I Thought of Being a Driver Education Teacher But I’m Glad I Didn’t Pursue It
Did You See The Car
I remember a teacher I had known in college.
His only goal when he started teaching was to leave teaching but remain in the education system.
He worked for about ten years before he got the chance to leave the classroom.
He applied every year to be the driver education teacher at his school but never got it; he finally got the driver education teaching job.
He was so happy because he didn’t have to write curriculums and lesson plans; that was his ticket to smooth sailing into retirement; he also got reassigned to another duty at school with his driver education duties.
I lost touch with him after he got the driver education job but ran into him one day. “How do you like teaching driver education?” was my first question when I saw him.
In the years he was the driver education teacher, he had been in several accidents and close calls while the students were driving.
He still had control on the passenger side with teacher control fitted into the car, but he said it was still dangerous.
He was athletic with no health issues, and when I saw him years later, he was grossly overweight and had health issues; I remember that day because I never forgot the advice he gave me.
He told me, “stay in the classroom.”
He said his downward spiral in health was because of the stress from teaching driver education; I remember asking him if there were any special skills to teach driver education.
He said, “yeah!”
All you need to know is to learn how to say:
Stop!
Brake!
What the hell were you thinking?!
Red means to stop, yellow means slow down, and green means go.
Did you see that person walking across the street?
Takeaway
I also wanted to be a driver education teacher because I heard my college buddy got his dream job of being a driver education teacher; he talked about it often when I saw him.
If I didn’t see him that day, I would have pursued the driver education position. But, he convinced me to scrap that idea of teaching driver education.
I never saw him again after that day.
Final Thoughts
Every teacher at one time in their career contemplates leaving teaching in the classroom and finding a job, not in the classroom teaching but still in the education system.
I squashed all thoughts that day of being a driver education teacher. I remained a teacher in the classroom teaching mathematics.
Teaching driver education was one of several jobs I thought of doing when I started teaching mathematics. I’m glad I stayed as a mathematics teacher.
I write about my experiences as a high school teacher, writing, and anything that comes to mind. Sometimes I write about satire.
Don Sabado
Teacher | Author | Writer
Follow me on:
