Alisha's first lesson

Aisha came to me after about ten lessons with another instructor.  She had the basics and her clutch control was quite good but had no idea of Rules of the Road, Planning or observations.

This is not uncommon at this stage but when I coach a pupil these skills are introduced on the first lessons rather than added on later.  I believe that the earlier you learn these things the more ingrained they become and the more easy they will be to pick up.

It was clear from the start that Alisha had been over instructed as she would not make a single decision for herself.  The car would be screaming at 25mph in 2nd gear and she would ask "Shall I go to 3rd?"  A couple of times I said "No"..."But it needs 3rd" she asked in confusion, "So why did you ask me?"  I laughed and then she changed.

My pupils quickly get used to my light hearted and sarcastic manner as I firmly believe that they need a safe and comfortable environment to learn efficiently and this is best achieved, in my opinion at least, with humour and good rapport.

Alisha had been driven, for her lessons, to a local "nursery route" that is almost exclusively used by driving instructors and is a place I avoid like the plague.  It is not unusual for pupils to have up to 20 lessons along this long straight road and the small block of roads around it.

The first thing I did was ask Alisha if she wanted me to drive for 2 minutes to a quietish road hear her and then let her drive.  Her car control was fairly good but what I was looking for were the Magic basics that would let her spread her wings.
A. Could she steer and turn a corner with adequate control
B. Did she have enough clutch control to be able to move off at junctions
C. Could she use the brake effectively.
Once these three criteria are met I do not see any benefit in keeping pupils on quiet roads where they will develop a false sense of security.

I gave Alisha the usual chat about how I will keep us safe and if she is worried or panicky to let me know so I could help her.  We drove along the road and turned around a few blocks and when I had seen enough we headed for the small, but not very busy, roundabout at the end.  It was quiet at this time of the day but it let me know that she wasn't sure of where to look or how to judge when to go.

The lesson then turned into a series of small quiet roundabouts and lots of chatting about where to look, priorities and speed on approach.  She coped really well and started to pick up the principle quickly.

At the end of the lesson she was buzzing that she had driven properly, albeit with a lot of support, and said she had loved it.

Alisha is not quick and bright but is very enthusiastic.  She has a lovely warm personality and I am sure that we are going to get on really well in the future.

Douglas's first lesson

I had heard a lot about Douglas from his sister and was expecting a conceited young student based on her stories.  She wasn't close to him because he had always tried to put her down in a sibling rivalry way without any intentional cruelty.

On meeting Douglas for the first time my estimate had not been far off except that I hadn't expected him to be so tall and self assured. 

We had the usual talk about why he was starting to drive now, what he wanted to get from lessons and if he had a preference for any type of teaching style.  He casually informed me that it didn't matter how he was taught because he picked everything up easily.
I asked him how he would feel if he didn't find the lessons as easy as he expected.  He looked at me with one raised eyebrow and laughed.  This would NEVER happen.
"I suppose that seemed really arrogant", he said, "..that's probably because I am.  Not to be funny but I think I am justified because I am good at everything."

I actually began to like him from this moment.  Yes he was arrogant but he was also honest about it and accepted that that was the way he was.  We talked about what he was good at and it did sound as though he was right.

Fantastic grades all through a top school and a top University, accepted to study Law at Birmingham Law School, played sports at a county level, tall and lithe and probably very good looking to girls of his age.  He admitted to never having had to put any effort into learning at all.  Life was so easy for him.

So... how did he get on with the driving?

We didn't do a lot of driving on the first lesson because he was trying to discover how the clutch worked.  He played around with it and realised if he brought it up too fast then the car would stall.  The problem is that his fine foot control was not very good and so he kept stalling, swearing and growling at himself.

He was not at all happy that he couldn't master this new skill in a one hour lesson.  However, even though he got very annoyed with himself, he never once showed any negative emotion towards me and he had impeccable manners and his sense of humour still came through.

A very complex young man who I am looking forward to working with but there is the worry that he may not come back after his lack of immediate success.

Let me introduce you...

I want to introduce you to two my pupils who I will be following over the next few blogs because their differing backgrounds, cultures, educational levels and general views on life are far apart that they can give a great insight into the polarisation of life in this country.

Douglas is a young talented 23 year old from a fairly affluent background and I could possibly describe him as one of the most arrogant people I have met in a long time.  I do not see this as a problem because he has a lot of cause to be arrogant and wold be happy to be described as such.

He is tall and athletic looking, is in fact a talented athlete, and has striking aristocratic looks.
He is supremely intelligent and admits that he has never had an academic challenge in his life
because it is all so easy even though he has got a first class degree and is now doing an
addition degree in Law one year. 

He has enough money to pick and choose his Universities knowing that living
expenses are not at all an issue.
He has a girlfriend whose family are very rich, 3 homes in the UK including
the country estate with a mile long private drive,  homes on the continent
and in the US, and so he will not bring her home to his tiny 6 bedroomed
home in a very nice part of Solihull because he is ashamed of it.


He is going to work in the City as a corporate lawyer and will earn a very high salary.


So... why do I find I cannot dislike him
and in fact have become very fond
 of him over his 12 lessons with me?


 I taught his younger, less talented, dyslexic sister who told me that he had said that when she is almost ready for test he will take a few lessons and pass before her.  She is a delightful but under confident young lady so believed him.  Consequently, when I met him I had a few pre judged ideas about him.
I would like to add that his sister, Alice, passed first time before he had even begun to start and she is a lovely driver.



Alisha is a pretty, bubbly23 year old girl who has little ambition in life.  She is currently taking part in an apprenticeship in "Admin" so has been placed in a charitable agency where she is getting free training and is being paid £2.70 per hour after she had completed her one month trial.

Her educational background is mainly vocational courses with a 40% pass rate.
I have a problem with these courses because 40% is a Pass but 100% is still
just a pass so there is no incentive to try any harder than the minimum to get by
because it will not be recognised.  They are purely coursework based and there
is so much help (to massage the figures?) that there is almost an attitude of
"If I turn up I will get the qualification".

We are producing an almost underclass of youngsters who believe that education is doing the minimum to get by and getting an undervalued Certificate at the end of it. 
The participants have no concept of Drive, Responsibility, Ambition, Work Ethic, Independence or, sadly, Personal Achievement.

Over the next few blogs I will be following the progress, trials and tribulations of these two very different potential drivers.

I hope you will join me watching the Soap Opera that is my daily life :)

A Comissioned Blog

“A Conference worth reading about…

 

 I went to my first ADI conference about five years ago and I loved it.  I loved meeting other ADIs, I loved the energy of the Speakers and I loved feeling part of a Profession.
After that I was hooked….
Working part time I have had to rein in my spending on Conferences and Courses and so had to become more picky as there are such a range of opportunities available…and not all of them good value. Some are even putting out the same presentation they did a few years ago….!
I heard about Fresh Start 13 around November 2012,  I looked at the line up, the timetable and the organisers and decided that this event seemed a bit different to the others but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.
There was a great list of speakers, some of whom I have heard before and would definitely be interested in seeing again.  There were Breakout groups ,smaller more interactive sessions, where the delegates were given a (difficult) choice of sessions.
The main name that I recognised, however, was Marc Ford. I had met Marc Briefly a few times and heard him speak and respected his integrity and genuine drive to develop the Driver Training industry with a view to improving Road safety, it’s public perception and a better deal for the people that work so hard within it.
The other names I am vaguely aware of but don’t actually know but I am looking forward to what promises to be a Fresh and different ADI conference.
The nearer it got…the buzz seemed to grow. This was new and no-one knew what to expect!

The Night Before…

 

 After booking my Fresh Start 13 ticket I followed the Event Page on Facebook and found out that a lot of ADIs who were going were names that I had already met, were friends with on Facebook or were familiar with which was good because I was coming on my own.
Having found out that a fair number of delegates had arranged to stay at the same hotel, just across the road, we organised to all meet in the pub opposite in the afternoon t have a catch up before the next day.
The organisers, saw these messages and decided that, as we were meeting up anyway, it would be good if local ADIs or ones from other hotels also got together and so he arranged for a function room at a local pub nearby and provided a live band.
This was a fantastic idea.  Around 80 people turned up and had a wonderful night of chatting laughing and dancing.  It was great to see Julia Malkin getting up and dancing and having such a good time.
A few ADIs didn’t know anyone else and a those of us who had formed groups introduced ourselves welcomed them in with a promise of someone to sit wit the following day.  We all remembered our first big event where we hoped for a familiar face to break the ice.
Because of this inspired idea of an informal Social Get Together before the formal event the following day we are all relaxed and looking forward to the day ahead without that initial fear of not knowing anybody and so feeling left out.

Conference Day…

After meeting friends for breakfast we arrived at the conference in a group, so much nicer than the usual frantic search for familiar faces.  There was the usual ice breaker coffee session and a definite buzz of activity going on in the background.
Marc and the team admitted to being as scared as a bridegroom at a wedding and worried that it would all go wrong but everything flowed really well and the timings were the tightest I have seen so we things only ran fractionally late.  I don’t think these types of events have ever run to time.
David Holland was the first speaker and his motivating talk about how we should be taking back this industry from the “Cheap Offers” merchants and respecting ourselves for the professional job that we do was really inspiring.
The breakout sessions were very difficult to choose between but were all excellent.  Smaller and less formal groups made it easier to interact with the presenters and ask questions thereby tailoring the sessions more to what the delegates want to know.
This was such an energetic and motivational conference that I came away from with my head buzzing with ideas but the most important decision I have made at this point is to put up my prices to show my pupils that I value my work and so should they.

Results MATTER! Time invested vs. Things Achieved…

 

 It’s all individual I appreciate BUT…I gave all my pupils a months notice that their lesson prices would be going up to £21 but any new pupils or referrals would be charged £22.  This made them feel that they were getting a good deal and I didn’t receive a single complaint.  I printed out little leaflets and ticked off against their name when they were given it so there was no communication problem.
I have also produced information sheets to give to pupils about drink driving, legal or illegal drugs and other factors that can effect their decisions.  These help me to cover the higher levels of the GDE matrix which I have been convinced is the key to greater driver responsibility on the roads.

Fresh Start 14 

 

As soon as I got home from Fresh Start 13 I decided that I would definitely be attending the Fresh Insight Conference in August and Fresh Start 14.  In fact these are the only conference I will definitely be attending on a regular basis as I feel there is a real integrity in what they are trying to do for the Driver Training Profession.
What I have taken from them is that there is a genuine aim to improve the profile of the Driver Trainer.
There also is a will and a passion to help us become more valued by the public and to encourage them to appreciate the quality of what we do in trying to teach pupils more than just how to drive a car but also how to be a responsible and skilled driver.
The overall ethos of those from the “Fresh” events seem to be to improve skills, the training we provide, make our businesses solid and growing whilst raising the quality, standard and responsibility of new drivers in order to improve Road Safety and reduce Death and Injury in the roads.
Once again the organisers have recognised the importance of the social aspect of the event and so, once again, there is a social the night before the conference.
The new idea for this year, are  the ”Golden L” Awards which is aimed to recognise those in our industry who have added “value”.  A Fresh idea which allowed us as ADIs to nominate and vote for people we thought stood out.  This will surely become a regular fixture as there are so many unrecognised trainers that go that extra mile and who deserve a round of applause.
I am left wondering what pearls of wisdom and gems of ideas I will come home with this time…”

Thanks BloggerMB!