There’s never a dull moment for a Driver Ed instructor

By Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com

If there’s one class most students don’t want to miss, it’s usually Driver Ed. Barry Ditson has been teaching Driver Ed in Kindersley and area, Eatonia and Marengo since 1999, and enjoys it.

“I’m looking at a good twenty-two years now. It’s a great job, and I certainly meet a lot of nice kids,” he said. “Some of the guys I grew up with have their kids in Driver Ed now. It’s kind of cool to see how they look like their parents.”

The past year has been a real challenge for Barry. “I did an online class for two schools, with help from some educational assistants and principals. We managed to present the program effectively,” he said. But he still prefers face-to-face instruction where students can ask him questions in person rather than online. “Kids say, if they have a choice, they prefer in-class instruction,” he said and noted he spends a lot more time in the car since he can only have one student in the vehicle at a time. “It makes for a lot of time on the highway, but we do the best we can.”

Obtaining a driver’s licence is a definite incentive for students to attend Barry’s class, but according to Barry, it’s not a big enough incentive for everyone. He gave the example of one Driver Ed class consisting of thirty students.

Four of the students were good friends and always showed up together, but only one of the foursome showed up on testing day. When Barry asked where the boy’s three friends were, the lad replied, “Mr. Ditson, we figured that only one of us needs to get a licence, and it happened to be me. I’ll just drive my friends around.”

Barry asked the student what happens when his friends want to go somewhere, but he doesn’t, but the kid said they would deal with that later. Barry said those kids didn’t come to his class during the remaining two years in high school, and he never saw them behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Even so, he says he only teaches his students the essentials, so it’s vitally important that kids get a lot of driving practice in with their parents. However, parents are often too busy, which results in students getting a lot of points when they go for their driver’s test.

“Every class of students is so different. I’ve never had two classes in the same year that were the same; they have different ideas and behaviours. They try to see what they can get away with and push their limits,” Barry said.

“I use my car all the time,” Barry said, referring to his vehicle, which is equipped with a special brake on the passenger side. “Without that, you wouldn’t survive; lots of things happen. I’ve seen it all. I should write a book. I think it would be pretty comical telling about some of the things kids say in the car.”

Nevertheless, Barry prefers talkative kids to students who don’t say a word for the entire hour they are driving. “There’s not many of those, but that particular drive is incredibly long. Those kids are few and far between. Others will tell you their life story,” he laughed.

Barry also teaches adult students. Whereas high school students receive thirty hours of class time and six hours in the car, adult students only receive six hours of classroom instruction and six hours of driving. According to Barry, ninety percent of his adult students are from outside of Canada, five percent are from one of the Hutterite colonies, and five percent are Canadians.

The language barrier can present challenges, so Barry asks questions that require a yes or no answer. “I asked one lady if she understands English, and she said yes. I then asked what colour is a stop sign, and she answered yes again, so I realized she didn’t understand what I was saying,” he explained. “So I do a little English lesson with my foreign students before we start. It’s not good if you tell someone to stop and they don’t understand what you’re saying.”

While Barry’s adult students learn how to drive, Barry learns a great deal about their countries of origin. “I’ve learned more about the Philippines and India than I ever did in school,” he said. He asks them about driving in their country. One student told him in his country, the bigger vehicle you have, the more right of way you have. Barry responded, “Please don’t drive like that here.”

Other international students said in their country, signs are just a suggestion. “I thought it was one guy making a joke, but others told me the same thing,” Barry said.

Another international student refused to drive after a snowfall of three inches and told Barry she would be in touch after the snow melted.

But overall, Barry says being a driving instructor is a great job, and 98 percent of adults and kids are fantastic.

Barry Ditson has been teaching Driver Ed since 1999.