Driver’s education schools. Who works at them? What makes these people qualified to teach your student how to drive?
Glad you asked! Not just anyone is drawn to be a driver’s education instructor. Let’s look at who these people are that are teaching the future generation how to take their lives in their own hands on Texas public roads.
Long gone are the days of a teenager taking driver’s education as a high school course with a coach who may or may not be paying attention to what they are doing. Most high schools in Texas no longer offer driver’s ed. Now you have a mixture of current or retired teachers, retired law enforcement, parents and those from the business world who want to contribute to society through teaching young people (and sometimes those not so young) how to drive.
The position attracts individuals who enjoy being around teenagers. In the world of adulting, it’s easy to forget the mindset of a teenager who is about to enter the real world. The questions they have and the perspectives they bring makes even the most seasoned instructor look at things from a different angle. Many times, there is such a rich connection that can be developed between a student and an instructor, that the instructor finds themselves being a mentor for other areas of the student’s life during the time the student is going through driver’s training at a driving school. So, while a parent is paying for driver’s education, they are also getting another voice from the community to help guide their student in life decisions. Sometimes the student will pop in a few months later to tell the instructor hi and give an update on the advice they were given.
This position attracts those who have a desire to teach. This may be because they had a positive experience when they were teaching their own child how to drive or because they already have education in their background and want to take their teaching experience to an additional format. This being a unique format that has a one to one ratio versus a one to thirty ratio like a traditional classroom. There is a deep desire to help the student see the difference in an observant, defensive driver versus the average distracted drive with road rage we so often come across and then challenge the student to apply the observations to their own driving behavior.
The job obviously requires someone with patience. Students often make comments that they are used to their parents yelling at them when learning how to drive. Parents aren’t paying good money just to have someone yell at their student. The instructor needs to be able to put the student at ease. Then the student will be better prepared to learn.
Another bonus of taking your student to a driving school is the variety of personalities they will connect with. There are many times when a student is with an instructor whose personality matches their learning preference and makes learning how to drive enjoyable. Students often can pick the instructor they are with when they are signing up for drive times. When they pick their favorite instructor, they are more eager for their next driving session because they know the experience they are going to have is a positive one. A student without much experience will come away from their drive session with much more confidence when they have been with an instructor they connect with. Since there are seven sessions required by the state for the student to do, that’s up to seven times the student has the opportunity to boost their self confidence while learning some of the most important skills they will need to know in life!
In addition to all of these characteristics of instructors at a driving school, there is the professional training they have done to be in their position, the annual state requirements for training, and the fact that the instructors work in an atmosphere where they can learn from each other on how to be better at what they do. Add to that, a company like Maverick Driving Academy has 4 locations with 30 employees and a person assigned as a supervisor to train and check on all the instructors to make sure quality instruction is going on. That’s a lot of resources for a driving instructor to take advantage of when needed!
Saying all of that, how can we be of service to you or someone you know with driving education needs?
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