A learning programme for your driving school

Structure to your learning programme

How do you make your pupils feel?

Once you accept the fact that your day to day work as a driving instructor involves the art of learning then quite naturally you will start to view the service you provide to your customers in a different mindset.  You will think beyond the skill of driving and consider how best to develop effective learning in your pupils.

There is a great deal more to "teaching" the skill of driving than being a good driver yourself.  Having empathy for what is involved in the process of learning is essential.  If you truly know what your pupils are going through, you will be more able to provide a service that satisfies their needs.

Psychologists R.J. Sternberg, E.L. Grigorenko and L. Zhang make the point in a publication "one cannot apply what one knows in a practical manner if one does not know anything to apply". As instructors, we would do well to consider this regarding our personal development and also concerning our pupils' welfare.  There needs to be a base knowledge for which one can improve.

If you flood your pupil's mind with a bombardment of factual information, it has the consequence of evaporating any chance of long-term learning because of their over-loaded working memory.  If you are not personally aware of this fact, then be under no illusion, it makes for a thoroughly miserable learning experience.

Get in touch with us at BIG TOM to choose a path of effective, enjoyable learning practices rather than frustrating driving lessons. Tel: 0800 689 4174

How do you feel?

What a great feeling this job creates when all goes well. It's a bit addictive do you not think? Our customer passes their driving test; you can see what it means to them, how it benefits their lives.  They think you are lovely, that makes you feel good, and in these moments all is good with the world.

I can help you make every working day as a driving instructor give this sense of worth. There is so much enjoyment to be had from the nurturing, caring, thoughtfulness shared with pupils. That care and attention you adapt to each pupil every working day is pure gold.  It is these moments you need to cherish and savour.

The bond that we develop with our pupils that helps them develop these lifelong driving skills is magical. Honesty, trust, empathy, all these shared values that help to encourage and persist.

For sure it is nice to see the prize-winning at the end but don't walk your path alone; isolated in your daily ritual.  Contact us at BIG TOM and allow us to help you see what value you are bringing to many lives on a regular basis.

"She made me cry"

It is a beautiful Sunday morning as I write and I am keen to keep this blog positive.  It is difficult because the subject is emotive.  Driving instructors do make pupils cry in driving lessons.  It is heart-breaking to imagine the impact this must have on pupils.  I had blogged before about my humiliation I suffered at the hands of a teacher 35 years ago; I can picture the scene clearly in my mind despite the passing of time, still sensing the utter helplessness of the situation I found myself in.

In my attempts to keep this blog constructive, let's look at this from another angle.  There will be reasons why a driving instructor creates an environment in which the pupil resorts to crying.  It will be a weakness on the part of the driving instructor.  Perhaps the instructor is feeling inadequate due to a perceived lack of progress.  Maybe the pupil is triggering a deep-seated belief inside the mind of the instructor relating to their own experiences or attitudes to learning.

The saddest and perhaps most pertinent point about this, however, is that the instructor will not necessarily be aware that the issue lies with them.  It is not beyond the realms of possibility that an instructor is so sure of their ability that they do not perceive a crying pupil as their responsibility and failing. 

When you look at it in those terms, this problem is even more worrying.  An instructor may talk through to their husband/wife at home about the pupil crying; they may frame the conversation in such a way that the discussion is slanted heavily in bias.  Or perhaps, so accustomed to pupils crying in their driving lessons, maybe the event is no longer even worthy of discussing.

Upsetting pupils is avoidable folks.  Be in no doubt.  Pupils do not need to be crying to help them learn to drive.  The developmental need is to you the instructor.  Do the right thing, call it a New Years Resolution if that helps, but get in touch with BIG TOM and let me help you to put an end to causing long-term misery to your customers.

Is safety your number one priority?

Are you finding your balance sheets are getting blurred and you are losing control of your costs?  Are you paying the price for poor safety standards?

Late cancellations are annoying.  Driving test fails are disappointing. Underselling driving lessons is foolish.  But the safety of you, your pupil and the public is number one priority in our line of work. Everything else is small fry in comparison.

A typical comment we all hear in the industry is how these accidents are 'unavoidable'; literally, just that, an accident, and 'accidents will happen'. This myth is, of course, utter nonsense.

If you are finding that you (and your pupils) are having accidents, then it is a sign of inadequate risk assessment.  The responsibility for safety ultimately rests with you the driving instructor.  While it is a skill and goal to help develop that ownership of safety in our pupils, it is a fact that pupils do not NEED to have an accident to learn about safety while they are paying us for our service.

Do get in touch if you feel that this aspect of your work is getting out of control.  My driving school (est. 2009) has not suffered one single accident.  Despite my pupils covering over 100,000 miles in the last three years, it is just untrue to consider a loss of safety as an "occupational hazard".

Take control of risk and > contact us now  <

Top Ten Tempters to be a Driving Instructor

1. Satisfaction - The work is challenging, rewarding and unique for every pupil. You are working within the comfort of the car but also in the openness to observe the four seasons. Your input unlocks freedoms for your pupils, and yet it carries significant responsibility for their continued safety.

2.  Flexibility - You choose the hours you want to work: a morning, afternoon or evening course, only weekends or not weekends.  You take as much time off as you desire, you are in complete control of your workload.

3.  Stimulating - Assisting each pupil to develop their learning requires tact, vital communication skills, useful teaching techniques, experience, and empathy.  Help is given to boost any areas of weakness - you do not have to be the "finished article" to start with BIG TOM.

4.  Financial security - BIG TOM driving instructors have earned over £1000 per week previously by running two courses in a week (each session is a daily 4-hour commitment).  You do however have the option of setting your workload to satisfy a specific revenue requirement.

5.  Independence - You are a sole trader (self-employed), so you enjoy all the freedom that brings.  No weekly franchise fees to pay, no lengthy notices to work before leaving.  There are no requirements to generate work, or do any marketing activity at all - it is all handed directly to you.

6.   Security - You have the peace of mind of being backed by a well established, reputable driving school with a proven track record.  There is a limited risk of failure due to working with an organization that has experience and trust.

7.  Motivating - Learning new skills is deeply rewarding to individuals, it keeps the mind fresh, and working in new environments is known to create added impetus to the daily routine.

8.  Social interaction - Working with pupils and alongside peers provides you with a sense of belonging and self-worth.

9.  Direction - As a qualified driving instructor, registered with the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency, you are working with a sense of purpose and an overall goal of improved road safety.

10. Reassurance - New careers for the self-employed are high risk, but with this opportunity, you have peace of mind that you are joining an organization with stability and strength.

For an information pack to join BIG TOM email: recruit@BIGTOM.org.uk

Standby.... ready to blow!

Our industry is the busiest I have ever known it be since I qualified in 2009 and it is showing no signs of changing.  But take a moment to think about how you are coping with these work levels.  It may not immediately be evident to you that you are under pressure.  Fitting in driving tests into your schedule, dealing with awkward customers, trying to maintain a family/work balance - all this is not easy.

When did you last have the chance to explain how you are feeling to someone who can correctly understand your line of work?  Yes, we all chat away to peers in test centres and tap away on keyboards in driving instructor Facebook Groups but what I am referring to is sitting down and having a proper 1:1 conversation about your work.
 
Reflection is ever so critical to do; it assists you in assessing your work performance, health, business, anxiety levels.  Often people will neglect this and only realise how much pressure they are under when they do actually "blow".  That is of course too late.  That involves severely affecting relationships; it consists of losing revenue, going to Doctors, letting down customers.
 Do get in touch.  I can assist you by listening to your concerns, allowing you to think things through methodically, offering an alternative approach here and there, sharing a joke, shedding a tear, venting frustration.
 
Our line of work is pretty unique; we are in a very isolated work environment where social interaction with peers is rare.  The problem with your Facebook groups et al. is they are public, and therefore you are unable to consider more profound thoughts about your working day often.  You probably do believe them, frequently possibly, but you are not expressing them and reflecting upon them.  It is when we start to deeply think about things that we get an opportunity to properly analyse, raise awareness, self-evaluate and discover ways to improve.  It benefits your health, your relationships with pupils and family, it takes pressure off your shoulders, and it helps to restore some basic human needs of self-worth, pride, integrity and socialising.
 
The online sessions are strictly confidential, private, recordable for later reference and available to you at £10/hr.  Please don't barge now, form an orderly queue.



Contact me on 0775 607 1464 to arrange a convenient time.

Cause & Effect

Stormy stormy stormy!  Wow!

As storm Eleanor batters the UK millions of us on our daily commute will be affected, but how many will actually factor this point in to their schedule?

And so it is with so many aspects of our work with pupils; it is so easy to overlook and even ignore the fact that there are external factors which do affect the risks involved in driving.  The point of this blog is to highlight the fact that if we are not considering the possible consequences then it is highly unlikely that our pupils will either.

Talk through with them today how aware they are of the possible dangers involved in driving in these weather conditions.  Start the discussion off with a mind-map with "Eleanor" in the middle.  See what they say (notice what they do NOT say). Don't judge, try not to fill in the gaps.... it should be your pupil who is sat there with the mind-map in front of them, with pen in hand.

If you are both sat there in silence, with your pupil looking at the car clock, with a yawn, talk about "consequences".  Ask them what they have planned for today or this week which involves an appointment or specific starting point of some kind eg dentist, social meet with a friend, job, college, sports match.  Discuss with them how they intend to get there and consider what possible factors might impact on their arrival at the correct time.

Possible subjects that may come up include:

How weather causes accidents which causes disruption which causes people to arrive late.
How emotions affect driving behaviour that can have negative impacts on other road users, our passengers, our car.
How lack of planning can result in us getting temporarily lost and therefore arriving late, or being ill-prepared should an event occur on the journey which is unforeseen (breakdown, delays, puncture).
How not clearing ice off windscreens/windows/mirrors causes loss of vision which can cause accidents which affects arrival times.
How not properly organising the diary creates a day full of "rush rush" which can result in speeding or tailgating or lack of observations while driving, any of which can increase the risk of accidents.

I don't want to labour the point, but it really will be time well spent discussing what factors affect risk when we drive.  If they are struggling with this then turn the conversation around to a subject/topic they can relate to such as snowboarding, mountain biking, ice skating.... anything frankly that involves an element of risk.  If that is still a non-starter, be prepared to give an example of your own and be prepared to walk them through that slowly - you are assisting them to consider "cause & effect" which is not going to be blindingly obvious to everyone.  

As a little side note, if ever you are sat there with an unengaged pupil who is not connecting with what you are saying at all - do everything you possibly can to refrain from feelings of frustration, anger, judgement on your pupil.  You know it is precisely these moments when our pupils need us the most - their weakness is not their failing, it is our opportunity to assist them.

Good luck - don't forget your umbrella!