Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]


That's the way it should be, I feel. I'm lucky that my school strongly believes in letting teachers put their own style on things - even with the Callan classes. So, naturally, I prefer to listen to people than to talk - with the right group, I've found that Callan is actually quite good for getting people to talk about obscure things that they wouldn't normally talk about, especially when you do things like question the president of a company on issues like why there isn't any flowers outside the building :) It does seem to work quite nicely, though only with bright people and subject to all the usual disclaimers about Callan.


Jesus, ready-made plans? I would probably kill myself if I had to teach such things. Some of my best ideas have actually came as a result of being thrown into a class at the last minute and having to think on my feet - but the thought of teaching to a ready plan fills me with all sorts of fear.

Life / 3 reasons why you hate Poland. [1049]


I relentlessly picked on such a student last week. I'd had enough of his complete inability to revise anything betweeen classes, his complete lack of ability to even answer easy questions without thinking and most of all, the fact that he keeps turning up looking like he's stoned out of his skull.

Making him pronounce everything perfectly was a suitable cure for the saturday morning blues, I tell you ;)

Law / Polish EU Drivers Licence - can I get one the easy way (by paying for it)? [185]


Look at the pass rates - are you seriously telling me that only 40-50% of people are fit to drive at the time they take their test? The wide variation in pass rates (up to 60% in some places, as low as 35% in others) also tells you that something isn't quite right with the system. I actually think it's somewhat of an insult to the majority of driving instructors, as they're simply preparing people to drive the DSA way for a test, rather than for driving in reality.


Since when? There's no requirement for a driver to do anything but drive on single carriageway roads - and certainly no requirement for them to drive at night, in heavy rain, etc. It's perfectly possible for someone to start learning at the beginning of summer, only drive in the sunshine and on single carriageway roads, and never have to experience heavy traffic at 70mph in the rain. How on earth can they be 'fit to drive' if they never have?


Who defines competent? I know someone who was failed for 'hesitating too much' - surely it's better she waits until she knows it is safe? I can understand if she wasn't getting up to speed - but the fail came from waiting for a couple of minutes at a stupidly busy roundabout where the only option was to either throw the car forward or wait.

And no, I've never sat the test in the UK - never needed to. But I can drive fairly well, and I'm supposedly at 'test standard' - but I can tell you that I don't think I am. For a start, I'm a poor night driver, and I'm not completely confident at 70mph on the dual carriageway. For those reasons alone, why on earth should I be able to pass a test and drive big powerful cars?

The UK system is just a lottery, really.

Law / Polish EU Drivers Licence - can I get one the easy way (by paying for it)? [185]


Which is dreadful, because the driving required to pass the test (particularly in the UK) bears little relevance to safe everyday driving. The other part that makes it so ridiculous is that the DSA's examiners quite clearly have a motive not to pass everyone - if they do, then there's a need for less examiners and thus redundancy. I don't believe for one second that there's any real consistency with the system.

I only wish for the EU to move towards a system of comprehensive driver training rather than a 'one test' solution - how can it be logical that a driver in the UK can apply for a provisional, then pass a test without being able to drive in a wide range of conditions?

The Polish system seems to be great in the respect that you're required to be fully trained before sitting a test - but in my opinion, it would make far more sense to remove the test and simply require a driver to be proficient in all aspects of operating a car. This could be indepdendently checked on a spot check basis - maybe 5% of all new licences would be expected to demonstrate that they are fully in charge of a car in a variety of surrounding before being allowed to drive. Not an exam, but rather a simple trial drive to ensure that they can handle it.