Why we do the things we do

When you book yourself in for one of the online BIG TOM pedagogy training sessions, be prepared to start looking at things differently. It is a vital skill for an effective driving instructor.  I say "effective" for a good reason.

A young lass recently contacted me and couldn't explain to me on the phone why her driving instructor had advised her to book up a driving test but then dropped her, inexplicably, like a stone.  I, like you I'm pretty sure, immediately question the authenticity of what this pupil is telling me.  Right?  Treat anything that pupils say to us about previous training with a healthy dose of scepticism.

When this lass is sitting next to me in the car, and we are looking at each other face to face.  It turns out that there were, in fact, two driving instructors who had "rejected" this pupil.  

But why?  

No meaningful, logical, reasonable explanation was provided.  We moved on - life is too short.  All I could immediately pick up with absolute 100% certainty was that in front of me was a pupil lacking in confidence, showing signs of feeling lost and confused.  I could almost see this heavy rock sitting upon her young shoulders and boy was it laying heavy upon her.  And all this was noticed before she had even sat in the driver's seat.

Having spent some time working with this pupil, I start to notice some more points of interest.

She is smart.  Really smart.  She answers questions I put to her with razor-sharp accuracy.  She speaks softly, with little eye contact, but she is listening intently to everything I am saying and can recall key learning points without hesitation.  She asks excellent questions albeit with little riders at the start such as "I know this is a silly question" or "Sorry to ask you this but..."

However, her driving ability does have somewhat unpredictable elements that crop up from time to time.  She will force the gear lever into 1st when she attempts to do a 4th to 3rd or 5th to 3rd gear change.  She will steer too far left off the road when something is coming. She won't do useful observations at a junction before pulling out.  She will quite happily drive either left or right with no prior observations.

Talk to her about these issues, and she knows precisely what is required - which is borne out by the fact that 99% of gear changes, directional changes and junctions are carried out satisfactorily.

So what do we have here?  We have a pupil who is low in confidence, high in driving ability and knowledge but who makes occasional, but pretty catastrophic driving faults.

It's interesting to see this.  Or is it?  Do I dare say some driving instructors might choose other words to describe this situation? Risky, dangerous, infuriating, disappointing, frustrating,  harmful for the car.  Might some instructors even consider this pupil more trouble than the income generated is worth?

There seems to be a conflict as far as I can see.  One question that is at the very forefront of my mind which is staring at me with flashing lights and loud hooter sounds:  

"Why has this pupil who is committing these kinds of driving faults got a driving test booked up?"

That, I would suggest, is at the heart of this situation.  Why do we do the things we do?   Incredibly compelling case and one that for me, makes this job very challenging but also stimulating.

If you also find this subject interesting then consider signing up for some 'Pedagogy' foundation block driving instructor training with BIG TOM.  Call 0800 689 4174