Who You Gonna Call?

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by Thomas Zermeno, PCI #1390T-B/EMSCI #412T-B
Norman (OK) Police Department
IPMBA Education Coordinator

“I ain’t afraid of no ghost!” You guessed it! It’s the Ghostbusters movie. Now before you stop reading due to yet another movie quote, give it a chance. If it helps, play the theme song, just to get you in the right mood. This is my favorite movie of all time. How does this relate to instructorship, you ask?

Believe. I know it sounds like a cheesy cat poster, but that one word that means a lot. You have to believe in yourself and your ability so that your students will believe in you. Everything that happens during the course should appear to be part of the plan; otherwise, the belief in your ability diminishes. Remember: instructors are the “key masters” and students are the “gatekeepers”. You have the key of instruction meant to open their gate of learning. Once you show them the skills, or teach them about the equipment, they will follow you because they believe in you. If you are asked, “Where do those stairs go?”, your response should be simple and to the point, like Venkman’s: “They go up.”

Know your tools and know how to use them. You have been provided with comprehensive material so that you can provide the learning experience and teach your students proper methods. You don’t want to be like Venkman, and have someone ask “Are you sure you are using that thing correctly?” You also don’t want to be saying to yourself, as Egon did: “You know, it just occurred to me that we really haven’t had a successful test of this equipment.”

Read it. Learn it. Practice it. Live it. Believe in it.

If you don’t know, ask someone. There are so many instructors with so much information. If there is something that you think is important to add, add it and share it with IPMBA. Write about it in the newsletter. If you don’t supply the information, no one will know. The words that should not be said are, “OK, who brought the dog?”

Simplify. Remember: “Don’t cross the streams.” This is bad; when you cross the streams, you may end up mixing the information and preventing it from being received properly. Now, it is possible that crossing the streams could destroy Gozer, sending her back to the parallel dimension, but that was also a gamble and also another story. An example of crossing the streams would be trying to do too much in one day. Have a plan for each day and do not delve into the next day’s schedule. Overwhelming your students can also overwhelm you. You don’t want them looking at you like you’re some sort of a cosmonaut, like the guy at the elevator who says, upon seeing the uniformed Ghostbusters, “I’ll take the next one.” Instead, they should be saying: “We came, we saw, we kicked it!”

Stay in bike shape. Get out and ride weekly, daily, and often. When we are leading the group or trailing the group, there is a challenge involved. You don’t want to be the one who, like Venkman, says: “When we get to 20, tell me. I’m gonna throw up!” But your students should also not be wanting to say: “I’m getting a little tired of this!” Make the rides meaningful. They should want more rides and remember them (in a good way). It is their experience that is important.

But, knowing your students are having a good time will help reenergize you for the next day. If it helps, imagine the fictional Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man is stomping through your town and it is your job to save the people. If you prefer the newer version of the tiny, mischievous Stay-Puft minis, go with that instead. Either way, don’t show any weakness and don’t be weak either. I mean, it’s only a “focused, non-terminal, repeating phantasm or a class-five full roaming vapor.” You might get slimed.

Stay focused and bring the energy each day. You don’t want to start any day by snidely barking, “Ghostbustahs, whaddya want?” Every day needs a purpose and should be purposeful. Try to make it like the first time they got the call and Janine Melnitz screams “We got one!” as she rings the bell, alerting the team.

Believe in yourself, know your tools, keep it simple, and stay in shape. If you do these things, at the end of the class your students will be saying to YOU: “We’re ready to believe you.”

Thomas joined the Norman Police Department in 2009. He is currently assigned to night shift patrol and is the training coordinator and instructor for the bike team. He has been active with IPMBA since 2011, after taking the IPMBA Police Cyclist Course. He was certified as a PCI in 2013 at the Baton Rouge conference and cross-trained as an EMSCI in 2017. He became an Instructor Trainer in 2019, BRT certified in 2020, and BRT instructor certified in 2021. He currently serves on the IPMBA Board of Directors as the Education Coordinator. He can be reached at Thomas.Zermeno@yahoo.com.

Photos courtesy Thomas Zermeno.

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