January 2008

Well, here I am again!! Life’s been really hectic and I’m sorry I haven’t been updating the blog, it kinda got put on the back burner whilst I earned some money and of course continued with my driving instructor lessons!

I have had ‘loads’ of classes since we last met. The classroom lessons were fine going over the multitude of questions that make up the majority of the theory test question bank… I have to say though that in September when I took my theory test I still came across questions that I hadn’t seen before arrhh… HOWEVER… I still PASSED! Only one issue though that darn Hazard Perception test!

Computer says ‘you are trying to cheat!’ - not really, but it did score me ZERO on one question for hiting the mouse button too many times close together, so it was nearly a fail for good ol’ me but luck was on my side… 95% on the multiple questions and 59 (had to have 57 to pass!) on the hazard perception. So Part 1 is done and under my belt hooray!

If anyone reading this is actually learning to be an instructor then I have to say that for me Part 2 was much more fun to learn and much more scary to sit the test for… Tune back in for the Part 2 ride…

Hey, Lesson 2 completed!

Went to class last week for an afternoon of fun and games in Finchley…

Parking there is still a nightmare, but this time I managed to park for FREE - yep you guessed it, all the parking meters were broken!!!

Had good fun in class, but did get a bit hacked off with the tutor asking me all the questions relating to teaching (I teach at the local College, so I guess he was just trying to trip me up..). Anyway, good confirmation of my teaching ability so I shouldn’t complain really.

There were eight students in class and I was the only female! This time though, it did seem that they’d done their homework. The on-site classes at this stage just seem to go over the end of unit questions from each module - no teaching as such. That’s OK but I’m getting impatient to start the ‘driving’ part. Have got my mock theory test booked for 8th August and was given module three on departure - another 350 multiple choice questions!

The hazard perception test was covered in class, looks interesting but could be tricky to get the timing right on the computer. You have to click the mouse button as soon as you notice a hazard and can get graded from 5 - 0 depending on how quickly you recognise the hazard. We get a practice session in class though so that’s something at least.

I’ve started to make more enquiries about the franchise option for teaching driving - some of the big named schools (BSM, AA etc.) look quite costly per week - equivilent of 15 hours worth of teaching in one case!  Still deciding what the best move will be - I’ll let you know more about these options and ideas as I formulate them.

Anyway onwards and upwards - must get answering those questions ….

Where am I now…

It’s amazing what you start to notice once you have a new hobby.  There are learner drivers everywhere!

I’ve been ploughing through my homework and am nearly ready for that return trip to Finchley tomorrow…  home I can keep the focus as having to do anything in a specific order is quite dificult for me. 

I’m glad to report that I have had my CRB check returned (no problems I hasten to add) and have now sent off for my registration with the DSA - this means that very soon I will be officially registered as a Potential Driving Instructor (PDI)  - who makes up all these titles??? 

I’m reaching the point now where I want to take my theory test just to feel that I’m making progress. Self study is not all it’s cracked up to be and I could really do with having some interaction with other students - self-motivation only goes so far. Anyway, I’m not a quitter and having committed to this financially, you can guarantee I WILL complete it.

I guess what I really need is to get on with the practical aspects and I can’t do that until I’ve completed the theory! Oh well, no use moaning, play by the rules and get there as quickly as you can… if any of you are thinking about taking this journey then I suggest shopping around and checking out the various teaching methods to see if you can find a school that brings in the practical driving aspects a bit faster than this course does!

Later this week I’ll be back to tell you how classroom session 2 goes - I’m sure that will buck me up a little. In the meantime though it’s back to the pen and paper to finish answering all those darn questions. See you soon folks and have a great week!

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Bye for now
Amanda

Getting Started…

OK - I signed on the dotted line and they gave me a box of goodies…  Module 1 (full of multiple choice questions), the idea here is to answer the questions without reading the four books that were in the box!  The answers are at the back of the Module, so you then get guidance on where you went wrong or why you got it right - I like that because with multiple choice questions and a bit of common sense you can get the answer right without knowing WHY!

So, being the good little student, I followed the instruction to answer the first four sets of twenty-five questions plus the ten ‘free-text’ questions at the end of the module - no problem!!!

Set One - 3 questions wrong uhmm, well did you know that if someone is driving too close to you in a line of traffic you should actually SLOW-DOWN (to increase the gap between you and the car in front) - I thought that would hack the driver off even more and send them into a complete state of ROAD RAGE and there’s no where to hide in a line of traffic!! Oh well, I guess the reason that if they crash into you, you won’t then crash into the vehicle in front does make a bit of sense…

I have to say I didn’t do too badly on the other questions, but I suppose the fact I’ve been driving for 25 years would help!  Anyway, I completed the questions in time for my return visit to Finchley and my first ‘Class-room’ lesson - how exciting…

Now you’d think that from my first expereince of trying to park near that College would have taught me a lesson but oh no this time I decided to have coffee with my friends after our Rotary meeting instead of just getting on the journey; so this time, not only couldn’t I find a parking space I was late as well ahhhhhhh.

Finally I got to class, not a big affair two men and one woman in the room already plus the Instructor… I have to say I’m not usually sexest but why is it that men don’t do their homework?  We two ladies stormed ahead with the correct answers whilst the guys sat there with that ‘I know it all’ look on their faces! Of course as all good teachers do, they were brought in to answer questions but were most indignant when their responses were modified - I could see this was going to be a long morning…..

I actually really enjoyed the class lesson that was of course until I heard what the next bout of homework was - complete Module One booklet and answer questions in Module Two; in total that’s another 330 questions in book one plus a whole new book - what have I done?

Well, I’m due back to class next Thursday (26th July) so I guess I’d just better get on with it - watch this space I’m sure they’ll be plenty more to tell…

Driving Lessons!

Cars - Tell me about yours…

This is where we’re going to build up a picture of all those great cars out there.

Tell me about your car, why did you choose it, what does the colour say about your personality, what do you love about that four wheeled friend and what drives you mad…

Why am I here…

What can I say, it’s great to see that 22 people have visited my blog. Thanks to my sister you are all visiting before I’ve even really got started!!  I don’t mind though because it means I have a real reason to be here now as you guys will be expecting something from me!!!

 I’ve been thinking about why I’ve got this blog and believe I now know, perhaps you’d like to share in why I’m here in the world of ‘blogging’…

As you can see this site is about Driving A Car but in fact it’s going to be a diary of my own journey into the world of being a Driving Instructor and setting up a new business - the PeopleRealm School of Motoring.

Back in early June 2007 I was sitting watching daytime TV (as you do when you work for yourself from home!!). An advert appeared on ITV4;  The Instructor College, Learn to be a driving instructor, ring this number NOW - so I did and before I knew it I’d been booked onto a ‘no obligation’ 2 hour programme on what it would be like to teach others how to drive.

So this was how it went…

Drive to Finchley in North London and try to locate a parking space - not an easy task oh apart from the ones where the parking meters don’t work!  Anyway, lateral thinking (and close observation of another determined driver!) led me to leave the car in the available space and hunt down another meter owned by the same Borough Council… SUCCESS a valid ticket on the car and still two minutes to spare!!

Up to the eigth floor of a somewhat shabby building, but the lift worked so that was a bonus. Enter the ‘Instructor College’…  you know how it is, you expect to find a scam of some sort but I couldn’t believe it. Class rooms (with appropriate materials), offices with people working and a very friendly receptionist - I later found out that she was an instructor herself! The meeting began, just four of us there to listen. A relaxed presentation, usual stuff, introductions, why did we want to teach driving so on and so forth.  Eventually the nitty-gritty came, how much would it cost?  Still ringing in my ears were the words ‘don’t sign up, read it all first’ from my own personal advisor Liz who never takes risks quite unlike myself!  Well Bradley went through the income potential and then said it’ll cost £3500 ummm  how many lessons would that take to recoup?

Anyway, still I had a ‘gut’ feeling that this would be good for me so when he said ‘anyone want an interview and suitability test TODAY’ my hand shot up! Before I knew it I was reading a number plate from 90ft then out in a learner driving car for a trial run and yes, you guessed it I’d signed on the dotted line before you had time to spin the wheels!!

So here I am, all signed up, module one in my hand and raring to go… 

Over the next couple of days I’ll bring you up to date on my progress but in the meantime, happy reading, happy driving and remember, stay safe on the road and follow the rules….

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Looking forward to seeing you back here soon.