Gordy,
Since I haven’t read the responses I am not sure how to comment. There was nothing in what I wrote that could be construed as belittling or deprecating or insulting or ??? I re-read the whole email twice before I sent it to insure it read in as neutral a manner as possible.
Now, looking at yesterday’s response, it seems that someone might feel that some MCI’s “are puffed up with their important casting knowledge that should not be shared with the poor dumb CCIs, “ If that is representative of the emotional comments then I will address that.
My opinion that we need a closed group is based upon a few historical problems within the examining community:
1. The proliferation of information on the internet has spawned a number of candidates who memorize answers to questions, unaccompanied by an understanding of the theory or mechanics behind the issue at hand. Why is this a problem? Because the program is designed to produce competent casting instructors. In the past we, the examiners, have been able to ask follow up questions during the test in an attempt to ferret out rote answers. This is not always easy, and it would help to know how other examiners handle individual questions. If that information were disseminated to the world, then we have the same problem. Rote answers to follow up questions to rote answers. CI’s would have no direct interest in this information since they are not examiners.
2. Though they may not admit to it, some CICP committees work in a bit of a vacuum. There have been times, when polling MCI’s about testing task/questions could have saved a year or two of rewriting a previously published tasks/questions. There have been decisions made that ultimately had to be reversed or changed because of overall resistance to the ideas after they were published. If a closed group were in existence, like the one mentioned earlier, the committees could poll them examiners to get an idea of the consensus within the testing community, or maybe even an idea that works better than what they originally had in mind.
3. Also, due to the internet and high speed video cameras, there has been quite a bit of new information coming to light over the past few years. Some of this information flies in the face of traditional casting theory and teaching. That important fact makes it of prime importance that the information be disseminated quickly and effectively to the community. Because this information does not always come readily available to the rest of the casting world, a few targeted points of distribution are needed outside of the regular casting forums. I know Paul Arden would like to think otherwise, but it is a minority of instructors who have the time to read 1000+ messages on a topic trying to find the conclusion drawn in the thread, if indeed a conclusion is indeed ever found. Then a few months later you will see incredulous remarks as to how FFF instructors don’t know this or that, when after all it was discussed in length on that forum.
In an instance like this, someone who is familiar with the arguments and conclusions of the discussion can summarize it or write an abstract and put it where the MCI population can learn of it. This can then also be shared in the loop or in other forums, but it will have been disseminated to the target group that needs it the quickest, the examiners.
If these concerns for the quality of the CICP makes me one of those puffed up people keeping information from CIs, as mentioned above, then I guess I am guilty. But take into account that I do work on a rules committee, allow CIs and candidates to audit and help teach my casting classes, freely make myself available to candidates for CI and MCI pre-tests, hold “open casting nights” once a week for anyone who show up allowing candidates to get hands on teaching experience, and started the first internet group for casting instructors in 2001… among other things.
Guy Manning
FFF Certified Master Casting Instructor
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[GH] Guy,
Thanks for taking the effort to make your position clear.
Few have actually shared as much information on fly casting with CCI's and candidates than you.
Those who know you and your many years of helping CCI candidates along their learning paths will understand your position and the fact that you are an energetic asset to the CICP program !
The spread of fly casting information which is poor or at the least suspect can harm the progress of CCI candidates who have not gained the depth of knowledge and perspective to recognise it. CCI's who have much more experience join Masters in being likely to appreciate these differences, as I see it.
Al you point out, certain information on the techniques examiners use lies in a different category for reasons which should be obvious. Masters who never serve as examiners would have little use for it.
As you know, both the Ol Al CCI Study Group and ours are wide open to allowing any of the information in our messages to be used in any way by interested fly casters. This is why we have agreed to share with others as Denise Maxwell publishes appropriate message strings in The Loop. A lot of this information would be of little or no interest to those who not participating in the CICP.
Gordy
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