Dorner serves as the 14E senior leader course small group leader. He is responsible for the education and development of all 14Es attending their respective PME.
Dorner was an accomplished instructor at the Advanced Leader Course when he was hand selected to instruct the Senior Leader Course. He has ensured his student success dedicating any available time during the midst of a winter storm. His students graduated with a average GPA of 3.54. VIEW ORIGINAL
Sgt. 1st Class Jacob Dorner, a Patriot Fire Control Enhanced Operator, has served 20 years in the Army and is a Senior Leader Course instructor at the Fort Sill Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
Life as an Instructor isn’t quite how I had imagined it when I was first told I was going to be one.
As an instructor, we are always looking for those that we can train; those that we can have the most impact on; those that are struggling and figuring out how we can help them the best.— Dorner
The one thing I have learned is that being an instructor isn’t just about what happens in the classroom, or how well you know the lessons that you are facilitating. It’s about everything that you do inside and outside of the classroom — in and out of uniform because believe it or not you are always in the spotlight.
An instructor inside the classroom ensures that the lessons are being facilitated in a way that each and every student can understand and be able to relate to how they conduct business day to day. We have to ensure that we are experts at time management and keeping the classes on schedule as well as keeping up with the administrative requirements.
What most people don’t see is the day of an instructor always starts with making sure that you are representing the Army the best you can in everything that you do. To most, that would just mean being within Army regulations at all times but to an instructor who cares and wants the most out of their job, that also means carrying yourself in a way that is positive, and people want to come talk and ask questions. It means to communicate to people in a manner that makes them feel comfortable and confident in your expertise. This means being consistent and fair in the way that you conduct business every single day.
If you really put effort into this job, you can see change in your students almost immediately. You can see they mimic the way we carry ourselves and they will do their best not to “get in trouble” or let the instructor down because they respect what the instructor does and says.
As an instructor, we don’t always get the best students, there will always be one or two per class who you just can’t seem to get through to. That is where the challenges come in. It is our job to find a way to get through to every single student and instill some discipline, character or leadership into them. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of students who are just set in their ways — either committed to getting out of the Army because it’s “not for them” or they have just been taught wrong for so long that the habits are hard or impossible to break.
As an instructor, we are always looking for those that we can train; those that we can have the most impact on; those that are struggling and figuring out how we can help them the best. That is what makes a great instructor — one that is empathetic, passionate about what they do, can uphold the Army standard and be the Steward of the Profession that the Army desperately needs.
It’s not the easiest job that I have ever done however, it is one of the most rewarding and I am proud to say that I have been blessed with the opportunity to have taught so many over the past few years.
Social Sharing