As a technical trainer for a corporate entity you get to experience some of the worst possible students:
1.) Someone who has been doing the job/work who thinks they know more than you and wants to point it out every chance they get; or, 2.) The employee who has been forced to attend, like it or not, and doesn’t want to be there. When I was doing training these didn’t happen too often, but they did happen. #1 was usually the one who sat in the front of the class and constantly interrupted you to bring attention to their “superior" knowledge. In fairness there were times when a student might know more than I did for whatever reason, and I looked to that as a learning experience for me. I dealt wth these guys in two ways: Acknowledge them in front of the class and let them know that if they had questions or wanted information they could speak with me during a break, and that their questions were good but weren’t relevant to the material at that time. The other students usually resented this student for being a d*ck in general, more often than not. Take them aside during a break and tell them to take notes of their questions and I would address the outside of class. If they were really obnoxious, I would tell them to knock off the interruptions. One time I was conducting a class at one of our largest customers, a big oil field supply company called Waukesha-Pearce. They had in-house training people who were very good and present for my class, more or less just keeping tabs on things. There was a guy who sat in the front and constantly interrupted me with obscure questions that weren’t entirely relevant. People were getting pissed at “Tommy”, as this was apparently a regular thing for him. I finally got so irritated that I stopped the class after one of his questions where he challenged my knowledge. I walked over, reached out with the pointer/clicker I was using, and said, “Tommy, it’s clear that you must know far more than I do about our products, so why don’t you conduct the class for the rest of the day?” Silence. I immediately freaked out, because the company’s training manager, a good old Texas guy named Arnold, was sitting in back looking right at me. “Let’s take a break.” I made a beeline for Arnold, immediately apologizing for my behavior. Arnold laughed his proverbial *ss off. He thought it was great that Tommy got his comeuppance. A number of the other students told me much the same later that week. Tommy was quiet for the rest of the week. As for the guys who don’t want to be there, you just have to ignore them as long as they don’t disturb things. There were times when I would talk to them on break and acknowledge their displeasure and offer to cover topics or provide information that they might be interested in if it wasn’t being offered in that class. I’ve always loved teaching, but I know that it can be a grind to sit through a week of highly technical material and keep it engaging, especially if you don’t want to be there or are already familiar with the material. -D > On Aug 13, 2019, at 7:31 PM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > Only recently have my classes really started to include a majority of folks > younger than me.Most recently the very best students are very young, early > 20's. > The worst was when I first started and got mostly boomers in their early > 60's. They already knew it all and didn't want "some kid" (I was 30) telling > them anything. Many of them flunked and got to go through the class again... > > Curt > Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android > > On Wed, Aug 14, 2019 at 3:22 AM, G Mann via Mercedes<mercedes@okiebenz.com> > wrote: Well played ! > However, I am just old school enough to truly favor public humiliation as a > teaching tool. The extremely short attention span of the present generation > is most remarkable. It seems primary education consists of the principle of > "If you throw enough mud against a wall, some of it will stick"..... which > has generated a term for my use "Teflon children" ie those for whom nothing > stuck. > > On Tue, Aug 13, 2019 at 12:12 PM Dan Penoff via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > >> “You never said/covered that.” >> >> “Yes I did, on this date/time.” (holds up lesson plan/notes) >> >> (Portion of classmates concur) >> >> Virtual dunce cap applied through social interaction. >> >> -D >> >> >> >> >>> On Aug 13, 2019, at 2:03 PM, Dwight Giles via Mercedes < >> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>> >>> Ah yes one of the joys of teaching. >>> >>> Dwight Giles Jr. >>> Wickford RI >>> >>> On Tue, Aug 13, 2019, 1:53 PM Curt Raymond via Mercedes < >>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>> >>>> This week has been a real reminder for me that people don't pay >>>> attention. We're building VMs to install Windows Server on, I put the >> specs >>>> they should all be built to on the screen, no two student systems are >> the >>>> same.I say things like "The S: drive should be named "database"" and >> most >>>> of them aren't named. >>>> The best one is "The public network connection must be named "public" if >>>> its not named public you'll get a "cannot find public network error." >> half >>>> the students got the "cannot find public network" error. I stopped class >>>> and we had a talk about paying attention. I said it, I put a slide on >> the >>>> screen that had a big stop sign that said what I had just said, they're >>>> supposed to be following the documentation which has a big note in >> bold... >>>> *sigh* >>>> >>>> -Curt >>>> >>>> On Tuesday, August 13, 2019, 1:46:23 PM EDT, Mitch Haley via >> Mercedes < >>>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>> On August 13, 2019 at 11:09 AM Randy Bennell via Mercedes < >>>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>>>> My 2013 F150 does not have a transmission dipstick as we know it >> either. >>>>> I am advised that there is a plug on the transmission that can be >>>>> removed and a form of short dipstick inside to check the level but I >>>>> have not personally looked for it or tried it. I am advised that Ford >>>>> did that because owners were pouring the wrong type of fluid into the >>>>> transmissions and ruining them and then seeking to have them repaired >> or >>>>> replaced under warranty. >>>> >>>> Mbz sealed our transmissions and took away our dipsticks because the >> fluid >>>> lasted long enough to keep from killing the transmission during the >>>> warranty period. They did eventually admit the fluid was good for the >> life >>>> of the warranty, not the life of the vehicle. The stated reason was that >>>> more harm came from lint from shop rags on the dipsticks than from low >>>> fluid levels, and the transmissions with low fluid levels often needed >>>> rebuilding or resealing anyway. >>>> >>>> My Cruze has a level plug. Warm the car until the transmission fluid >> temp >>>> hits a certain number, then pull the plug with it idling in neutral and >>>> wait for it to stop dripping. >>>> That's still not idiot proof, at least one guy on an internet forum >> tried >>>> doing it with the engine off and wondered why a couple of quarts came >> out. >>>> >>>> Mitch. >>>> >>>> _______________________________________ >>>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>>> >>>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>>> >>>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________ >>>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>>> >>>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>>> >>>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >>>> >>>> >>> _______________________________________ >>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>> >>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>> >>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >>> >>> >> >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> >> > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
