Does anybody know Glen personally? Anyone know why he's doing this, or if he is actually conducting exam snow that he's an examiner?
Everything I've seen says Glen is 100% about fun on snow, with that fun shaped by skill.
Certification exams are 100% NOT fun. Too much angst, too many hopeful candidates being surprised by a failing grade. Or at least that's the situtaion here in the northeast. The anxiety present on snow among the candidates on exam day is palpable. I've seen failed candidates screaming in the faces of the examiners who gave them the failing grade, close to punching them in the face. I've seen women who failed collapsing in tears in the bathroom. Exams are ugly; there's no fun except for those few who pass, and honestly I wouldn't call their elation fun; it's relief. I've heard for years that only 15% pass LII and LIII on average nationally. When that many students fail an exam, one might consider looking at the preparatory program leading up the the exam.
I'd love to hear more about what Glen's interest in being an examiner is. My suspicion is that he wants to be able to influence the shaping of PSIA's educational programming. I doubt he wants to examine and grade the candidates given the current situation, but I sure could be wrong. I would welcome with joy his influence in redirecting PSIA in how it prepares its certification candidates.
Here are some quotes from an interview with Glen. Read the whole thing here: https://www.skimag.com/athletes/metamorphosis-of-glenn-plake. It's the part I've bolded that leads me to believe he's interested in redirecting the way PSIA does things. Granted, I'm reading between the lines.
"I was a spokesperson for Learn a Snowsports Month and was asked on the "Today Show" to teach anchor Hoda Kotb, a first-time skier, to ski. We were on the ski lift and she asked me, 'What happens when we get to the top here?' And I thought, 'Interesting question, I have no idea.' I ended up literally carrying this woman around the ski area—that was my teaching capacity at the time. And I thought, anyone who sees this is going to think this guy has no idea what he’s doing. That night, I made a call to PSIA.
"as I moved through the process, there was nothing I could call them out on. I was like, ‘Yeah, that makes sense’ ... ‘OK, interesting,’ … ‘Yeah, can’t argue with that.’ So, I felt good about the whole process, and started thinking about Level 2 and 3, which turned out to be a little more involved. But I was never given a hall pass through the process. If anything, examiners expected me to be better than I was. That said, I went on to get my Level 2 and 3, and now I’m an official PSIA examiner.
"I feel that ski school should teach people some general backcountry technique—not snow safety, not avalanche awareness, not mountain sense, but just teach people how to use the equipment.
"We’re putting a lot of emphasis NOT on the everyday aspects of the sport, and I think we need to rediscover why we ski."
Everything I've seen says Glen is 100% about fun on snow, with that fun shaped by skill.
Certification exams are 100% NOT fun. Too much angst, too many hopeful candidates being surprised by a failing grade. Or at least that's the situtaion here in the northeast. The anxiety present on snow among the candidates on exam day is palpable. I've seen failed candidates screaming in the faces of the examiners who gave them the failing grade, close to punching them in the face. I've seen women who failed collapsing in tears in the bathroom. Exams are ugly; there's no fun except for those few who pass, and honestly I wouldn't call their elation fun; it's relief. I've heard for years that only 15% pass LII and LIII on average nationally. When that many students fail an exam, one might consider looking at the preparatory program leading up the the exam.
I'd love to hear more about what Glen's interest in being an examiner is. My suspicion is that he wants to be able to influence the shaping of PSIA's educational programming. I doubt he wants to examine and grade the candidates given the current situation, but I sure could be wrong. I would welcome with joy his influence in redirecting PSIA in how it prepares its certification candidates.
Here are some quotes from an interview with Glen. Read the whole thing here: https://www.skimag.com/athletes/metamorphosis-of-glenn-plake. It's the part I've bolded that leads me to believe he's interested in redirecting the way PSIA does things. Granted, I'm reading between the lines.
"I was a spokesperson for Learn a Snowsports Month and was asked on the "Today Show" to teach anchor Hoda Kotb, a first-time skier, to ski. We were on the ski lift and she asked me, 'What happens when we get to the top here?' And I thought, 'Interesting question, I have no idea.' I ended up literally carrying this woman around the ski area—that was my teaching capacity at the time. And I thought, anyone who sees this is going to think this guy has no idea what he’s doing. That night, I made a call to PSIA.
"as I moved through the process, there was nothing I could call them out on. I was like, ‘Yeah, that makes sense’ ... ‘OK, interesting,’ … ‘Yeah, can’t argue with that.’ So, I felt good about the whole process, and started thinking about Level 2 and 3, which turned out to be a little more involved. But I was never given a hall pass through the process. If anything, examiners expected me to be better than I was. That said, I went on to get my Level 2 and 3, and now I’m an official PSIA examiner.
"I feel that ski school should teach people some general backcountry technique—not snow safety, not avalanche awareness, not mountain sense, but just teach people how to use the equipment.
"We’re putting a lot of emphasis NOT on the everyday aspects of the sport, and I think we need to rediscover why we ski."
