I think I mentioned that I wasn't particularly concerned about the numbers that I got on the reviews that the candidates wrote on us, as facilitators for the CISSP review seminars. It's not that I don't think that feedback is important: I do. But it's hard to keep faith in the quality of the reviews, and particularly the scores that the candidates give you, when you know that people who don't know as much about security as you are getting higher marks than you because of tricks that they use to appear more valuable than they are. At one point (ISC)^2 was able to assess the marks obtained on the exams, and compare them to whether or not candidates have taken a review seminar, prior to sitting the exam. (When the certificate was, itself, certified under the ISO 17024 standard, they had to stop that.) There was one particular instructor, instructing his own seminar, who managed to cram everything into two days. His seminars were immensely popular, not only because they were shorter, but because he was an extremely entertaining presenter. Unfortunately, what the numbers showed was that, while the candidates who went to his seminars all came away giving glowing reviews of how good the seminar was, it wasn't until they actually sat the exam that they realized that they hadn't actually learned anything. In fact, according to the numbers that (ISC)^2 was able to obtain, you were better off not taking any reviews seminar at all, and not doing any review at all, than taking this particular seminar. If you took his seminar, the chances were very strong that you would do worse on the exam then you would have done if you had done nothing at all to prepare for the exam.
So, I knew, with my background in education, as well as my background in test design and psychometrics, that there were instructors who were very popular and got very high scores on their evaluations, who did not, in fact, provide the best material and content when delivering the seminar. I also knew, from my own experience, that sometimes I would get lower scores on the evaluation, simply on the basis of the fact that the coffee, provided by the hotel, was cold.
So, I make no apologies for the fact that I assessed how well I had done on a particular seminar by how many of the candidates actually passed the exam. I had a number of seminars where 100% of the candidates past the exam.
I even had one *city* where 100% of the seminars I taught had a 100% pass rate. Everybody that I ever taught in the city of Regina passed the exam and got their certificate.
And every time I taught in the city of Regina, it was in the winter. I don't know: maybe this has something to do with the pass rate. (Maybe there is nothing to do in Regina in the winter but study for your CISSP exam. Then again, most of the candidates in the Regina seminars seemed to have lots of plans for winter activities. Even when it was 30 below. *And* snowing.)
And I taught seminars in Winnipeg, as well. Sometimes when it was *fifty* below. I remember one such seminar, where someone drove me to the venue. For some reason the venue was not open when we got there, and the candidates were standing around outside, bundled up against the cold. I only had a suit jacket on, but I figured that I should at least get out and welcome the candidates, and then pop back into the car. Whereupon I realized that, even though I was back in the warm car, I wasn't going to warm up until the heat of the car had warmed up the cold air which had now built up inside my jacket.
We don't call it Winterpeg for nothing.
But, Winnipeg was possibly, my absolute favorite city in which to conduct a seminar. At one seminar, they had me staying at the Fort Gary Hotel. They had me staying over a weekend, and because I stayed over Saturday night to Sunday morning, apparently I qualified for a free Sunday morning buffet brunch.
I am a great fan of buffet brunches. I think it is my possibly favorite meal of all time. For one thing, I can eat far more than is good for me. Okay, it's bad for me, but I really love it. And the combination of foods that you can get had a really good brunch buffet is my favorite collection. I can really do damage to a good brunch buffet. I am a connoisseur of brunch buffets. I have eaten brunch buffets that were extremely high in price, at extremely fancy hotels. I have had the brunch buffet at Best Western hotels, which, despite its limitations, isn't half bad.
But nobody, and I mean nobody, can touch the Sunday brunch buffet at the Fort Gary Hotel. It is truly amazing. If you ever get to stay in Winnipeg over a Saturday night, book a room at the Fort Gary Hotel. And have the brunch buffet for breakfast. You will not regret it.
Previous: https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2024/08/mgg-538-hwyd-famous-sleep-deprivation.html
Introduction and ToC: https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2023/10/mgg-introduction.html
Next: https://fibrecookery.blogspot.com/2024/09/mgg-540-hwyd-dublin-etc.html
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