the NRA is speaking to the audience, and that audience includes some people who have not necessarily gotten their head past the (wrong) idea that a "weapon" is necessarily an inherently evil thing. Later, for students who do get their head around the concept of legitimate and justifiable use of force in self-defense, it changes. (NRA PPITH does not worry about gun vs. weapon.)
 
If you're teaching the Basic Pistol Course, the key word is BASIC.

The NRA course is what it is - and it's what's approved by the MSP. Could there be more? Sure. But unless you have a ceratin level of integrated knowledge, additional details are wasted, IMO.

It makes little difference to a new shooter that most Smiths have a counter-clockwise cylinder rotation, and Colts clockwise; or that the intracasies of the 1911 are the epitome of pistol design.

The Three Rules, the basic nomencalture and the mechanics of safely loading and unloading are what the NRA course is desigend to teach. With all due respect, Crazy, how much additional time and material do your extra information points add?

As for the "W" word. I'm 100% in accord with the NRA....as a firearm is NOT a weapon until it's used as such*. Shoes are not a weapon, nor is a beer bottle, but if one uses either in a fight....then it is. Yes, the potential for "weaponization" is there....but that applies to many items.

The majority of the students in the Basic Pistol (transplants from out of state, that are just taking it to get their "ticket punched" notwithstanding) likely have their knowledge from popular media and video games. In other words, they're clueless, and we might as well get them using the right terms (It's a MAGAZINE, not a clip! [laugh])

If they go to work on Monday, and say, "I got Weapons Training this weekend" it will likely be recieved a bit differently than, "I took a Firearms Safety Course this weekend." We need more ambassadors, and coming across as a sober, stable, safety-concious firearms user makes for a better image than an Level 1 Mall Ninja.




* I know that this may start a flame war, but "Framing the Debate" is an important step to winning the debate - If we allow the Antis to chose the terms, of if we use terms that can be used against our interests, we're not doing all we could!
 
MisterHappy said:
If you're teaching the Basic Pistol Course, the key word is BASIC.

The NRA course is what it is - and it's what's approved by the MSP. Could there be more? Sure. But unless you have a ceratin level of integrated knowledge, additional details are wasted, IMO.

It makes little difference to a new shooter that most Smiths have a counter-clockwise cylinder rotation, and Colts clockwise; or that the intracasies of the 1911 are the epitome of pistol design.

The Three Rules, the basic nomencalture and the mechanics of safely loading and unloading are what the NRA course is desigend to teach. With all due respect, Crazy, how much additional time and material do your extra information points add?

As for the "W" word. I'm 100% in accord with the NRA....as a firearm is NOT a weapon until it's used as such*. Shoes are not a weapon, nor is a beer bottle, but if one uses either in a fight....then it is. Yes, the potential for "weaponization" is there....but that applies to many items.

The majority of the students in the Basic Pistol (transplants from out of state, that are just taking it to get their "ticket punched" notwithstanding) likely have their knowledge from popular media and video games. In other words, they're clueless, and we might as well get them using the right terms (It's a MAGAZINE, not a clip! [laugh])

If they go to work on Monday, and say, "I got Weapons Training this weekend" it will likely be recieved a bit differently than, "I took a Firearms Safety Course this weekend." We need more ambassadors, and coming across as a sober, stable, safety-concious firearms user makes for a better image than an Level 1 Mall Ninja.




* I know that this may start a flame war, but "Framing the Debate" is an important step to winning the debate - If we allow the Antis to chose the terms, of if we use terms that can be used against our interests, we're not doing all we could!
Click to expand...

+1 Very well Said!
 
MisterHappy said:
The Three Rules, the basic nomencalture and the mechanics of safely loading and unloading are what the NRA course is desigend to teach.
Click to expand...

I agree with everything that MisterHappy said. If my students remember the three rules, are able to apply them in practice on the range, and safely load, fire, and unload a revolver and semi-auto, then I've done my job. That is a lot for them to retain after that 8-10 hours of training.
 
Something designed to kill is a weapon. I impress upon my students that they can have fun practicing/training/shooting for sport with x y z, but ultimately a good weapon is designed to reliably and accurately "stop the threat" often with lethal consequence, and that is what they want to buy. That is crucial to gun safety and the safety mindset in my opinion. Rarely do people start their journey into go ownership with something they don't intend to have on hand as a weapon at some point or another. In most cases the gun in question was designed to kill. Unlike shoes or beer bottles, guns are weapons first, anything else second.

Mike

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk
 
MisterHappy said:
If you're teaching the Basic Pistol Course, the key word is BASIC.

The NRA course is what it is - and it's what's approved by the MSP. Could there be more? Sure. But unless you have a ceratin level of integrated knowledge, additional details are wasted, IMO.

It makes little difference to a new shooter that most Smiths have a counter-clockwise cylinder rotation, and Colts clockwise; or that the intracasies of the 1911 are the epitome of pistol design.

The Three Rules, the basic nomencalture and the mechanics of safely loading and unloading are what the NRA course is desigend to teach. With all due respect, Crazy, how much additional time and material do your extra information points add?

As for the "W" word. I'm 100% in accord with the NRA....as a firearm is NOT a weapon until it's used as such*. Shoes are not a weapon, nor is a beer bottle, but if one uses either in a fight....then it is. Yes, the potential for "weaponization" is there....but that applies to many items.

The majority of the students in the Basic Pistol (transplants from out of state, that are just taking it to get their "ticket punched" notwithstanding) likely have their knowledge from popular media and video games. In other words, they're clueless, and we might as well get them using the right terms (It's a MAGAZINE, not a clip! [laugh])

If they go to work on Monday, and say, "I got Weapons Training this weekend" it will likely be recieved a bit differently than, "I took a Firearms Safety Course this weekend." We need more ambassadors, and coming across as a sober, stable, safety-concious firearms user makes for a better image than an Level 1 Mall Ninja.




* I know that this may start a flame war, but "Framing the Debate" is an important step to winning the debate - If we allow the Antis to chose the terms, of if we use terms that can be used against our interests, we're not doing all we could!
Click to expand...

I agree with you for the most part wholeheartedly. For basic Pistol, HFS or Basic Rifle, you're spot on, especially in a hoplophobe area like Mass.

In my main class, I add a TON to the basic content. I also add 14 hours plus money.

In my Basic Pistol class (which I teach a whopping two times a year) I add two hours (8 hours total) including some range time, self-defense laws and some other stuff. I happen to use "weapon" and "gun" interchangeably (but tend towards gun in almost all cases). I also very heavily qualify rule three because so many people here keep loaded guns in their bedside drawer. (and amazingly don't go postal!)

I look at the NRA curriculum as solid, BASIC training for new shooters or self-taught shooters who know a lot less than they thought. (The latter being my main constituency) I make a point to teach ALL of the NRA curriculum and add to it from there. I just don't feel that basic pistol prepares anyone for anything other than to not shoot themselves while practicing with their .22 and I'm not happy sending anyone out with that level of knowledge from my classes unless they're 12.

We have no training requirement. Everyone is there because they want to learn. Basic Pistol is a solid basic level class. I use the slides and content in every class at the basic level.

For me, the value of that training counselor is hundreds of students passed through their hands and all they've learned FROM THEIR STUDENTS.

What I learned FROM MY STUDENTS in Mass and WA is hugely valuable to me. What I learned FROM MY TRAINING COUNSELOR made the difference between a "I have to go through this crap" class and a class after which my students learned a lot, felt empowered and enjoyed the whole thing. It IS, after all, supposed to be fun.

That training counselor taught me a lot about teaching people about guns. I thought I knew about teaching when I signed up for the course. And that's true, I did. But there was so much I DIDN'T know that my mind was blown.

If you love guns and love teaching people, I highly encourage you to sign up for training class as an instructor. It's truly changed my life, financially (somewhat) and in sheer love of what I do most days. Don't let the NRA FUDD stuff throw you off. There's a good reason for most of it. The rest you'll have to learn somewhere else as I did. But that very solid grounding on teaching the basics is something I use in every class, even the intermediate and advanced defensive pistol courses we offer.
 
I most enjoy teaching the NRA Personal Protection series courses. These are not used to get a LTC, but to get people thinking about self-defense and building skills in that area, plus legal ramifications of doing that.

My Personal Protection in the Home course is 8 hrs per NRA, mine runs closer to 10 hrs and includes a lot of legal, ethical material beyond NRA. And that doesn't count the 1-2 hrs "pre-work" that I ask students to do prior to the class.

I didn't count the hours in my Personal Protection Outside the Home course, it's officially 15 hrs per NRA, but the law/legal ramifications portion runs 2+ hrs instead of the NRA 1 hr. There is similar amount of pre-work sent out a week or two prior to the class.
 

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