BIG TOM is recruiting for driving instructors - do you want to know what they are looking for?
Weird as it may seem, it's not great drivers, it's not experts in the field of automobiles. We want driving instructors who can help people in a meaningful way.
Can you recall from your school days a particular teacher who was supremely confident on the subject matter but did not have the first idea how to assist students in learning?
Knowledge of cars, clutches, gears, handling, engines is kind of good, kind of. Knowledge of learning techniques and people skills is an enormous advantage.
BIG TOM is successful not because we can get pupils to move a car without killing anyone. BIG TOM is successful because we can help people to learn skills, develop their driving experience in a safe, enjoyable learning environment.
Please get in touch with us on 0800 689 4174 if you are interested in joining us.
Please don't do it just because you "like driving" or have driven lorries, or been a traffic cop.
We are looking for people who can demonstrate experience in actually developing others.
Are you finding your current lifestyle is not providing you with feelings of pleasure and satisfaction? Do you feel like you are simply "going through the motions" or a prisoner in your own home? Not so much enjoying your conscious hours, as plodding through them; not long to go and then you can get into that bed again. Feelings of tiredness, achy muscles, too long spent looking at the phone or television. Monotony and lack of challenge lead to flatlining days of existence. You get to Christmas, again, still wondering why nothing seems to be changing. It can be very upsetting to realise that you are not getting as much out of life as you feel that you deserve.
But if there is one positive to get out of this sorry state of affairs that we call "Brexit" it is the wonderful opportunity and step change in mindset to review how things have happened in the past. The rulebook is being cast aside folks; this is precisely the time to stand up straight, be counted and make a change for the better. Chinese General Sun Tzu is quoted: "In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity."
The BIG TOM driving school franchise offers my readers a fabulous opportunity to join something new, exciting and revolutionary. The beauty is that the driving school is established, renowned, and prime for expansion with people just like you.
Take a minute or two to scrutinise the following few customer reviews that I've just captured from the website
"Just would like to say thanks once again for helping me pass my driving test. I will certainly recommend you to others. The two weeks of lessons I did with you were structured perfectly and managed to get me ready for testing within two weeks. Also the videos that you provide are extremely helpful. I didn't think I would be able to learn to drive so quick but you proved me wrong." Ben Parker from Bourne
"I did the BIG TOM 2 week intensive course as I was due to start a new job which required a driving licence. I cannot recommend Tom highly enough, he has a wonderful ability to put you at ease and he really let me take control of my own learning.
He focussed on making sure I was a confident, competent driver and not just focusing on scraping a pass.
The 2nd week was all about confidence and refinement of my skills & his honesty really helped in making sure I was more than prepared for test day.
Fantastic course, top guy, couldn't recommend any higher.
David" David de Benedictus from Sleaford
"I have enjoyed my intensive driving course, got to cover all aspects of driving within the week. I found that by doing an intensive driving course I was able to retain what I had learned easier than if I had done say a 2 hour driving lesson. I would recommend an intensive course to anybody. Same amount of hours over a shorter space of time which in my opinion is better than spread out over what can sometimes end up as months!! BIG TOM driving course has shown me that you can do it in a week if you want, it's great, as is Tom's attitude to his learners. I felt very comfortable throughout. Tom is nice and patient. I would recommend him to anyone. Thanks Tom!" Sarah Shepherd from Pointon
"After an enjoyable and positive driving experience this week, I am happy to recommend Big Tom Driving School to anyone looking to have lessons. Tom has a natural ability to offer multiple strategies for learning to drive whilst also encouraging students to maintain autonomy over their learning. His calm and friendly personality also put me at ease immediately; leaving me free to learn the skills required. I never felt pressured or silly following mistakes I made, which was a refreshing change to instructors that I have worked with previously. Thank you so much Tom" Ria Steventon from Peterborough
"Before starting my 5 day intensive driving course with BIG TOM, I'd previously already had MANY hours of driving experience under my belt and had already gone and failed 6 TESTS. I would say that my confidence in myself and ability to actually drive was shot. I was really nervous about the whole thing, from meeting Tom and actually getting back on the road, as I'd not driven for around 8 months after failing the 6th test.
Within half an hour of meeting BIG TOM, I felt really at ease and comfortable with him. Midway through the week, I was still having doubts after doing a mock test with Tom, which was truly awful. BIG TOM didn't let me give up on myself and we had many pep talks which then gave me the confidence to keep going. By the end of the 5 day course, I'd finally PASSED MY TEST! Honestly, without BIG TOM's supportive and open teaching style I don't think I would ever have passed my test. Even when you make mistakes, BIG TOM remains very calm, cool and collected, which made the experience very comfortable for me as a pupil.
I can't thank BIG TOM enough and for someone like me, who has unpleasant experiences with driving/Instructors over the years, I couldn't recommend BIG TOM enough!!" Abbie Scott-Brown from Ruskington
Customers do not make these kinds of remarks by chance. No-one is holding a gun to their head and saying "write something nice". The reviews are voluntary and freely given by satisfied customers. They could be talking about you! How would that make you feel? You are not just providing life-changing skills to people, but you are doing it in a manner in which good folk appreciate.
Let me leave you with one last remark made by a British General: Douglas Haig in an order to the British Army on 12/04/1918, it goes as follows:
"Every position must be held to the last man:
there must be no retirement. With our backs to the wall,
and believing in the justice of our cause,
each one of us must fight on to the end."
Dramatic stuff! Inspiring, motivational; triggering senses of patriotism, courage, moral fibre, just cause, suffering, commitment, duty and most importantly..... action!
There are times, even when not in war, when we need to stop procrastinating, dithering and simply act. It takes courage, desire, ambition and effort, but with effort comes reward. I very much hope this inspires you to contact the BIG TOM franchise on recruit@BIGTOM.org.uk
'Modelling' from a driving instructor is a key attribute of effective teaching, which is why it is important to raise your own self-awareness as a professional driving instructor. Take how you deal with mistakes, for example.
Your childhood may have been indelibly marked in your mind by a domineering parent or an abusive or neglectful relationship. It could well have moulded your mindset of self-perception permanently. You may instinctively feel 'weak' when speaking to a person in a position of higher authority. It could have affected your ability to manage relationships with teachers or maybe bosses at work. Perhaps peers in a working environment are a challenge when you feel like you are being observed, judged or even spoken about.
As a result, unbeknown to you, your emotional reactions to anything competitive can be extreme. Targets at work, appraisal objectives, bonus payments, selection for promotion, interviews, even not being given space to have your voice in a group of people.
These things are often self-perpetuating: one thing leads to another such as it can affect your attitude towards making mistakes which then leads to you not challenging yourself or going the extra mile.
But really my point is, that this outlook that you have developed can very easily also project itself on how you react to your pupils too. This is where modelling comes in.
Let's take how you would deal with a pupil who stalls in a busy street. I had this last night; the stall created an instant and profound reaction from drivers behind. As is always the case, it is important first of all to root-cause why things happen. My pupil last night was attempting to move off from queuing traffic at a red light, on a slight gradient, without the use of the handbrake. A clever, challenging, courageous thing to practice for a novice driver with only 8 hours under her belt. Balls of steel - and I absolutely loved it. One might argue that she really should be practising that kind of technique on a hill when there is no-one around, and yes, I would quite agree. But she KNEW what she was doing. She KNEW what was required. She was merely practising it in an awkward, perhaps inappropriate context. Hardly the crime of the century. Yes, it inconvenienced some behind by about 20 seconds, but my pupil's progress is my priority. We talked it through in a positive discussion where I praised her for her efforts.
She is not frightened to try with the potential of failing, and I deeply admire that attitude to learning. Please do not allow your own mindset (in this case, about making mistakes) to project on to your pupils and prevent them from growing. If that means you need to seek some professional assistance in developing your self-awareness then don't delay, seek it, your pupils will thrive as a result.
BF Skinner is quoted as saying: "It has often been remarked that an educated man has probably forgotten most of the facts he acquired in school and university. Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten."
It raises the question of how important is it for a newly qualified driver to remember the techniques in their driving training?
Do motor skills tend to 'stick' better than cognitive skills? How much do attitudes and beliefs have a bearing on the retention of driving skills? Which techniques can be used to improve longer-term learning? How good is the driving test at assessing drivers habitual driving techniques?
When driving instructors are 'teaching' learner drivers, are they tapping into rich mindfulness techniques; helping their pupils to develop a growth mindset?
It is very easy to tell by the way. One only needs to observe who is at the heart of the working relationship between pupil and instructor. If I see an instructor who is displaying behaviours of disappointment, frustration and irritation of pupils' driving behaviours, "judgement" is a key component of their learning environment.
'Scaffolding' is a technique often used to bolster motivation and success in driving training here at BIG TOM. It creates an environment of learning that is safe, constructive and positive. It is not intended to be utilised permanently or to lessen challenge for our pupils. Indeed, we should never shy away from the possibility of making mistakes - this is equally true for ourselves as driving instructors as much as it is for our pupils.
You might be mindful that when a pupil who is working away very hard with effort, it does not, in itself, make for positive outcomes. It is our role to facilitate the development of learning in our pupils by creating an open, purposeful dialogue that is guiding and supportive. To do this, BIG TOM Driving School Franchise has a culture of improving knowledge and understanding by utilising up to date, professional resources for driving instructor franchisees.
Independent driving instructors can often sense isolation, especially when subjected to a particular trigger that stirs emotions of fear, confusion or anxiety. These triggers arise for many different reasons, and the intensity of loneliness varies accordingly.
In the BIG TOM Driving School Franchise, driving instructors are supported to overcome these trigger events. Very often, it is possible to mitigate the trigger by merely paying attention to the advice given in the franchise of best practice. BIG TOM operates within a framework of solicitude benefitting pupils and driving instructor franchisees.
Organisations that provide a service relating to personal enrichment, e.g. training or education are sometimes subjected to obloquy directly or indirectly. Frequently, it arrives with no previous warning. A lone driving instructor on the receiving end of a direct verbal attack can have deeply mental consequences to well-being. How some people behave with antipathy towards others, cannot always be rationalised and attempting to understand the motivation can in itself be deeply traumatic.
Self-doubt might creep into your conscious thoughts, leaving you feeling dazed, momentarily distracted, lost in the moment. Even your unconscious mind can get affected, where your sleep is disturbed. The working day has occasional capricious moments which a driving instructor may or possibly may not recognise the root cause.
It takes a brave soul to ask for help.
In a 1:1 working environment, the mental health of pupil and driving instructor are of equal importance for a productive relationship. The induction training that BIG TOM provides for new franchisees centres around a framework of planning, monitoring and evaluation.
For a free 1/2 hour 1:1 no-obligation video chat with owner Tom Ingram, email "Support" to recruit@BIGTOM.org.uk You will be glad you did.
I suspect the average age of my blog readers will be around 40+ Have you sadly witnessed yet an elderly family member who is ready to die? They have lost the fight. Doctors can intervene as much as they like, it will not change much. Once you qualify as a driving instructor, I rather suspect you will come across pupils who have come to the conclusion that they do not need to learn any more. It is a done deal. Car control was actually their goal. The DVSA driving standard goals does not interest them, in the slightest. "Don't talk to me about my responsibilities." They really want to be ABLE to drive around with little care in the world, no concern how they affect other road users, little regard for conventions in the Highway Code. Speed limits? Nahhh. Pupils who demonstrate such an "Attitude & Effort" determine how much they learn. You better believe that. The BIG TOM driving school franchise is very used to identifying this type of pupil and managing outcomes. Experienced driving instructors really struggle to work with this kind of pupil. As a newly qualified driving instructor, you will need all the support that the BIG TOM franchise offers you. You better believe that. Don't fall into the trap of recognising they could possibly pass the driving test though, so, let's let them go for it. You know, you actually KNOW that their driving skills are not up to the standard required for independent driving - DO NOT DO IT. Their parents won't thank you when they have an accident. You better believe that.
You would be forgiven for thinking that a pupil who has passed the theory test (which includes the hazard perception section) would be able to transfer that skill when they drive. Not necessarily true.
If you are observing that your pupil is reacting late to developing hazards, have a discussion about the transfer of this skill. Pupils must recognise the practical value of the theory study when learning to drive.
The extent to which a pupil perceives hazards when driving could be entirely different from how they perform when riding a bike, for example. Why is that? Ask them. A PDI who asked that kind of cognitive question when training with me would be rightly praised - that is a smart question. Why is it smart? You have no idea what the answer is (although you may have suspicions). More importantly, it is the kind of question that encourages pupils to think deeply. Thinking at deeper levels is a pre-requisite for effective, long-term learning.
Let's say that your pupil can't put their finger on the mis-match. They hear what you are saying, they do not outwardly disagree with you, but they literally can't tell you why they are not identifying hazards when driving that they normally would when cycling. What to do?
Pause the car in a safe place by a busy town road that they know well. Encourage them to consider what possible reasons there might be why they do not see hazards developing as they drive up that road. In other words, encourage them to imagine. They may need a helping hand to get them going, but at some point, it will do them good to visualise driving up that road and imagine what might develop. This is a skill that differentiates us from other living creatures: the power to imagine. If your pupil can start imagining what might occur when they are driving, then they will be one step closer to being able to manage any given situation.
At some point, there will be a recognition that some hazards require positive action on the part of the driver approaching it, and others, need to be kept an eye on. It is a skill to be able to differentiate and prioritise hazards that occur while driving.
Often you will be able to ask your pupil to activate a previously covered subject and ask them how that knowledge can be transferred to a new subject. For example, you may have covered how the lack of vision up ahead on a country road often results in slowing down so as to be able to stop in the distance seen to be clear. Assuming they do, once your pupil recalls that learning point, ask them to imagine what might occur driving on the busy town road where that same learning point will be relevant. A dustbin lorry paused, wanting to turn right, will very likely restrict vision as you approach from behind intending to pass it to the left. The lack of vision, should by all accounts, result in a lowering of speed (and possibly gears). Your pupil can imagine there is every possibility that someone might be coming out of that junction that they cannot see.
On BIG TOM driving instructor training, you will be made aware of different techniques that can be utilised to facilitate these learning points. Consider these techniques like tools in your kit bag. It is very handy to not only have the right tool for the job but have a choice of tools. You do not have to sign up to in-car training to raise your awareness of cognitive and metacognitive skills - a one-hour video call for £20 will cover a lot of ground.
I would not want to give the eager PDI reading this blog the impression that the above is a given. It really isn't. Some pupils will need assistance in metacognitive knowledge of how they learn. I am always very wary of how authors (especially in our industry) either state on a video or write in a blog how easy it is to ask the "right question" at the right time and pop open their pupil's mind like opening a tin of beans. Hey presto, their pupil automatically starts engaging them in 'deep-thinking' conversation as sure as night follows day; not so readers.
Five hours ago, a lady posted up a question on one of my YouTube videos about emerging right using a central reservation area:
"I'm looking for a video about where to wait when making a u turn in between a central reservation. Naturally you'd want to wait on the right side, because that's closest to us, but since we drive on the left in this country we'd wait on the left. I'm confused, please help"
Although I suspect there may be more to this discussion, my initial reply has been:
Hi Jane For starters you do have to check that what you are planning (in the circumstances you describe) is legal, as that is not a given. You might want to consider why in some cases they do not want vehicles doing U turns. But assuming it is legal, then you would need to be paused in the "safe" area of the central reservation. You can't wait in the lanes (whichever lane) as you would then be a hazard, so you really have no choice but to pause in the area where the gap in the central reservation is. Am I reading your question as you intended? Is that making sense? ...tom
I'm encouraging Jane to imagine for a moment why it is illegal in some locations to do a u-turn. There is an opportunity there for some deep thinking, as the answer will not be immediately obvious to all. There will be graphics that can be shown, when in-car she could go to a variety where either she or I drive. We could attempt to tie the Highway Code knowledge into practical training. She could be asked to imagine what possible outcomes could occur for a variety of different places that she might pause; this develops her ability to risk assess. She might be asked to consider how often this situation is likely to arise and in what circumstances it does crop up (putting context to the discussion). Just because something might be legal, it does not follow that it is safe and appropriate. I can think of plenty of examples on the A1 where I would not even use the area Jane speaks of to turn right on to the A1, let alone do a legal u-turn; and yet they are perfectly legal. Does Jane have to experience these dangerous situations herself to learn this point or can she imagine the risks involved?
