How about an instructor who spins your car at about 100 mph, tears up about 250 feet of grass at Barber and stops about 5 feet from the wall after going through 250 feet of grass.

 

did he at least offer to pay the bill for cleaning the seats?

 

He was way more upset and stressed than I and he kept apologzing for several months afterward. I kind of felt bad for him . . .

 

I told you I was sorry!

 

Well, I read through all of the posts -- looks like none of my former students had an issue with me (yet), or they simply don't post on Rennlist....

Regarding communication, the amount of talking and adjusting your teaching -- it is paramount for an instructor to find the right communication for his/her student. Some people like "play by play" instruction, others like a less intense approach, and some like anything in between.

I will point blank tell my student that if my instruction isn't working for them, that they should tell me that I suck. And I will constantly verify that with them. I try to get a good read on a student early on, but if my 'read' is off, then I need the student to tell me. If the communication isn't working between us, then the weekend is miserable for both of us.

Just my $0.42,
-Z-man.

 

I was attending my 3rd DE event, the 1st in my then brand new 911. I hadn't been to the track in about 4 months and was really struggling with learning the line and kept getting lost on the track as there were a couple of sections of the track that looked a lot alike and I was having trouble remembering if a left turn or right turn was coming up next.

English was obviously a second language for my instructor as he spoke with a really thick accent. He didn't say much at first, he just sat in the passenger seat and observed. After I'd misplace the car coming out of a turn, he'd yell "You should be over there!!" When going through turns, he'd yell "You're not looking ahead!!!". His yelling was rather unstartling and would cause me to jerk the wheel in attempt to correct my car placement, violently stab the brakes, etc. and generally become less smooth. He'd yell at me AFTER I did something wrong instead of coaching about what I should do BEFORE it was time to do it.

At the end of the session, I felt belittled as he yelled and screamed about all of the things I did wrong..... not very encouraging. I'm sure he's as good of a driver as everyone said he is, but he was a TERRIBLE instructor.

I was bumped from the advance beginner group back down to the 1st time beginner group and assigned to a different instructor. After a couple of sessions with the second instructor, I was moved back up to the advance beginner group. The second instructor did more coaching and less yelling and was proactive with providing guidance through the parts of the track that were more difficult for me.

Clubs should have students complete evaluation forms on the instructors to help the instructors become better and weed out the ones that just aren't cut out for it.

 

WOW!! After reading this thread I have no complaints of my first ever instructor only that her being antsy in the seat made me nervous too and yelling (easy on the throttle!!!!!) for the first few laps until she realized I could actually drive. Also stayed in the car one session too long when I coulda been running solo. If someone uses profanity and yells at me in that manner in my car they get booted immediately. We were at a sucky track for instructing too.

 

Now that I am sometimes the passer and not always the passee, I have become keenly aware that some instructors need to use the mirrors better and tell their students to point faster cars by. The chiefs make this point at every event but inevitably some of us wind up riding a slower car's bumper or getting stuck in a train. I have a low-hp car so it's particularly annoying to get stuck behind someone who floors it in a passing zone rather than let me by. I understand that an inexperienced driver can't necessarily focus on the car, the line and the mirror - I know I couldn't - but if that's the case it should be the instructor's responsibility to direct the student to give a point-by.

 

You are absolutely correct, Ron. Next time this happens, if there is a download meeting, you need to mention it. Or, even better . . . get the car number, pull into the hot pits, and lodge a complaint with the start/finish flagger. They should then pull in the offending driver and hopefully solve the problem. That's what I'd do, anyway. I always make sure to watch my students' mirrors for them. I instruct them to do a point-by, even if I'm instructing a Ferarri being overtaken by a Miata.

 

So incredibly true. ALL trains in DE's in non-solo groups are 100% the fault of instructors, not students.

 

Every PCA and BMW Club DE I have been to over the last 3 years have had instructor evalutions.

Marc

 

During my first DE (and second instructor) he told me to ignore the rearview mirror. He watched the rear through the PS mirror and instructed me when to give the signal for pass bys. He was very clear, ""give one pass by", or "give two pass bys, one car at a time". It worked well, allowing me to concentrate on the course, and not on the rear view mirror.

 

i have taken the mirrors away before when a stuident is overly worried about cars behind. You can often "feel" when there is a car behind your student by subtle or not so subtle changes in their driving.

Cannot agree more than trains in the instructed groups being primarly the instructors fault. Every once in a while you get a student that needs much foucus and gets flustered and out of any kind of flow by having to point at each passing zone. This can make for a train to two as you get your student gathered up but overall I see too many student instructor teams not checking the mirrors.

 

I understand the point is that some new students are overwhelmed already and that the additional distraction of watching the mirrors can perhaps cause a loss of focus. If a new student is overly distracted by watching the mirrors, the instructor needs to get them refocused on the track ahead. But having said that, I personally think that its important to make sure students are aware from the first lap on the track of traffic around them including cars behind them. They don't have to make the decision of when to give the pass, but I think its important to build that awareness from the very beginning. This would include them glancing in their mirrors as appropriate. Makes it instinctive to them as they progress. Just my 2 cents as a fairly new DE'er myself.

 

When I get a student who is driving their mirrors, I just tell them, "Don't worry about that car in your mirror right now. They can wait until we get to the passing zone. Just concentrate on what you are doing ahead of you and I'll help you get them by when we hit the passing zone." This is often easier said than done, but it tends to relieve some of the stress, as now my student will learn to count on me to help them through their experience safely.