"Highly Qualified Instructor"

I have spent much of my "time off" from work trying to figure out how I am going to use my background and education in the future.  Admittedly, getting hit my a car and the realization that it could have been worse has kickstarted my desire to move along out of field work as my full-time job.  I came across a request for a "Highly Qualified ICS Instructor".  I always chuckle at these things, because we are all highly qualified in something...so this request made me ask the question- what makes someone a highly qualified instructor?

Is it experience?  Is it education?  Is it the ability to teach?  Is it alphabet soup?  I have known many people over the years who are excellent clinicians who absolutely stink at teaching, and vice versa many excellent instructors that weren't the best at the job.  I have also met highly educated and "qualified" people with every letter under the sun after their name...who were incapable of sharing the wealth.  So what makes a "highly qualified instructor".  This particular job description went on to add you had to meet this standard and that, but said nothing about results.  How about a less "qualified" instructor with a 98% pass rate?  How about one whose students rave about them?

I am a person who does prescribe to education and getting credentials.  I have often joked that the only letters I couldn't put after my name were K and Q, but I also believe it is all meaningless without being able to convey knowledge to those learning from you.  Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of teaching my first solo EMT class and being given the opportunity to become more involved in training at work- but the biggest reward here was seeing the knowledge "click" for people- which often happens at different paces.  I find no greater joy in teaching than seeing people "get it".

To me a "highly qualified" educator is a person who can hand the student the information, guide them to use it correctly, and relish in the outcome.  To be able to do this, one needs knowledge, experience, and interpersonal skills- not just a certificate!