I didn't want to derail a good thread, but someone mentioned young men often being difficult to train, because they think they know everything, even though they have less experience. I get it- there are a lot of American men who go out on the range thinking they're born knowing how to shoot, like we're all direct descendants of Davy Crockett.
Those of you who teach- how do you work against someone's inflated ego?
Those of you who are training- how do you keep your own ego in check?
I have some ideas about it, but I want to hear others' first, because you all probably have better ideas.
Honestly, there's no one set way, because people have different personalities and what works for one will not necessarily work well for another.
In general, I find it's best to put it all up front under such circumstances. If it's one-on-one, it's pretty easy to do this. If it's in a classroom environment, then you potentially have several people of a similar bent you have to deal with.
Establish right up front that egos need to be checked at the door. Firearms instruction is not a place for ego battles and your word is law when the hammer is dropped about it. The rule of the day is "responsible adults" in all aspects, including the ability to work things out in a positive teaching environment.
This doesn't have to be done in a rude fashion, but it does need to be explicitly addressed.
"Welcome to (class name), I'm Wayne and I'll be your instructor. A little bit about myself, blah, blah, blah credentials, experience, etc."
"I'd like to point out that we have a limited amount of time to cover the curriculum material, which I'll outline in a few minutes. Keep in mind that I'm fully aware that there are many ways to do things, some better and some worse. However, our limited time must be reserved primarily for the course material itself. If time allows, it's possible to go over other things afterwards. But we need to keep on track in order to meet the requirements of the curriculum itself."
"I expect there to be a diverse level of experience among the class. If you have little or no firearms experience, please do not hesitate to ask questions or raise concerns. You will get the most out of this class by doing so. If you have some, or perhaps a lot, of firearms experience, you may find some things obvious, moving slower than you wish, or perhaps even counter to your experience. Consider your own experiences as positive feedback to the class, but I ask that counter perspectives be reserved for myself during breaks so we can integrate them appropriately."
And then if something DOES come up that's potentially disrupting, clearly acknowledge it and clearly invite the person to bring it up with you during the next break. You address the person's ego directly (recognize what he's saying) and you clearly inform him that you will personally discuss it with him at a different time (gives him the attention he wants).
While your own ego MAY come into play (because let's face it...we all have an ego to some extent), the fact of the matter is that YOU are the instructor and you have a limited course curriculum to teach. There may be many ways to go about something, but you're not there to teach EVERYTHING because you (and they) do not have the time for that. So your own ego checking is done by acknowledging whatever points and then steering people back on course. Other issues/points/questions can be addressed at a more appropriate time AFTER the curriculum material is presented.
I'm an engineer. Part of what I do is teach/train other engineers. I've long since recognized that sometimes I need to sit on my own hands and let younger, less experienced engineers work things out for themselves and do things their way. There are many ways to do things and so long as time/conditions permit, I present my ways of doing things, and the fundamentals they're based on, as examples. But the fundamentals MUST be taught, just the same.