TRAINING
BY BILL MANNING
Training, as a concept, is admired, aspired to, demanded, and sometimes, like any good thing, taken for granted. This publication has thought enough of it to have taken it for its slogan (“Training the Fire Service for 118 Years”) and operates under the belief that training is the single most important, defining factor in the effectiveness and safety of firefighters. How do you view training? What importance do you place on it? What makes for effective training? Here are a few thoughts to accompany your own ruminations.
A fire department is as good as its training.
Training is a two-way street.
We`re all our brother`s (or sister`s) trainers.
You don`t need fancy digs or a humongous budget to train effectively (although it can help).
Make training simple and clearcut. Have definable goals.
Boring training equals little learning.
Inspirational training makes for an inspired organization.
An aggressive, progressive training program is contagious and increases departmentwide “buy-in.”
Students are only as good as the instructor allows them to be.
Good trainers are hard to come by, but so are good students.
Diligence and enthusiasm are part of the student`s unwritten contract with himself and his employer.
Big egos can tear down what might otherwise have been good training.
Training–whether good, bad, or indifferent–lasts a lifetime.
Training is just a focused mechanism for what we all should be doing our entire lives: learning all we can and passing it on to others.
It is a wise instructor who learns by teaching.
Training in the basics will never go out of style.
Instructors: Never forget what it was like to be a student.
Students: Never forget how tough it is to instruct those who resist instruction.
Realism is the best real training there is.
Mistakes in training make you better prepared for real life.
Instructors: Mistakes and failures are part of life, not a capital crime.
Students: Failures are but the first few rungs on the ladder to success.
The greatest training can happen when you least expect it.
Fewer runs should not mean a smaller training budget–quite the contrary.
The smart firefighter can learn more from the actions of officers and senior firefighters than all the seminars you can cram in a lifetime. Train by example.
Instruction genius most often is not contingent on the size of the résumé.
Good training gets students to come to their own realizations.
The training field is not a prison camp. Training should never be used as a punishment.
Practice the way you play.
Good training requires and nurtures mutual respect.
Take the chip off your shoulder before you begin the class.
In every emergency operation, your training shows.
Instructors: The student always comes first.
Have patience and understanding. Students and teachers are fallible, breakable creatures.
Repetition opens the door to the potential for creative genius.
Design incentives into your training program.
Training just to satisfy minimum requirements is a surefire path to mediocrity–the “dumbing down” of fire service training.
The canned-program approach is sure to lose you your audience.
Challenge your students. Strive for excellence.
The great instructor is a facilitator, not a boss.
The instructor who flaunts his “credentials” might have some knowledge to offer, if only we could get past his jungle of insecurity.
Include lessons learned from actual operations into your training program.
Lax fireground safety requirements are a good way to undermine a progressive training program.
Bad habits begin early and are difficult to correct.
Wear your gear as it was intended to be worn.
Pay attention!
Training is work. Great training is fun work.
