Originally Posted by Yoda

Bucket!

You scored 78!

Cool!

See...

I told you that you had memorized a lot more than you thought!

Now...

Go to the blackboard and write 100 times...

1-L is the 21 points.

2-F is the Plane.

The 24 Components are in Chapter 7.

The order of the Three Imperatives is FLW, CLPP and SPL.

That should do it!

Congratulations, Bucket. You passed!

I luv ya, man!

:)

Originally Posted by Yoda

I never said my 10-point checklist was a pre-requisite to becoming a great teacher. I was asked what could be done to help one prepare for Authorized Instructor training, and I offered the list, somewhat tongue-in-cheek due to its obvious overload. Certainly, there have been many effective teachers who never heard of The Golfing Machine, much less committed to memory much of its contents.

However...

Homer Kelley himself did require that those who came to him for GSEM training memorize items #1, #2, #3, and #8 in my Checklist. In addition, we were to familiarize ourselves with the Twelve Session Normal Course Curriculum, and we were to answer in writing his 50-page test bank of 529 questions covering each chapter of The Golfing Machine. All this was a pre-requisite to his training.

My own checklist included a few additional items, such as the 12 Sections of the Stroke -- certainly not difficult -- and the Mechanical Checklist For All Strokes and the Basic Motion Curriculum as long-term goals to strive for.

People think it is easy to become a Professional Golf Instructor, and they are right. There are few barriers to entry and the quality of instruction over the decades reflects that reality.

Homer saw it a different way.

It takes many years of dedicated study to become qualified to even begin to practice professsions such as medicine, dentistry, the law, and accounting. Why should becoming a qualified and competent Professional Golf Instructor be any different? Why should proficiency in what is truly a complex discipline come without the requisite pricetag of time and study?

I have met very few teachers -- great or not -- who when pressed, will not freely admit, "If I could give all my early students their money back, I would." It takes a long time to learn to teach effectively, even when you have the correct information. And rote memorization by itself is not the answer...I am not saying that it is. However, it can and will greatly compress the years required to truly be the Master of your Discipline.

Those who say that such memorization is unnecessary have not done it. Therefore, as effective as they may be as teachers, there is no way they can judge how much more effective they could be if they had truly internalized the Stroke Components, their Variations, the Basic Motion Curriculum, and the mission-critical alignments of the Hands in each of the Twelve Sections of the Stroke.

I have done it.

Was it easy? Hell no, it wasn't easy. I worked my butt off.

"How did you do it," I asked Homer. "How could you write such a book?"

Said he, "There is the sweat of blood on every page."

I know I am a better teacher for having followed Homer Kelley's advice to memorize those elements of The Golfing Machine that serve as its foundation.

My message in prior posts was that you don't have to do it all at once. Simply begin...

Take it one step at a time.

And before you know it...

You will have accomplished much more than you ever dreamed possible.

Originally Posted by jim_0068

If memorization was so much more valuable why is the AI Certification test OPEN BOOK?

Originally Posted by Yoda

Jim,

There are at least three reasons why the test is 'open book:'

1. It is the only way that 95 percent of the soon-to-be-Authorized Instructors could pass the test. They simply don't yet KNOW enough to pass it any other way. And it is unrealistic to expect -- much less require -- that a student commit to memory the vast amount of material he is exposed to during the formal training process.

2. In truth, the test is more of a learning experience in and of itself than an actual 'exam.' Digging for answers and writing them down has value to the student.

3. Answering the questions is demonstrated proof that the student can use the book in its research function, and that he has at least a cursory familiarity with its contents.

To my mind, the Authorized Instructor designation is a beginning, not an end. It is formal recognition that the journey of a lifetime has begun. The student now has been exposed to the tools that over a period of years will enable him to become a true Authority. One, I might add, who could pass an 'open book' test...without the book.

Whether or not that noble goal is achieved rests squarely on the shoulders of each student. True mastery of any discipline requires an effort that differentiates the few from the many.

And so it is for those who would master The Golfing Machine.

Originally Posted by Amen Corner

BTW, Yoda, do you remember the guy that you talked/teached during the morning hours at Halmstad? Your introduction to TGM made him attend this class I´m going!

Originally Posted by jim_0068

I can't win so i'll leave.

I'm out.

Originally Posted by jim_0068

I have had some pretty damn hard finance theory exams that were open book and it sure was more than just an "learning experience."

Originally Posted by jim_0068

...I still stand by my statements, memorization really has 0 to do with being a good teacher in ANYTHING.