Instructor Development Workshop from North Carolina Real Estate Commission

     I know why I was there.  I am not sure why the other dozen people were there.  I was there because I was issued a North Carolina real estate instructor's license from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission on May 1, 2016.  This is a temporary license.  In order to turn my temporary instructor license into a permanent instructor's license, I have to submit an hour long video of me teaching and have it approved by the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

Ron Climer At First Real Estate School, Hendersonville

     Apparently, my thirty years of teaching real estate pre license classes in Florida has not prepared me for the real estate instructor licensing process with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. Apparently my 25 year  membership in Toastmasters www.fourseasontoastmasters.com has been no help.  Apparently, all those Google reviews on my website don't mean much. 

     The staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission has rejected my third video submission.  They say that I am not worthy to hold a North Carolina real estate instructor license.  After December 31, 2016, I will not be able to renew my temporary license.  If you need more detail, read my previous blogpost.  http://rondclimer.blogspot.com/2016/09/my-process-to-get-my-north-carolina.html 

     Bruce Moyer sent me my third rejection letter.  He suggested that I enroll in the Instructor Development Workshop from the North  Carolina Real Estate Commission on September 27th.  I signed up. 

     The purpose of this workshop is to teach me to teach the North Carolina way.  More specifically, " The North Carolina Real Estate Commission created this instructor development workshop to enhance N.C. approved instructors and School Directors' ability to provide quality and effective real estate educational programs for N.C. consumers and licensees." 

     The objectives of the workshop are  to:
      1.  explain research based methods of educational instruction
      2.  identify effective strategies for dealing with multi generational students
      3.  describe how items are developed for license examination

     Our workshop began with an explanation of performance based teaching vs. mastery goals teaching.  In performance based teaching, students learn just to pass a test or win an award.  In mastery goals teaching, students learn just for the pleasure of learning .  The purpose of the workshop is to teach instructors how to instill the desire in our students. 

     I was trying to figure out how to instill the desire for mastery in myself.  I already considered myself an excellent instructor by any standard except the video evaluation of the staff of the N.C.R.E.C. I just wanted to learn how to "pass the test" and get my hour long real estate teaching video approved and get my permanent license. 

     At the workshop, the instructors explain the difference between passive learning and active learning. 

      Passive learning is where the student just sits and listens to the instructor.  Maybe the student asks a question once in a while.  Last month my tailgate would not open on my 1993 Ford pick up truck.  I went to You Tube.  I put "repair tail gate on 1993 Ford pick up truck"  A video came up.  I passively watched that video.  I fixed my tailgate.  If it ever breaks again, I will know how to fix it. 

     Anyone that is soon taking the North Carolina real estate exam can go to You Tube and passively watch my videos on how to do any of the math that is on the exam.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxc4SZ1CW1w    If you want to practice passive learning, watch my videos.  Some of my old ones from Florida have been watched over 50,000 times.  Maybe some people like that teaching style for learning how to fix tailgates and do real estate math etc.

     Quote:  "Active learning is a process where by students engage in activities, such as reading, writing, discussion or problem solving that promotes analysis, synthesis and evaluation of class content.  Active learning is , in short, anything that students do in a classroom other than merely passively listening to an instructor lecture. "

     At the workshop, they showed us a video of a TED talk by Salmon Kahn.  It was a lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl-9AhJFh-U  about teaching for mastery.  It was excellent. As I watched this excellent video, I noticed that Mr. Kahn stood within a five foot square the entire time he was speaking.  I liked that.  Some people think you are more effective if you walk all over the stage.  Every one has an opinion. 

     At the workshop, we learned to assess student progress throughout the course.  This was no great ah ha for me.  I have always done that.  Many times through the years, I have handed a failure notice to a student.  They said ."I knew I was going to fail.  I did not study."  It was seldom a surprise to me either.  A good instructor knows.  The instructor may or may not be able to solve the problem.  The student can almost always solve the problem, if they will. 

     I was hoping I would learn how to instill desire in students when there is none at the workshop.  The student has to have the desire.  If I could learn how to create desire, I suppose I would be a sales manager instead of a real estate instructor.  Did you read my watermelon article?   http://rondclimer.blogspot.com/2016/09/lots-of-lessons-learned-in-watermelon.html     

   We were taught, at the workshop, how to relate to multi generational  learners.  This was presented at the workshop like it was a new problem that just started last year.  When I was thirty years old, I was teaching real estate classes to multi generational learners.  The boomers were the young folks in the room then.  Today, the boomers are the old guys in the audience.   A humorous video from Cam Marston was shown at the workshop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl-9AhJFh-U  to help us understand the generations. 

     I hope my fourth video that has already been sent to the N.C.R.E.C. is approved.  If not, I certainly hope I learned enough at yesterday's workshop to make an acceptable video that will be approved.  I confess that I was a performance based learner at the workshop.  I just want to "pass the test"  I will consider this time and effort worthwhile when I have my permanent instructor license.

     The staff of the N.C.R.E.C.  also taught us about the North Carolina real estate exam.  Did you know that after every question, you can leave a comment?    I DID NOT KNOW THAT.  Neither did any other instructor in the room.  I am going to teach my students to leave a comment, "Ron taught us that"  after the questions that they are sure they have correct. 

     If you are a  North Carolina real estate instructor, I would highly recommend the Instructor Development Workshop put on by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.  www.ncrec.gov

     Pray for my approval.  It is subjective.  www.firstrealestateschool.com

Lessons Learned in The Watermelon Field

     A lot of lives are changed in a real estate class.  At First Real Estate School, we graduated another class yesterday.

     In real estate class there is a great variety of students.  There are young folks in their twenties.  Often we have folks well into their sixties.

First Real Estate School in Hendersonville, North Carolina

     Some people come to real estate school for a career change.  Some people just want to earn a few extra bucks.  Some people concentrate on passing real estate school.  Other people have so much other stuff going on in their lives that they barely have time for real estate school.

     It is hard, as an instructor, to know how much effort a student is investing outside of class.  Some students learn well in a classroom.  Some do not.

     As an instructor, I promise my students that I will do my part.  I promise my students that I will present the material that they need to learn.  I can not make learning the four basic kinds of deeds as interesting as your favorite hobby. 

     I often tell a story during the first night of class about my early days working on the farm.  When I was 14 and 15 and 16 years old, I spent my summers working on a farm in Gainesville, Florida.  In June, we loaded watermelons from sun up to sundown.  It was hard work. 

     Watermelons grow on vines like pumpkins.  We would go out in the field and cut the melons from the vine and stack them at the edge of the field in rows.  We would drive a big straight truck down the rows and throw the melons into the truck.  My job was to pick up a thirty pound watermelon and throw it over the sideboards of the truck, about seven feet high.  There was another guy in the truck.  His job was to catch the watermelon that I had thrown and gently, neatly stack it in the truck. This relationship worked fine as long as I did my part of the job and threw the melons high enough for him to catch.  As the day wore on, I became more tired.  Sometimes, I did not quite  throw the watermelons high enough.  That would cause the guy on the truck to have to "reach" down for the watermelon.  It would not take much of that before the guy on the truck would get tired of "reaching".  If the catcher had to "reach" down, it was because the thrower was not doing his job properly.  The catcher would reach for a couple.  Usually about the third one that came up short, he would not reach for it.  That thirty pound melon would come falling on my head. As a thrower, I learned very quickly to do my part of the job.  Do it properly.  The catcher might reach once or twice.  He will not reach forever.

     This is how I feel as an instructor.  I will do my part.  I will do my part properly. 

     If the student is absent from class, I can't throw that high.  If the student won't read the textbook, I can not throw that high.  If the student is distracted with personal problems and "life" , I can't throw that high.  If the student is too busy to do their homework, I can't throw that high. 

     I promise I will do my part.  I will throw the watermelons high enough.  I can not do the student's part for them. 

     Join us in Hendersonville, North Carolina at First Real Estate School.  You can not find an instructor that wants you to succeed more than I do.  I care.  You can tell that I care when you come to class.  Call us at 828 440 1064.  Change your life.  Change your career. www.firstrealestateschool.com 

My Process To Get My North Carolina Real Estate Instructor's License

     Today's date is September 26, 2016.  My North Carolina real estate instructor's license will expire on December 31, 2016. 

     In North Carolina, when you get your initial real estate instructor license, it expires in six months.  A new real estate instructor is required by rule number 58C -.0604 to submit an hour long video to the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission for evaluation.  The staff evaluates that unedited video to be certain that the new instructor complies with the criteria described in rule 58C-.0604 which are:

1.  The ability to communicate through speech, including the ability to speak clearly at an appropriate rate of speed and with appropriate voice inflection, grammar, and vocabulary in a manner that enhances learning.

2.  The ability to present an effective visual image to a class, including appropriate appearance and physical mannerisms. 

3.  The ability to present instruction in an accurate, logical, orderly, and understandable manner that enhances learning, to utilize illustrative examples as appropriate, and to respond to questions from students.

4.  The ability to utilize varied instructional techniques in addition to lecture, such as class discussion,  role playing, or other techniques in a manner that enhances learning. 

5.  The ability to utilize instructional aids, such as an overhead projector.  in a manner that enhances learning. 

6.  The ability to maintain an appropriate learning environment and effective control of a class.

7.  The ability to interact with adult students in a manner that encourages students to learn, that demonstrates an understanding of student backgrounds , that avoids offending the sensibilities of students, and that avoids personal criticism of any other person, agency or organization. 

     I received my initial real estate instructor license  on May 1, 2016.  I submitted my first video to the staff at the North Carolina Real Estate Commission's staff on May 23.  On July 12th, I received an unsatisfactory evaluation from the staff at the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.  They said I was inarticulate.  They said I had poor grammar.  They said I had offended one of my lady students when I used her earrings as an example of an appurtenant.  I have used that example for over thirty years.  The staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission said that I did not turn the power point slides on and off at the appropriate time. They said I distracted the students by putting my
glasses on when reading and taking them off after.  They said  I should have put them down on the table and not keep them in my hand.

     On July 14, 2016, I turned in a second video to the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. .  On August 12th, I received another "unsatisfactory" evaluation from the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.  This evaluation tells me that I am not worthy of a North Carolina real estate instructor license because I did not move around the classroom enough as I taught.  They said I dropped the g in words like learin and teachin.  They told me in this evaluation that, with practice, I could develop confidence.  They said, in my unsatisfactory evaluation, that I should explain to students what the law used to be before 2012.  WHY?  Why should I confuse my students telling them what the law was four years ago?  The staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission told me that my visual and kinesthetic learners are not being served well by my current teaching style.  Seventy five per cent of my first class passed the North Carolina real estate exam within ten days of leaving my class.  Maybe I am doing something right.  I have more positive Google reviews on my website than any real estate school in North Carolina.  www.firstrealestateschool.com  Maybe I am doing something right.

     The staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission has received over two hundred emails telling them that I am an extra ordinary instructor .  That occurred because on August 12th, I posted on my Facebook page that I had been rejected by the staff.  I posted Bruce Moyer's email address (bruce@ncrec.gov ) .  Bruce received so many emails from my old students that he sent me an email and asked me to make it stop.  Some of these students were my student fifteen years ago.  They thought enough of me to take the time to send an email to Bruce. I am humbled and I really appreciate their efforts.

     Has this flood of unsolicited endorsements  have  any effect on my results?   That happened on August 12th.  It has made no difference to the staff at the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.  Bruce informed me that it doesn't matter what the students think.  It matters what the staff of the NCREC thinks.  On September 15, I received an email from Bruce informing me that the third video was unsatisfactory.

     On September, 10, 2016 I recorded a fourth video.  I hired an expert to train me to teach the class to please the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission's staff.  I strived to teach exactly  exactly the way the North Carolina Real Estate Commission described it in their brochure," Most Common Problems with Instructor Video Recordings". 

     I used various teaching techniques other than lecture method.  I taught the students how to do the Amortization Shuffle, a dance to help them to remember to Multiply, Divide, Subtract, Subtract.  I have been doing that in my real estate classes since 1999. 

     I walked up and down the aisle .  In the opinion of the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, moving about the classroom is a more effective teaching style  than staying in front of the classroom. I put color pictures in my power point slides. 

     In previous unsatisfactory video evaluations, I was admonished by the staff of the NCREC for not showing relevance for some of the subject matter.  In video four, I gave the students stories and explanations about why they need to know how to amortize a mortgage one payment at a time  and compute yield of mortgages when discount points are paid.  I realize how critical this relevance is to adult learners.

     Bruce did have some good news for me in my third rejection email.  He told me that he was extending my temporary instructor's license until December 31, 2016.  That enables me to teach one more night class .  Bruce told me that he is confident that I can meet the minimum requirements for a North Carolina real estate instructor's license with effort and practice.  I am too. 

     In my opinion and in the opinion of the eleven students in class and my expert's opinion, this fourth video would be satisfactory to anyone that is assessing the quality of a teacher.  I wonder how long it will take the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission to evaluate it and respond to me. 

     That fourth video has been submitted to the North Carolina Real Estate Commission's staff.  I can hardly express how it feels to learn that after thirty years of teaching pre license real estate classes to thousands of students in Florida that I have been teaching so poorly that I am not worthy to hold a North Carolina real estate instructor's license. 

     I have believed for thirty years that I was not only a adequate instructor but an extraordinary instructor.  I believed all those letters that students have sent to me.  I believed all those Google reviews that students left on my website.  I believed that when students sent their friends and relatives to my classes, it was because I was doing a excellent job teaching .

     After thirty years of teaching pre license classes in Florida, the staff of the NCREC has made it abundantly clear to me that I am not worthy to hold a instructor license in North Carolina.  Apparently I have been in need of lesson in humility.  My application process to the NCREC for an instructor license is about as humbling as I can stand.  It is humbling.  It is humiliating.

     Ten minutes ago, I was sitting outside my classroom during lunch.  A stranger walked up and introduced herself and told me that her friend would be in my next class.  She told me that she was so happy that I had opened First Real Estate School in Hendersonville.  She told me that she had not attended my class but she has heard great things about me from another friend that had been in my previous class.  There was a time when a conversation such as that would have caused my head to swell a little bit. www.firstrealestateschool.com  

     When I recall that an hour long video from her friend's class has been rejected by the staff of the NCREC, I wonder why the student's perception is so different.  The student recommends her friend and tells her friend that I am great. The staff of the NCREC rejects me as inadequate to hold a license. It is humbling.  It is confusing.  It is humiliating. 

     I have a persistent personality. I will persist until I succeed.  I do not understand why the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission would want to make this process so difficult. 

     On September 22, at the suggestion of Bruce Moyer in my third rejection email, I have enrolled in a one day workshop put on by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission's staff in Raleigh.  The tuition is $85.  The driving time is four hours from Tryon, where I live, to Raleigh.  The hotel room is $125.  I am looking forward to attending this seminar where the staff will show me exactly how they want classes taught.

     I have already scheduled my last night class for 2016.  I have scheduled my last day class for 2016.  Just as I finished scheduling these classes, my phone rang.  It was one of my students from five years ago in Florida.  She had moved to Charlotte.  She had enrolled in a local real estate class in Charlotte.  She had failed that class.  She asked me if I had a week end class in Hendersonville that she could attend.  She thanked me profusely for being an excellent instructor five years ago.  She had attended my seven days in a row class in Orlando.  She left my class and went and passed the Florida real estate exam .  Yes, I am talking about the Florida real estate exam that has a 57% pass rate.  http://ronclimer.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-florida-real-estate-exam-pass-fail.html   She also thanked me for my North Carolina real estate math videos.  She told me that they were a big help. Many of my math videos have been viewed by over 40,000 students that are working on passing the real estate exam.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO8Nq_eny0w   Here is a link to one of those videos.  In the opinion of the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission, the instructor in this video is not skilled enough to hold a North Carolina real estate instructor license.  That instructor is not a good instructor in the opinion of the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.  Fifty nine thousand  students that need help passing their real estate exam disagree with that opinion.

     


  


     

     Teaching real estate pre license classes is a passion for me.  That is why I do it well.  I do not know why the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission is giving me such a hard time.  It is certainly not because I am a poor instructor.  If you doubt that, go to www.climerrealestateschool.com and read the first 250 Google reviews.  Most of them mention that I am an excellent instructor. If you doubt that go to one of the 100 videos that I have posted on You Tube. Decide for yourself, knowing that your opinion does not matter.   Many of these videos have been viewed over by over 40,000 real estate students that need help.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMdJ-2iHepM  Here is an example.  Only the opinion of the staff of the NCREC matters. The opinion of the students that sat in my class for 75 hours and learned how to pass the North Carolina real estate exam is irrelevant. 

     I wonder if the staff of the North Carolina Real Estate Commission evaluates all real estate instructor applicants as harshly as they have evaluated me.  If they do, it is not enhancing the quality of the instructors in North Carolina.  It is certainly limiting the quantity of the instructors in North Carolina.  Pray for my approval.

     Today is November 14th. It has been exactly 60 days since I mailed in my fourth video submission.  I AM APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    

    

Hendersonville Real Estate School Scheduled Last Night Class for 2016

    Tuesday October 4th at 6 P.M. will be the first night of the last night class at First Real Estate School in Hendersonville, North Carolina in 2016.  This class will meet Tuesday and Thursday night  at 404 South Main Street in Hendersonville.  The tuition for this pre license real estate class is $300. For all the details go to our website at www.firstrealestateschool.com  You can register by calling us on the phone 828 440 1064

     You do not have to live in Hendersonville to take this class.  We welcome students from Asheville and Arden and Zirconia and Tryon and Saluda and Fairview and Black Mountain and Brevard and Etowah and Horse Shoe and Forest City and any other town in western North Carolina. 

Night real estate class at First Real Estate School in Hendersonville

     First Real Estate School in Hendersonville wants to help as many students as possible pass the North Carolina real estate exam.  First Real Estate School has posted several free videos on You Tube to help any student at any real estate school any where in North Carolina to understand the math better.  Here is a link to an example.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMdJ-2iHepM   Watching these free videos will help you pass the North Carolina real estate exam.

     Selling real estate is such a wonderful way to earn a nice living.  Consider a new career.  You could not find a better place to start a new real estate career than Keller Williams Mountain Partners Realty at 404 S. Main St. in Hendersonville. 

Asheville Area Real Estate School Last Class for 2016

     October 19th is the first day of the last class of 2016 at First Real Estate School in Hendersonville, North Carolina.  The tuition for this class is $300.  The location is 404 South Main Street in Hendersonville. 

This is our largest class ever at First Real Estate School in Hendersonville

     I am the teacher, Ron Climer.  If you are currently taking a real estate class anywhere, watch my North Carolina real estate math help videos.  They are free on You Tube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3TtXSnMx9s   Watching these videos will help you pass the North Carolina real estate exam.  The North Carolina real estate exam is reasonably difficult. Last month, the pass rate for first time takers was 61%.  Repeaters did a lot worse than that.  http://rondclimer.blogspot.com/2016/08/pass-fail-statistics-for-north-carolina.html  

     First Real Estate School's last class for 2016 starts on October 19 and ends on December 7.  Check our website for more details.  www.firstrealestateschool.com  In Hendersonville class sizes are small.  If you live in western North Carolina in a small town like I do (Tryon), you may have to drive a distance to go to any real estate school.  Choose First Real Estate School in Hendersonville.  Call us for any questions. 828 440 1064. 

    Did I mention that if you go to work for Keller Williams in Hendersonville, they will re imburse you your tuition?  That is super cool.  Here is a video explaining how that works.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1EpyxI_Gkg   We can teach you to pass the North Carolina real estate exam better than any real estate school in western North Carolina.

We Are Going To Wait Until The Market Gets Better In Hendersonville

     In the early twenty first century, mortgage fraud was rampant.  There was a lot of people with no job and no credit that were able to qualify for a real estate mortgage loan.  "How can this be?", you may ask yourself.  Believe me.  It was happening.  Why should you care today?   

Ron Climer can get your property SOLD

     Because this was happening, there were more buyers in the marketplace than should have been in the buyer's pool.  People that should not have been bidding for a house in the marketplace were bidding for a house in the marketplace.  Since many of these mortgage applicants had no intention of paying for the house that they were bidding on, they did not care how much they paid for it. 

     Picture yourself in that marketplace, bidding against a person that is committing mortgage fraud that has no intention of paying for the house.  If you can outbid him, you will end up paying too much for the property. 

     About 2005, the police started to quash much of this mortgage fraud.  Prices went down.  They will stay down for a long time.  If you bought a property during that time, you probably paid too much for it. 

     Many people that bought a $300,000 house for $400,000, have since defaulted on that mortgage.  The bank foreclosed.  The bank sold that house to someone else for $300,000 or less. 

     If you bought a house during that time, you had to pay too much.  Will those times be back soon?  Only if the crooks that were promulgating mortgage fraud get out of jail.  If you bought a property in the first five years of the 21st century, do not wait for that market to come back.  Do not wait for those prices to come back. 

     Sell your property for what it is worth today.  Remember this lesson.  Sell in a seller's market.  Buy in a buyer's market.  It is a seller's market in western North Carolina. It is a seller's market in Hendersonville, North Carolina.  Call me .  Let me get your property sold.    www.ronclimer.com

North Carolina Real Estate Exam Pass Fail Statistics for August 2016

     Today, the North Carolina Real Estate Commission released last months pass fail ratios for the North Carolina real estate exam.  In August 2016, four hundred and eighty one real estate license applicants attempted the comprehensive exam for the first time.  Two hundred and ninety five of those applicants passed. 

     One hundred thirty two real estate license applicants took the comprehensive exam for the second or third or fourth or fifth attempt.  Thirty of those repeat test takers passed.  That is a twenty three per cent pass rate for the repeaters.  This North Carolina real estate exam is no picnic.  It is serious business.  It costs ninety one dollars to take this exam as a repeater.  I can think of better ways to spend ninety one bucks. 

First Real Estate School in Hendersonville, North Carolina

     If you have failed the North Carolina real estate exam, here is a suggestion.  Go to www.northcarolinaexamreview.com .  Take my video review class for the North Carolina real estate exam.  It is a $100 investment.

     If you are looking for some free help for the North Carolina real estate exam given in Asheville, watch my FREE real estate math videos.  Any arithmetic that is on the North Carolina real estate exam is on one of my videos. It is free.  It is easy.  The North Carolina real estate test is 15% math.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAX8VxAGkrI  Here is another tip that will help you pass the North Carolina real estate exam. 

     Place a legal pad and a pen on the seat of your car before you go in to take the North Carolina real estate exam. IF YOU FAIL, before you crank up the car, write down as many questions as you can remember.  This info will never be fresher in your mind than it is right now.  Leave your textbook on the front seat.  Thumb through it.  Was there a question about RESPA?  Write that down.  Was their a question about discrimination?  Write that down.  Was there a math problem about computing interest?  Write it down.  You don't have to get all the details.  Write down some questions before you leave the parking lot.  When you get home, look the answers up in your real estate textbook.  You will see these same concepts again .

     Many, many test applicants underestimate the North Carolina real estate exam. Do not underestimate the difficulty of this test.  Overestimate it!  This test is not a pushover.  Over study.  Watch my free math videos.  Get together with your classmates.  Make flashcards.  Turn off the T.V.  Take my video review class.  Ninety one dollars is a lot of money to waste.

     It must feel yucky to fail by one or two points.  You can not help but think," If I had watched one more video, I would have known how many square feet in an acre."  You do not want to have that feeling.

STUDY, STUDY, STUDY      www.firstrealestateschool.com