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Let's face it, drivers ed isn't fun. It's an unfortunate hoop you have to jump through to get the learners permit. Unlike a lot of kids who get their license right when they turn 16, I decided I wasn't ready till I was almost 18. I'm an anxious person and I have OCD, so this was NOT a fun thing for me. But what makes it even less fun is having Captian Douchebag (CD) as an instructor.
There was a 3 week class in which we would do textbook excercises, watch horrible, depressing videos about car accidents (way to encourge driving), and try to memorize everything I'm supposed to do in class. So naturally, I was made to feel even more nervous than I was before, trying to get everything just right. However, my over cautious self annoyed CD. I knew from the start that this guy did not like me, even though he never admitted it. You know how you can tell if someone doesn't like you? That's the feeling I got from him. Every time I asked a question, he would sigh, and answer in that "There he goes again" voice.
So then comes the fun, my first drive with him was scheduled right after the second to the last class. It was me and some other kid and we'd take turns, in half hour intervols. First, he criticized me for scheduling all my driving times with him so late. Okay, what ever. Then CD asked any of us if we did any driving with our parents (HELLO WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR PERMITS YET!), when we both said no, he said something along the lines of "kids these days". So apparently, we were supposed to have broken the law and driven without our permits.
So after the other kid does his driving, CD has me do my VERY FIRST DRIVE, in a parking lot. He went over all the features, the mirrors, the turn signal, all that stuff, and he went over it quickly. Okay, I can't say I blame him for being nervous since I had a complete mindfart and forgot to put on my seatbelt (doh!). When I started out, I made a lot other mistakes. I had one foot on the brake and one foot on the excelerator. I also failed on the hand over hand steering. Basically, it took me a few minutes to get know how to do things.
The problem is that Captain Douchebag expected that I know this stuff right away because it was in the textbook! (Yeah, because we ALL KNOW that it's just like reading a book). He was rushing me through the whole thing! I was already skaken up, so I was hitting the brake quite a bit. So after a few minutes, he confirms everything I believed about him and shouts "JESUS CHRIST RAGEAHOLIC!! TURN LEFT!!!". He would also say "You're scaring me rageaholic!". Yeah, way to boast my confidence, ya prick!
Did it end there? Well for that drive, pretty much, but for the other drives, he would pull the same stuff, rushing me when I would least need it, swearing, acting impatient, and just not making this the least bit pleasent for either of us. Thing is, I wasn't doing anything stupid or dangerous, according to him, I was over cautious. Well, after being scared from all those damn videos and by his swearing, you're damn right I was going to be over cautious. He would yell at me for going 5 miles UNDER the speed limit, saying that other people want to get by. Then one time, there was a scheduling snafu. I was scheduled for 4:30, but he read it as 2:30, he started yelling at my mom over the phone blaming her for it. Never mind that I had scheduled for 4:30.
I think the thing that really showed his character and attitude was when we were on our last drive. He pointed out some guy taking a walk, and assumed that since he was taking a walk, he didn't have his license and had to drive everywhere. He started talking about how bad it must be to be an adult and half to walk everywhere because you don't have your license. And I'm driving there thinking, "You're telling me this, why?". He also had the nerve to say that learning to drive is one of the easiest things you'll ever learn. It's so obvious he was trying to make some kind of point, but he came across as a total douche (which was consistent with his character).
So in summery, I may not have been the best student, but he should NOT have been teaching drivers ed. A drivers ed instructor should be patient, not flipping out over every mistake the student makes. Luckly, I now have my license, and have not gotten a single ticket (so take captain douchebag!).
There was a 3 week class in which we would do textbook excercises, watch horrible, depressing videos about car accidents (way to encourge driving), and try to memorize everything I'm supposed to do in class. So naturally, I was made to feel even more nervous than I was before, trying to get everything just right. However, my over cautious self annoyed CD. I knew from the start that this guy did not like me, even though he never admitted it. You know how you can tell if someone doesn't like you? That's the feeling I got from him. Every time I asked a question, he would sigh, and answer in that "There he goes again" voice.
So then comes the fun, my first drive with him was scheduled right after the second to the last class. It was me and some other kid and we'd take turns, in half hour intervols. First, he criticized me for scheduling all my driving times with him so late. Okay, what ever. Then CD asked any of us if we did any driving with our parents (HELLO WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR PERMITS YET!), when we both said no, he said something along the lines of "kids these days". So apparently, we were supposed to have broken the law and driven without our permits.
So after the other kid does his driving, CD has me do my VERY FIRST DRIVE, in a parking lot. He went over all the features, the mirrors, the turn signal, all that stuff, and he went over it quickly. Okay, I can't say I blame him for being nervous since I had a complete mindfart and forgot to put on my seatbelt (doh!). When I started out, I made a lot other mistakes. I had one foot on the brake and one foot on the excelerator. I also failed on the hand over hand steering. Basically, it took me a few minutes to get know how to do things.
The problem is that Captain Douchebag expected that I know this stuff right away because it was in the textbook! (Yeah, because we ALL KNOW that it's just like reading a book). He was rushing me through the whole thing! I was already skaken up, so I was hitting the brake quite a bit. So after a few minutes, he confirms everything I believed about him and shouts "JESUS CHRIST RAGEAHOLIC!! TURN LEFT!!!". He would also say "You're scaring me rageaholic!". Yeah, way to boast my confidence, ya prick!
Did it end there? Well for that drive, pretty much, but for the other drives, he would pull the same stuff, rushing me when I would least need it, swearing, acting impatient, and just not making this the least bit pleasent for either of us. Thing is, I wasn't doing anything stupid or dangerous, according to him, I was over cautious. Well, after being scared from all those damn videos and by his swearing, you're damn right I was going to be over cautious. He would yell at me for going 5 miles UNDER the speed limit, saying that other people want to get by. Then one time, there was a scheduling snafu. I was scheduled for 4:30, but he read it as 2:30, he started yelling at my mom over the phone blaming her for it. Never mind that I had scheduled for 4:30.
I think the thing that really showed his character and attitude was when we were on our last drive. He pointed out some guy taking a walk, and assumed that since he was taking a walk, he didn't have his license and had to drive everywhere. He started talking about how bad it must be to be an adult and half to walk everywhere because you don't have your license. And I'm driving there thinking, "You're telling me this, why?". He also had the nerve to say that learning to drive is one of the easiest things you'll ever learn. It's so obvious he was trying to make some kind of point, but he came across as a total douche (which was consistent with his character).
So in summery, I may not have been the best student, but he should NOT have been teaching drivers ed. A drivers ed instructor should be patient, not flipping out over every mistake the student makes. Luckly, I now have my license, and have not gotten a single ticket (so take captain douchebag!).
Glad you got your license, at least.
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