|
Walter & Group...
[GH] From Guy Manning. Guy hosts a well respected Casting Instructors Workshop :
Rex wrote:
"The perception some people have of the CCI program confuses me. Too many of the people that want to take the exam seem to ignore the "Instructor" part.
The first question I ask anyone that asks for help preparing for the CCI exam is "have you been teaching"? Unfortunately, the most common response is no.
Teaching experience is key to preparing for the CCI exam. I just don't understand why someone that does not like to teach would want to be certified as an "instructor". "
What I see is that the CCI has become viewed as a gateway pass to the industry. About half of the people who take my Casting Instructors Workshop are looking to become guides or enter the industry at one level or another. This could be teaching classes at some private water they frequent, or using the CI as a pass into working for a shop. Others are in the workshop because they are already employed, but find they can improve their situation if they are certified. Some shops pay more for certifications but don’t necessarily require the certified people to actually teach. I think these people don’t want to spend their off time teaching when they would much rather be fishing, or at home with the family.
Many of the fly shops will take a CI Certificate as an acknowledgment of a basic level of skill and knowledge and assume that person will be a good candidate for employment. Plus having CI’s on staff boosts the shops reputation. Years ago, back in the 90’s, at one shop I know, everyone was told they had to become certified. Some of these same people have the certificate but have not taught a lesson in over a decade, if ever.
My estimation is that 1 out of 5 come to the workshop with the casting skills needed and one out of 10 with the teaching skills needed. They all leave with a much greater understanding of the cast itself and a higher ability to diagnose and solve casting problems. They are also infused with teaching and learning techniques and theory.
By the end of the second day they all know what their own casting faults are and how to solve them, as well as an honest estimate of what they need to do to prepare further for the test. Most never take the time to do so. Of those who do, they usually go on to pass the test. I had one person who was probably the poorest caster in any of my classes, up until this past spring. He took the test 3 times over a 2 year period. I saw him at his second attempt and his casting was beautiful. But he failed because of lack of teaching skill. He worked on that by creating his own teaching opportunities and went on to pass the third time around.
So ultimately I see people who are not serious enough to follow through and improve. Having said that most of these same people have little or no exposure to someone who can mentor them over time and that is probably the biggest reason they don’t pursue harder.
One last thing. I tell all of the people I work with that they need to have at least 3 different ways to explain any of the tasks in the test. I tell them to sit down and write out answers to any questions they think might be asked. I then tell them to put those answers away and come back in two or three weeks and do it again with a different set of words. Then repeat again in a few weeks. The act of writing helps implant the phrases in their brain. This helps them to be more verbally proficient during the test and gives them options in the way they present an idea.
Also: Use the Six Step Method when discussing any of the questions regarding casting faults. It guarantees to the examiner that you understand what is happening and how to fix it.
Guy Manning
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[GH]
Guy,
Tom White and I didn't see the industry aspect of it so much when we gave our CCI and MCI courses in the Florida Keys several years ago. There were a couple of folks from fly shops who were encouraged to obtain certification for employment reasons.
We did have some guides who told us they wanted to do this so they could make extra money during weather "down times" by giving fly casting lessons. They also wanted to be better able to help poor casters who were booking but who could not achieve the needed casts once on the water.
Over 10 years ago, I attended Joan Wulff's 5 day long Instructor Course. She didn't in any way relate it or the instruction to CCI or MCI exams nor was any CICP testing done or even discussed. At that time, her students were actually motivated to become better casters and teachers.
Times are changing, however !
Gordy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|