The Next One

Traditionally, I do a ton of writing in November. Just not here.
November is the National Novel Writing Month or Nanowrimo. The challenge is to finish 50,000 words in one month-- a month with a major holiday, family obligations and all of your regular work, too. Lots of my friends take the challenge and I try to finish something. It's not a novel, but I add 50,000 words to a project.
For the last 28 days, every spare minute has been spent on the IDC manual. IDC was our cop jargon for "Instructor Development Course." So a book on how to teach. Finished it today. Or, at least, thought I did. Then realized I needed to add a new section. No idea why these things always seem to pop into my head in the shower.

So, if anyone is still reading the blog, here's a taste. The Table of Contents:

IntroductionSection 1: The Unique Problem of Self-DefenseSection 1.1: RaritySection 1.2 An Open, Not a Closed System Section 1.3 Surprise, Fear and Speed Section 1.4 The Problem is LongitudinalSection 1.5 The Problem Exists in the Real World Section 1.6 You are Teaching Students, not Subject MatterSection 2: Subject Matter ExpertiseSection 2.1 Knowledge of the ProblemSection 2.1.1 The Ethical and Legal Implications of Using ForceSection 2.1.2 Violence DynamicsSection 2.1.3 Avoidance; Escape and Evasion and De-EscalationSection 2.1.4 Counter AssaultSection 2.1.5 FreezingSection 2.1.6 The FightSection 2.1.7 Aftermath Section 2.2 Applicable SolutionsSection 2.3 Experience ThresholdsSection 2.3.1 Sharing ExperiencesSection 3 The Ability to TeachSection 3.1 Adult LearningSection 3.2 AssessmentSection 3.2.1 Reading StudentsSection 3.2.1.1 Creating Student ProfilesSection 3.2.1.2 Troubleshooting Difficult Students Section 3.2.2 Reading a ClassSection 3.2.3 Assessing Sources of InformationSection 3.2.4 Assessing DrillsSection 3.2.5 Assessing TechniquesSection 3.3 The Transfer of InformationSection 3.4 Curriculum DevelopmentSection 3.4.1 Curricula in GeneralSection 3.4.2 Curriculum Design for Long-Term ClassesSection 3.4.3 Curriculum Design for Short ClassesSection 3.4.4 Teaching Groups vs. SinglesSection 4: Principles-Based TeachingSection 4.1 Background Concepts of Principles-Based TeachingSection 4.1.1 Building BlocksSection 4.1.2 PrinciplesSection 4.1.3 ConceptsSection 4.2 The Process of Principles-Based TeachingSection 4.3 The Flaws of Principles-Based TeachingSection 5: Teaching Professional (LEOs, Military and Specialty Teams)Section 5.1 The Fundamental FundamentalsSection 5.2 Before You teach, Know the PoliciesSection 5.3 Teaching ProfessionalsSection 5.3.1 Class StructureSection 5.3.2 PreparationSection 5.3.3 Class FormatSection 5.3.4 Deciding What to TeachSection 5.3.5 Setting up the ClassSection 5.3.6 PresentationSection 5.3.7 TroubleshootingSection 5.4 After the ClassSection 6: Instructor EthicsSection 6.1 EthicsSection 6.2 Student EmpowermentSection 6.3 Assumptions and BiasesSection 7 Business and Marketing, to be contributed by Randy KingSection 8 Tips and TricksAppendicesAppendix 1 Building BlocksAppendix 2 PrinciplesAppendix 3 ConceptsAppendix 4 Dracula’s Cape as an Example of Operant ConditioningAppendix 5 Example Flexible Curriculum Template Appendix 6 Example Revolving CurriculumAppendix 7 Example Professional Lesson Format
Appendix 8: Sample Safety Briefing