Bret Cody works in customized training at PCC CLIMB. He is an expert in various technical services.
What is your industry / real world experience?
CNC Tech, Journeyman Electrician, facilities electrician.
Tell us about a time that you were most proud in your role as an instructor.
I was substituting for another instructor, who is notoriously difficult, and never let his class out early. I'd covered the material that I was asked to cover, and it was still about 45 minutes before class was supposed to be out, and I was going to cut them loose early. When I told the class this, NOBODY stood up to leave (there were about 30 of them). Everybody stayed in their seats. One student spoke up and said “We are finally learning something, You are explaining things in a away we can understand. You keep teaching.” This was 8:15 at night. For NOBODY to want to leave early that was a huge complement.
What kind of transformation do you see in your students during a course?
From people who think they understand, to people who understand that there is so much more to understand. To people who can competently field any question thrown at them.
If you could give one piece of advice to all your future students, what would it be?
Don't let your education stand in the way of your learning.
What is one major misconception you see about this course / industry / field?
That it is hard. That you have to be “smart”. It is “tricky”. It requires time spent outside of the classroom. It requires that the student thinks. But it isn't hard, and anyone who chooses to can do it. One of my favorite stories is about John H. He was not the brightest person, he was even a little slow. But he was dedicated, and worked hard. He passed his Plant Journeyman test (52 questions, 3 hrs, and a challenging test) the first time he took it.
Why do you teach?
Because my students appreciate that I can lead them to the skills they need to succeed. Because my students appreciate that I can explain things simply and directly without an ego that gets in the way.
What do you do for fun?
Photography
