"Apathy" was the reply.

A few months ago I got an enquiry come through from a chap for driving lessons for him and his fiancé.

He decided to take lessons with me, and his fiancé with an Instructor just up the road from me.  They had the same budget available. 

He passed his test on his 1^st attempt a few weeks ago, and at that time was indicating that his fiancé was getting frustrated at how slow progress was (at that time, she had been introduced to 1 manoeuvre).  I discovered yesterday that his fiancé is getting a test booked for the end of October.

First thing to say is.... we are all different, we all learn at different rates.  Some find hand-feet co-ordination more natural than others.  Some are more able to multi-task than others, and some have a clearer instinct of road position than others.  Some are more nervous, and I could go on and on about how it is not sensible to make sweeping generalisations about how people progress with driving lessons.  I recall a Learner from a while ago who had Dyspraxia, only thing was neither he, nor his Parents thought it worthwhile to tell me that fact – so there I am doing my utmost to ‘root cause’ why there was the degree of inconsistency there was, and all along, being kept in the dark that my Learner was suffering with a serious Learning Difficulty.  So I KNOW that it is nonsense to ignore the fact that people are complex, and unique.

But, having said all of that, it’s probably not a bad idea to at least consider what are the factors that can affect progress, so here goes:

Learning Styles – we all have a way that we like to learn.  And this is a big deal.  I’ll never forget when I took a PADI scuba diving course in Mauritius and was nervous as hell just on the boat going out to sea.  On one of the dives, my instructor was spread a bit thin, and trying to cope with 3 of us.  I ended up getting lost from the pack, and eventually decided the only sensible option was to go to the surface.  It alarmed me how long it took for me to come to the notice of the organisers, and fair to say that experience whilst not putting me off for life, seriously affected me.  Some people like ‘slowly slowly’, others are more adventurous, some like to be told, explained, demonstrated, others like to discover – we are all different and ignoring this fact is treating people like numbers, rather than individuals with individual needs.

Responsibility for Learning – this is an interesting subject and something easily ignored.  For some, it is convenient and preferable to ignore this subject. Considering that the end goal is to develop a Learner to become an independent driver, capable of driving in all conditions, in unfamiliar roads, safely, efficiently and with regard to others, then the training should reflect that goal.  If a Learner comes into training with the attitude of “I’m not interested in detail, just tell me how to pass the test”, then that Learner may just want to be told what to do all the time.  They wont be interested in understanding WHY faults are occurring, that is not their concern, they just want the Instructor to tell them what to do, so that the faults don’t occur.  And with enough repetition, and driving on the same roads for long enough, this kind of ‘dummy’ learning will have an effect.  It will be incredibly boring but eventually, just through sheer repetition, you can program yourself to robotically remember what actions are needed at certain junctions for example.  But, you have to question how prepared you then are for a life of driving after the test.  It’s a little like learning art through ‘dot to dot’.  Take the ‘dot to dot’ away and what have you got?  Not much ‘learning’.

Quality of Training – are your goals aligned with your Trainers goals.  Is there a clear path to your goal, are you able to monitor your progress and check that you are aligned to your goal.  Is there a trust and transparency between you and your Trainer so that there is open communication.  I recall when I did my training to become a Driving Instructor and I was aware that my Trainer kept mentioning going on a Pink Licence with his organisation after my allotted training period.  That meant that my goal of becoming qualified was in direct conflict with his goal of prolonging my training and tying me in with a financial contract with his organisation.  So is your Driving Instructor aware of when you want to pass, is there a clear strategy to make that goal happen.  The extent of the training (syllabus), passing the tests first time, passing them within a certain timescale..... these are important points.    Drifting along a course of driving lessons, in no particular direction, with no goals set, is a recipe for disappointment – it can be lengthy and expensive.         

Strategy – you can either hit the ground running in life, or hit the ground, slowly get yourself up, take some time out to decide what direction you should head, think about starting off, and in your own good time start off on a little trot and see how it goes from there.  Considering HOW you will learn to drive is a massively important point.  “I’ll take a lesson every now and again as I can fit it in.... I’m ever so busy you know” versus “I’ll have 2 sessions a week, 2 hrs each, so that by March I want to be passing my test – is that achievable?”    Some people are willing and prepared to view my driving videos before a course, some aren’t.  Some people plan in driving sessions well in advance so they are in their diary and mine, and therefore guaranteed to happen, others don’t.  Some people organise private lessons with friends/family between sessions with me, others don’t.   Some read up on my blog about how to do manoeuvres, others don’t.  Some choose a Driving Instructor that meets THEIR needs, others choose the cheapest they can find.

Some people will have stopped reading this blog as it’s boring.... others will have read it to the end, and then read it again, making a mental note of anything they had not previously considered.