Perhaps that might be a little disingenuous of me, but I do say it for a specific reason. Listening to the Major speaking it was quite clear that 'fall out' rate is an essential measure for the establishment. Within six weeks of brand new "Junior soldiers," they had lost 14 from 268. He was gutted but not surprised. People will put themselves into situations that they soon realise are beyond their comfort or capability levels; he appeared to be suggesting that the vast majority abort because they are just not ready to be leaving home yet. Pupils learning to drive also fall into a similar trap of literally having no apparent idea of the task in hand; they find they are in a learning environment which they have little understanding of how it can be effective.
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I've always said the easiest pupil for driving training is a military pupil. They have the self-discipline to pay attention, listen intently, and they recognise (possibly through previous painful military experiences) that it is ultimately in their interests to engage and apply effort.
At Harrogate, I rather took the Major's assertion of the importance to learn how to stand still as a quip. When we went on the parade ground and heard staff shout "Front rank, stand still" while he moves to the middle rank to get them aligned straight - boy, does that make the hairs on your neck stand on end?
We have so many parts of our society demonstrating their right not to conform, behave with individual flair and stick their fingers up to order or convention. As I type, there are protesters of all ages causing severe disruption on bridges in London while our police sit by and watch. Our MP's in the House stick their fingers up to any notion of serving the public who vote them into their position. While driving in Grantham this week, two young lads on a moped overtook us in a dense residential area, and while doing so, the passenger turns to my pupil and I and sticks up a middle finger. Off they continue, riding on the wrong side of the road, with no helmets on, at high speed.
Stand.......still. It is a short command, expressed very loudly with authority, unambiguous and we should not forget, the consequences of not doing precisely that would be profound. Military personnel that I have had experience of training in driving are without exception, polite, respectful, hardworking and engaging. In contrast, some civilian pupils do not look me in the eye; they often struggle to string a sentence together (don't get me talking about this need to insert "like" several times into every sentence). They do not understand how to help their cause, for example, they will not engage in resources that I provide for them, or they cannot think through their emotions and express inner thoughts. They appear to me to not be practised in thinking, evaluating and drawing conclusions. It comes across as sullen but is heartbreakingly sad.
Pupils of all ages will instinctively, overestimate their current driving ability (if they have any previous experience), underestimate the task in hand, and have unrealistic expectations about the effort required to overcome adversity, persevere and inwardly grow. From my experience, what differentiates the younger pupils is their apparent lack of spirit; some do give off an air of hopelessness.
But with military pupils, they hit the ground running. When they get in my car, they have previously engaged with all the pre-course resources. It is almost as if they are running on some superior battery strength that the civilian pupils do not possess. They shake my hand, look at me, they can express their feelings, and they seem to have more energy, vitality, one might say, purpose. These military pupils are practised in learning. They know how to learn. They understand the importance of not just knowing the rules of the road but complying with them. Military pupils do not drive at 33 in a 30 as civilians do. There seems to be an appreciation for the connection between training and competence. So many civilian pupils, especially younger males I have noticed, do not appear to be able to make a connection between how they practice/train and the resulting consequence. The 'magic wand' of driving training as I have referred to it previously.
"I'm taking no responsibility for recognising that I have weaknesses in my ability to do x, I have no desire to understand the reason why it is important to be able to do x and therefore I do not appreciate what is the consequence of not being able to do x."
And yet, how unfortunate it is that not only do those pupils still expect to get a full drivers licence (despite being given professional feedback of their weaknesses), but they very often have a parent or perhaps two who are reinforcing this unrealistic expectation almost as if the flaws do not exist. How utterly bizarre. There is a disconnect between normal behaviours of right and wrong where people are held to account for their actions. It is almost as if there is no benefit of the values in a civilised society. It surprises me not in the slightest that there is this educational gap between male and females where males are lagging; many that I see in my car have no sense of self-worth, they can't even effectively communicate a thought, let alone read my resources or write in their pupil handbooks. Read? Write? Think?
No comments:
Post a Comment