{"id":9606,"date":"2012-07-20T15:37:40","date_gmt":"2012-07-20T15:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=9606"},"modified":"2023-05-13T00:16:00","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T23:16:00","slug":"pupils-who-just-disappear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=9606","title":{"rendered":"Pupils Who Just Disappear!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is a very old post.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I noticed someone was asking about pupil dropout rates – where someone starts taking lessons, then stops and you never hear from them again. They were worried that they might be doing something wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first thing is: it happens! Anyone who claims they don\u2019t get any dropouts is being economical with the facts. But what are the reasons for it when it happens?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no single reason, and in most cases it\u2019s a complex mix of factors. Let\u2019s consider a few of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t afford the lessons<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re a cheapo offering stupid lesson prices, or a canny business operator who charges the going rate. If someone can\u2019t afford lessons then \"Beggingthere is always a risk they\u2019ll disappear completely at some point. Some instructors are so far out of touch with reality that they simply cannot understand how someone without a job and very little money is often going to turn out to be unreliable and highly likely to not be able to afford lessons at all at some stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps understandably, those who are so close to the breadline – and who see being able to drive as a means to gaining employment – are often embarrassed by their predicament and if they stop lessons at some point, some of them won\u2019t come back to you when they start again. The unfortunate fallout from this is that they\u2019re not going to tell their new instructor the truth and will concoct some reason for having switched instructors. Work out for yourself what possible reasons they could give that don\u2019t involve them telling the real story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t like the lesson prices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not quite the same as above. In my experience, people in affluent areas can be very bad for this. They live in huge houses, have three cars on the drive (at least two of which will be Mercedes or other top marques), and absolutely detest<\/strong> paying for driving lessons for their offspring. They\u2019re also the ones most likely to start a conversation with you involving how they only had six lessons before they passed, or attempting to negotiate \u201ca deal\u201d (i.e. lower prices).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a lot of these cases, it is the pupils themselves who are financing lessons through the handful of hours of low-paid work they do after school. Maybe mum and dad are trying to teach them how they have to earn<\/strong> their way through life. But either way, your hold on them could be tenuous if they resent having to pay you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t get on with my instructor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a tricky and very complex one. Assuming that you aren\u2019t a complete arsehole in the car, the amount of baggage some pupils carry around with them is unbelievable. Angst-ridden teens are always ready to blame the world for their own shortcomings, whilst simultaneously holding on to the belief that they know more than the rest of the world put together. If you press the wrong buttons – and sometimes, pressing ANY button is the wrong thing to do – they could be history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember a few years ago teaching a girl who was a nightmare in the car – she just would NOT talk, even with the most extensive prompting. It was impossible to hold any sort of conversation. I know it wasn\u2019t anything I was doing wrong, but according to her mum (after I\u2019d questioned this to see if there were any known issues) she was the \u201clife and soul\u201d when she was with her friends. Honestly, there was no way that could be true (parents are nearly always defensive about their kids), but you can\u2019t help questioning your own approach when you get someone like this. Anyway, I got her through her test (2nd time) and later discovered she was doing Pass Plus – with another school, because she \u201cwanted a female instructor\u201d. I suspect the amount of prompting I had to do might have been part of the reason she said that, but it still doesn\u2019t hide the fact that she had serious communication problems from Day One. And I dread to think what she was telling that female instructor about me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want a female (or male) instructor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to be honest, but this one does<\/strong> hurt. You\u2019ve got to wonder why someone would be so stupid as to choose a male (or female) instructor, only to want to change for precisely that reason a few weeks later. It can be a particular (albeit less worrying) problem with non-UK nationals (particularly Muslims). I had one Muslim woman who needed a chaperone on her lessons (her husband or daughter), and who had to change to a female instructor because of the restrictions it placed on her availability for lessons. There were no hard feelings on either side – it was just something that had to happen. And Muslim males – especially older ones – sometimes resent being taught by female instructors, but this doesn\u2019t seem to be as common as it once was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I said above, though, I worry what stories they tell their next instructor. I\u2019ve picked up loads of pupils with what I\u2019d consider to be \u201dserious issues\u201d, and not one of them has ever said it was their<\/strong> fault they left their last instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be honest, if I went solely on the bad stuff I\u2019ve heard from female pupils I\u2019ve taken on over the years I\u2019d have to conclude that over 90% of males on the ADI Register are \u201cpervy\u201d, \u201ccreepy\u201d, \u201cdirty\u201d, and so on. Statistically, that doesn\u2019t give me much chance, does it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want an older instructor<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Older learners – especially non-UK ones – sometimes resent being taught by instructors who are younger than their own kids. I\u2019ve never come across the opposite case of someone wanting a younger<\/strong> instructor, though if you ARE a younger instructor I\u2019m sure you can convince yourself its some sort of selling point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t really want to learn to drive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This might seem surprising, but many young people are either pushed into learning to drive by t\"Stroppyheir parents (or boyfriends\/girlfriends), or think that they\u2019ve just \u201cgot to do it\u201d for some reason. The only drawback is that they don\u2019t really want to, and it is therefore easier for them to come up with reasons to skip lessons and eventually just stop altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an ADI, I find it disconcerting to encounter a pupil who isn\u2019t enthusiastic – and is never going to be. I had one last year who said \u201cI don\u2019t really want to learn to drive, and I don\u2019t like driving, but I want to get it out of the way before I go to University in October\u201d. We managed to get one test in, which he failed, and I haven\u2019t heard from him since. No doubt his failure was my<\/strong> fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another aspect of this problem involves older learners. These are sometimes far more nervous or self-critical. The nerves affect their enjoyment. Being overly critical of themselves can make them think they aren\u2019t going to learn, and that can lead them to stop taking lessons. Of course, if someone tells them it\u2019s their instructors fault they can\u2019t learn, they could decide to jump ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t getting anywhere<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another tricky one. If I pick up a pupil who has had maybe 10-20 hours of training but only covered quiet roads and none of the manoeuvres I\u2019m immediately surprised. I rarely get pupils of my own – even those with huge sacks of \u201cissues\u201d to lug around, and no innate driving skills at all – who I don\u2019t get out on to main roads and turning the car around within a few lessons (a turn in the road in a quiet industrial estate teaches a lot about clutch control and awareness of other if used properly). In the cases where those I pick up are actually normal<\/strong>, and can learn quickly, there must be something in their complaint about not progressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, if there are \u201cissues\u201d and lack of driving skills, then some people WILL progress less quickly than others. The average 17-year old male \u201cknows\u201d that it only takes 10 hours to learn to drive because his dad said so. Or sometimes it will be his best mate, who has been stealing cars and driving illegally since he was three, and who passed first time after only a handful of lessons (but who had been learning \u201cunofficially\u201d for the previous 10 or more years). Or maybe again it will be a few gallons of extra testosterone resulting in someone who took 50 hours claiming only 20 (young males do that, believe me). So the fact that he has never driven before, and then turns out not to be a natural driver, tends come as a bit of a disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned above, older drivers often expect to be able to achieve things more quickly than they\u2019re capable of. Don\u2019t get me wrong – some learn  faster than some<\/strong> 17-year olds, and some learn as fast as most<\/strong> 17-year olds<\/a> – but it tends to be harder to learn new skills as you get older for most people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My instructor [fill in the blanks with some alleged behaviour]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can have shouting<\/strong> – that one comes up a lot. I\u2019ve mentioned before that shouting is in the ear of the listener. I don\u2019t shout AT<\/strong> them (well, I did once), but if I\u2019m on a lesson and we\u2019re driving at 70mph on a dual carriageway, and we start to drift towards the kerb, another car, or a tree lying in the road, then I will raise my voice<\/strong>. How much depends on how terrified I am by the impending catastrophe. I\u2019m not shouting at<\/strong> them, but if they think I am it\u2019s their problem. My life counts for more than their fragile and confused  emotional states, I\u2019m afraid<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had more than one conversation over the years which has gone something like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cYou make me nervous when you shout.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou were already about to hit that bus before I\u2019d even opened my mouth. YOU<\/strong> scream or panic when you\u2019re on a scary ride at the funfair, don\u2019t you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I am that<\/strong> frightened by something, I AM GOING TO RAISE MY VOICE<\/strong> whether you like it or not. It is my way of screaming in terror before I try and sort it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Then there are the allegations about behaviour – I\u2019ve already mentioned the \u201ccreepy\u201d and \u201cpervy\u201d ones, but you\u2019ve also got \u201cstopping and talking for ages\u201d, \u201ctalking about his\/her private life\u201d, \u201cstopping for a smoke\u201d, \u201csmoking in the car\u201d, \u201cfinishing lessons early\u201d, \u201cturning up late\u201d, \u201ccancelling lessons\u201d, and so on. I\u2019m sure you could add many others to this list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You just have to remember that even though all things to do with driving might be your<\/strong> lifeblood as in instructor infatuated with cars, the whole learning to drive thing probably doesn\u2019t even make it on to the top fifty for 90% of teenagers. Some of them are still mentally kids (you can often tell this from where you pick them up and drop them off – one of mine often gets dropped off near a sports field where she and a gang of her mates (and boyfriend) hang around smoking), and God help you if one of them falls in \u201clove\u201d while they\u2019re taking lessons! Driving lessons disappear off the radar when that happens. Others might be more mature, but they are still young and have young people\u2019s priorities – like work, University, and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the problem of dropout is going to vary by area. If you work in deprived areas, money is always going to be an issue, for example. If you work in more affluent locations, University will always be on the horizon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what should you do? Well, if you\u2019re sure it isn\u2019t you (and I know<\/strong> it isn\u2019t me<\/strong> when it happens), just forget about them. Chasing them makes it look like you\u2019re desperate for work, and even if they come back they\u2019ll still be unreliable. It\u2019s your choice, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as I said right at the start. It happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n