[Roadie]

I have been reading and hearing alot about different schools across the country. I have to wonder what it is with the attitude of most. Seems that most schools are very strict and militaristic in the way they operate. IE:
DO NOT be late, you'll get booted
Call all Instructors MR. Smith, etc
Yelled at by "instructors" when not quite getting something

They seem to forget YOU are the customer paying for their service. Is this indicative of the trucking industry?

Don't get me wrong, I am not "whining". I can tolerate about anything, had a career in the military. Been there, done that, don't need that to make me perform. In fact I would guess it has the opposite of the desired effect on most people.

I have been an instructor in the motorcycle world, and would NEVER dream of yelling at a student struggling, that makes a bad situation worse. Late? Yes, if we have already covered an hour of material in a 4 hour class, they need to reschedule, but they CAN reschedule, not just sent home. MR Roadie? Nahh, a relaxed environment is a better learning environment. Besides, I am no better than my students, not on a pedestal above them and no need to prove it.

Yes, I am in a school right now, very relaxed atmosphere, very respective of their students, they make allowances and work with students to get them thru.

There is a choice, maybe some schools should realize that.

Cheers

[rjallen]

Roadie

Even among different schools of the same chain, attitudes can vary wildly. Some of it just comes down to different attitudes. I too have a background in the military and have trained hundreds of folks in other endeavors, not truck driving. Its the same though.

As a former cop and combat veteran, I believe its a macho thing with some. Justifies their vision of themselves.

The Sage I and my wife are now attending is very laid back and the instructors though out the chain of schools can be restricted or suspended from teaching. I know. I saw it done. The owner are very serious about maintaining a professional yet casual atmosphere.

Rick

[Twilight Flyer]

DO NOT be late, you'll get booted

That should go without saying. Your job as a driver is to deliver the freight safely and on-time. Screw that up and you're going to get booted.

They seem to forget YOU are the customer paying for their service

Actually, you are not a customer, you are a student. You are paying for schooling in the same way that a college kid pays for their regular 2 or 4 or more years. You are learning a trade and it is their job to teach you correctly and fail those that will not cut it as a driver. I don't necessarily agree with doing so in a military-like atmosphere, but you have to remember that they aren't offering you a service...they are your teacher.

[Roadie]

[quote="Twilight Flyer"]

Actually, you are not a customer, you are a student. You are paying for schooling in the same way that a college kid pays for their regular 2 or 4 or more years. You are learning a trade and it is their job to teach you correctly and fail those that will not cut it as a driver. I don't necessarily agree with doing so in a military-like atmosphere, but you have to remember that they aren't offering you a service...they are your teacher.

I have to disagree. A student IS the customer. A student, regardless of what school or training, is paying for the service of that school to provide a good learning environment and impart the knowledge of the subject matter experts. I am paying to be taught a trade, yes, but not paying to be abused in ANY way. There are many schools that come and go, and that attitude is alot of it.
An instructors job is to impart knowledge, and teach skills necessary for the student to perform and demonstrate NOT to decide who can "cut it" and who can't. That is the employers job. THEY will judge work ethic and attitude.

[Colts Fan]

[quote="Roadie"]

Originally Posted by Twilight Flyer

I have to disagree. A student IS the customer. A student, regardless of what school or training, is paying for the service of that school to provide a good learning environment and impart the knowledge of the subject matter experts. I am paying to be taught a trade, yes, but not paying to be abused in ANY way. There are many schools that come and go, and that attitude is alot of it.
An instructors job is to impart knowledge, and teach skills necessary for the student to perform and demonstrate NOT to decide who can "cut it" and who can't. That is the employers job. THEY will judge work ethic and attitude.

Agreed. This is not college. We pay a crap load for these services. I never paid such a price for a college course. SAGE has the right attitude.

[Twilight Flyer]

An instructors job is to impart knowledge, and teach skills necessary for the student to perform and demonstrate NOT to decide who can "cut it" and who can't. That is the employers job. THEY will judge work ethic and attitude.

By the same token, here's a real-world situation. Your young daughter had a brain tumor and requires surgery. Would you rather the college decide whether that would-be doctor can cut it or would you rather have the hospital judge him while your daughter is under the knife?

This is really no different. You're not going to school to ride a desk or a computer terminal. You're in school to learn a trade where you are piloting an 80,000 pound missile down a highway at 65 mph, where one wrong move can cost someone their life.

As I said, I don't agree with a military-like atmosphere, but going to school to be a truck driver shouldn't be a walk in the park, either. It should be tough, with heavy emphasis on safety and to a lesser extent, timeliness due to the nature of the job.

[Roadie]

Originally Posted by Twilight Flyer

By the same token, here's a real-world situation. Your young daughter had a brain tumor and requires surgery. Would you rather the college decide whether that would-be doctor can cut it or would you rather have the hospital judge him while your daughter is under the knife?

As I said, I don't agree with a military-like atmosphere, but going to school to be a truck driver shouldn't be a walk in the park, either. It should be tough, with heavy emphasis on safety and to a lesser extent, timeliness due to the nature of the job.

Every company has some type of training period, some longer than others. That is the time to figure out if the driver will fit into their view of what they want for a driver.

Agreed, the school should be tough in a thorough sort of way in regards to safety and yes, even timeliness, as that can affect other students drive times. This can be done without all the attitude thrown in however. One of the main objectives of a school is to create a learning environment where the student will retain as much as possible. If the student is constantly worried about doing the wrong thing and getting yelled at, he/she will concentrate on that rather than learning the material and the reasons why certain things must be done in a certain way for safety sake.

[LA to Cleveland]

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[ICS]

I also agree with the laid back attitude in school to a point. The school That i went to cost me 8G's 18 weeks 5 days a week 8-5 during the class room stuff 8-3:30 during yard and road time. When you are going to be late you have to call. if you miss class you have to make that time up either during weekends or lunch or afternoons. Our instructors are great teachers all with different styles. If someone needs more work on a certain area they get extra help. soon after i signed up I found out the graduation happened s before the road test, that scarred me a bit. but after graduating they allow you to come back and practice all you want on whatever you want NO CHARGE. The one thing a learned while teaching martial arts is that just because you are good at something it wont make you a good teacher. Teaching is a skill set all its own. If teachers are making people uncomfortable in anyway that isn't a teachers fault that is the fault of administration.

[Fozzy]

I'll tell you from experience that students get really mad when they get left behind to watch videos for 5 hours while myself and his classmates drove out the gate as he was sauntering into the building 20 minutes after he or she was supposed to be there.. the other classmates enjoyed the extra driving time at the expense of the late student. It usually only took once to get the mindset that when I say the truck will be leaving the yard at 0800.. you better be here. Teaching these newbies that there is no such thing as "fashionably late" in trucking is usually their first wake up call to the realities of trucking.