Lee Williams, and old friend who used to live in Illinois, published this piece at his The Gun Writer blog.
Thought it something our readers might appreciate…
It’s been almost a year since the National Rifle Association launched its mandatory online training program — something they call “blended training” — for students taking the Basic Pistol class.
The format requires beginner students to take the first portion of the Basic Pistol class online, and then complete their certification with an actual live instructor.
The online component, which costs the student $60 and is paid directly to the NRA, covers a host of important issues: safety, types of firearms, ammunition, selecting and safe storage of a handgun, the “fundamentals of pistol shooting,” clearing stoppages and much more.
To say that the new online prerequisite hasn’t been well received by NRA-certified instructors would be a massive understatement.
A post on the NRA Blog titled “The Truth About NRA Blended Learning” received nearly 150 comments, almost all from instructors. Most hate the idea.
The instructors I’ve spoken to aren’t pleased with the online training requirement either. Nor did they want their names used in this story. Since they rely on their NRA credentials to make a living, none wanted their livelihood jeopardized.
Suffice it to say, most view it as nothing more than a “money grab” by NRA.
“I think it’s BS,” said one instructor. “The NRA always had a relationship with the instructor and the student. Now, it’s a computer and the student. It’s not right. They taking money away from people who are trying to earn a living teaching their programs. Besides, how do I know that when a student comes to me with a piece of paper saying they took this online class, that they’re the one that actually took it, and that their friend didn’t. It opens the door to fraud. There’s no practicality to the online course. There’s no hands-on. I’ve watched people take the course. A supposed eight-hour course took them 11 hours, and then it turned into an ad to join the NRA. They have to sit through that too. They can’t fast-forward until they get ‘assimilated.’ It’s all about getting people to join NRA.”
…
No interview
I tried to talk to someone from NRA’s Education and Training department about the problems and concerns raised by the organizations’s instructor cadre.
Jason Brown, a media relations specialist at NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia, wrote in an email that he’d be “happy to help” with my story.
“Best way ahead is to send over some questions you want answered, and we can get you the best subject matter expert or information on the Blended Learning Basics of Pistol Shooting,” Brown wrote in an email Dec. 5.
For me, that’s a red flag.
“Is there any way I could actually talk to one of your subject matter experts?” I wrote. “I hate submitting questions.”
Brown responded that no one in Education and Training was available to be interviewed, but that he’d “source” the questions to them.
“The Education and Training department has asked us (the media team) to handle all inquiries regarding Blended Learning/Basics of Pistol Shooting, and will be unavailable directly,” Brown wrote. “However, I could source answers or info from them to get you what you need. Sorry for any inconvenience – let me know how else I can help.”
Now the red flag is waving.
The common theme I've heard from fellow instructors – the precious few who are still teaching NRA Basic Pistol – is that people who take the online portion complain that it's not enjoyable, entertaining, or all that effective. That's the family-friendly descriptions I've heard.
What's more, when these online "graduates" come to the instructors for the "range portion", the instructors have to effectively re-teach them everything they supposedly learned online. I stopped by a friend's place one Saturday and watched for myself. It was a mess. He did the NRA proud by patiently and skillfully helping these people – I should say 'that couple', not the more typical 5-person classes
he normally has hosted. I remember his words, emphatically delivered privately to me during a break: "I shouldn't have to do this!"
I have heard nothing from NRA Training Counselors (the people who certify instructors) about the NRA changing the format of Basic Pistol back to what it was. I've heard nothing from the NRA Training Division either, aside from their plans to turn all NRA courses into "Blended Learning".
Meanwhile, the Second Amendment Foundation training division continues to grow.
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