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.
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