Inner calm

"Hold on a minute will you, just quiet for a second; I need to think."

You know that feeling?  Clarity of mind often comes in moments of quietness.

Here at BIG TOM, much emphasis is given to still, calmness in a learning environment.

Think beyond the need to have a break from distractions; as beneficial as that undoubtedly is.  Instead, think more about inner calm, rather than controlling external 'noise'.   There is a great deal of inner turmoil in the mind of our pupils as they attempt to navigate through the learning programme.  Learning by reading in silence is one thing, but driving around with a range of external influencers while attempting to think about driving actions is something entirely different.  The mind of our pupils is chaotic at times.  There is a mixture of emotions flying around.

Learning to drive can be perceived as incredibly exciting, annoying, satisfying, tedious, challenging, demanding, uncontrollable, traumatic, rewarding.  Pupils emotional state will flow between feelings of pride, disappointment, anger, resentment, conflict.  Much of this will be experienced in silence; oblivious to the driving instructor who does not enquire or have any skill in reading non-verbal body language.

Pupils need to recognise how they feel while driving, will affect performance.  Some of this inner turmoil will be consciously acknowledged but others not.  Frequently an instructor will enquire with their pupil about a passage of driving in terms of perceived safety, control or ability, and the answer will defy what the instructor has just observed.  

Pupils need assistance in recognising their emotional state.  PDI's, ADI's (and dare I say driving examiners) would benefit from appreciating how their inner turmoil affects their professional capability.
 
At BIG TOM we employ techniques that encourage quietness, still, calm, peace.  Rarely do people achieve optimal cognitive working while being in a state of chaos in their mind.