...and have memorized a bunch of safety rules...
Uh..huh...three (3) safety rules are a bunch? Yeah, God knows we wouldn't want everyone to be safe as one of the primary principles of shooting.
Yep. Let's just let them handle and point guns however they want to without any awareness of being safe, or introduction to how to handle a gun safely.
1. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
2. Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
3. Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.
And then there's fourth that is often used..
4. Know your target and what is beyond the target.
IF you were an NRA certified shooting instructor of any type - you would know the emphasis on safety and student understanding the importance of safety is a paramount objective.
In fact, the shooter's packet given to your students contains a Gun Safety Rules Card (.10 cents apiece from the NRA) - and safety is constantly emphasized as part of the training.
If you don't think safety rules are important for everyone to know before shooting - YOU shouldn't be shooting - and you REALLY shouldn't be teaching other people to shoot.
They mean well but their own shooting skills are usually quite exaggerated in their minds.
Great shooting skills don't translate to great teaching skills. You don't need to be a great shooter to be a good teacher anymore than you have to be a great athlete to be a good coach.
You have to be able to be a good communicator, understand the fundamentals of shooting, and be able to analyze students as they're shooting.
There are a whole lot of misconceptions in this thread on teaching, and it's obvious the people making the comments have little to no experience in teaching.
I've taught at a number of different levels from elementary school through college, and have presented workshops and technical seminars. I now teach shooting as an NRA certified pistol instructor.
Good teaching of introductory shooting has to do with presenting the information in a logical progression, at a level that can be easily understood, ensures the student understands how to be safe, and develops a knowledge base that gives the student confidence and a foundation to continue learning both on their own and in other classes.
To do what has been outlined requires you to have a teaching plan, teaching aids, an enthusiasm for what you're presenting, and the ability to modify your presentation methods as required during the class to ensure the students fully understand what is being presented.
This is why team teaching is so important. You need to get feedback from both the students AND other instructors so that you are constantly refining your teaching skills and presentation methods to make the class a better experience.
It's worse when teaching somebody with whom we're close. If they get it right and we praise them, there's the suspicion that we're looking down at them. If we criticize, it can be taken that we're being dominating. All of this is in addition to needing to know the basics of how to teach.
It's really obvious you don't know how to teach and have your ego invested in what you're doing rather than putting all of that aside and just imparting information.
My wife shoots action pistol. I coach her regularly, but only when she asks for assistance. Then we work on what I see that needs improvement, and I develop a set of shooting exercises to work on specific skills.
It's very simple. She runs the shooting drill, we look at the timer, and then we break down and work on individual parts of the drill until she feels comfortable with each individual part. Then we then work on putting the parts together and finally start running the entire shooting exercise for speed.
I have NEVER finished a training session where she did not have a big smile at the end because she has gotten better - and the use of the timer proves to her she's gotten better.
Teaching isn't a contest between you and the student - it's a mutual development process. You're working on being a better teacher and the student is working on being a better shooter.
When done correctly, both of you are learning simultaneously - and it doesn't matter if you're teaching a total stranger, friend, or spouse.