One Parent Questions Testing Schedules - Share Your Thoughts

I am a mother of a 9 year old boy who has been taking the Hunters EducationCourse in Port Townsend (Jefferson County) this week.

My son has been brought up around hunting, fishing, and conservation and knows more about wildlife and hunting than most adults.

My husband and I have been studying with our son, non-stop, for the 2 week's he's been attending the mandatory 6+ sessions.

However, I am at the moment infuriated at the fact that my husband justcalled at 9:00 p.m. to say they are just now administering the writtentest!!!! Most children under 12 at this time are in bed!

I understand these instructors are volunteers and we are grateful for their service, but it is completely unreasonable to think young adults canconcentrate and understand the "computerized" test taking skills after theyare exhausted!!

I have total confidence my son will pass the test, however, this will proveto be an unpleasant experience for him and not a positive reflection on theDepartment of Fish and Wildlife.

Again, while I appreciate the volunteer efforts of the instructors, theredefinitely has to be some time spent in educating them on who their audienceis and using common sense in the training and administering of this test.

And Mik responded as follows:

Thank you for contacting the Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding hunter education.

A great deal of time and effort is invested in all hunter education classes--by students, parents and instructors involved in conducting the training program. While there is almost always room for improvement in conducting any training program, the fact remains that hunter education class schedules--including testing times--are dictated and limited by instructor time and availability. That will not change as long as hunter education training in Washington State remains a volunteer program.

Your e-mail stated, "...there definitely has to be some time spent in educating them on who their audience is and using common sense in the training and administering of this test." As a matter of policy we specifically delegate to our instructors all authority in determining their class schedules--including testing. We encourage our instructors to provide a clear, concise statement at the beginning of class so that students and parents know the exact class location, dates and times. Our goal is to avoid last-minute disappointment by providing sufficient information in advance to allow parents and students to decide whether they can live with the available location, dates and times. What may work for some will not work for others.

I will state for the record here that the our instructors do know their audience (which may range in age from 8 - 60+), they do know their instructional material and they do go to extraordinary lengths to provide hunter education training in their communities. They also have many competing and conflicting demands, ranging from work and family obligations to finding dates and available facilities to conduct hunter education training. Ask any of our 800+ certified instructors--or their families--how much personal time they volunteer on behalf of hunter education training and the answer is very likely to be "Far more than I ever dreamed."

I will provide a copy of your e-mail (anonymously) in a future newsletter to instructors so they understand the opinion of at least one concerned parent.

Instructor Newsletters .pdf Available Now Online

Yes, we're finally lurching e-forward into the 20th Century (a bit late I'm told) with our online hunter education newsletter. Go to the link below, then scroll down the page to the left-hand side and look for InstructorTalk. The most current issue has been posted there, along with links to the previous three issues as well.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/enf/huntered/index.htm

Our goal is to eliminate the paper version of the newsletter by the beginning of the year, if the decision will not have significant negative impacts on instructors. E-newsletters are available faster and obviously cheaper than print versions--but the key questions remains the response from instructors. Let us know if you like / don't like the idea!

Sign Up Now For Peer Review!

Instructors Judy Littlefield, Larry Lufkin and Dan McLean are just about ready to begin peer reviews--observing instructors and teaching teams in action--and interested instructors and teaching teams should contact Chuck Ray or Dan Boes a.s.a.p. to let us know if you're interested in signing your team up.

To encourage instructors and teaching teams to participate in the peer review process, the first six hunter education teams to voluntarily request Judy, Dan or Larry visit their class for a peer review will be authorized to spend up to $300 on training aids for their team. Yes, that means you'll be spending our money! (NOTE: Expenditures must conform to state and agency guidelines for approved purchases.)

The goal for the peer review team is to review a total of 15 instructor teams statewide.

Peer review is a useful tool to assess overall program quality and Judy, Dan and Larry are excellent resources for all of our instructors. For more information on these three peer reviewers and the peer review process, please be sure to check out your September newsletter, which will be mailed by the end of this month.

Beretta & CVA Offer Special Pricing For Instructors

Under its motto, "Own it proudly, use it wisely!" Beretta is providing a 30% discount off current and published MSRP prices on select Beretta long guns. Before contacting Travis Breiner at (301) 283-0189, be sure you know the MSRP, can provide a copy of your current (valid) hunter education instructor certification card, have a copy of a signed FFL where the firearm will be shipped and have a credit card handy for phone order payment.

CVA is offering certified hunter education instructors 40% off on catalog prices for all muzzleloaders and supplies (with the exception of the Optima Elite guns). Contact David at (770) 440-4687 to check product availability; you can charge your order with a a major credit card. Once again you'll need a copy of your instructor certification card to order.

A number of manufacturers now offer promotional pricing to certified hunter education instructors, and all of them want to be sure that their promo products wind up in the hands of instructors--not as bargain-priced gifts for friends and family members. If you do take advantage of any of these offers, please be sure to send along a note of "Thanks" for their willingness to recognize the special contributions of hunter education instructors to hunting and the shooting sports!