Thread: Giving up?
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Old 09-20-2007 | 09:19 PM
  #35  
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FlyArmy
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I will preface this by saying I have never instructed. I have, however, had a lot of experience with many different instructors (civilian and military) and have seen many different methods for instruction and have read a bit on instructing.

I have yet to see anyone respond well to constant yelling. Feelings of anger, frustration, resentment, and questioning yourself as to why you are paying to feel that way get in the way of learning. I have been there. It isn't necessarily even the yelling. Making students feel like an idiot or using tones of voice which are negative typically detract from the learning process. Sometimes, though, being firm or letting students know they screwed up is necessary, but that should be a learning point and point of discussion in table talk. There are other ways to get points across. Oh, and if students do something that endanger lives of themselves and instructors, my opinion is all bets are off and yelling is fine so long as it is discussed later, resolved, and lessons were learned.

As for the OP questioning continuing training, I would recommend getting another CFI who isn't a yeller and by all means get through at least your solo before you give up flying. Once I didn't have someone constantly yapping at me to make corrections, I seemed to enjoy it a lot more and pay more attention to things. I felt a great deal more responsibility and suddenly all the things he was teaching came together. It is a big step and if you don't experience that, you might shortchange yourself before making a more informed decision. And, as you fly/learn more, all the things you may be struggling with now will become second nature and you can enjoy it a lot more.

Just my inexperienced $.02.
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