Monday, April 26, 2010

Success rates vs successful MC classes

I just finish teaching my second MC safety class of the season. My co-instructors were great and both classes were taught and coached in the manner that should generate success. I believe in the 1st one, 5 of 9 passed and the 2nd one, 3 of 7. Of those who didn't pass, I believe that they all could in pass the riding evalutation in time. I encouraged each to get right back in another classes as soon as possible (which will be easier with the abundance of classes that lack 100% confirmed students).

As an instructor, it's frustrating to focus on the end numbers. At the beginning of the last day of riding, my co instructor was a sub for someone who was sick. I shared and he confirmed early in the day that probably 3 of the 7 would pass. The other four weren't endangering anyone, but they weren't progressing to the point that they would be able to pass the riding evaluation. Most importantly, the would be a danger to themselves and other if they were to go on to the street at this time. The 4 who did not pass learned a tremendous amount both on and off of the motorcycle. They just require more development time than was available on a single class.

So in the end, I am blessed to be part of the program and I enjoy the whole thing. The success rate is a point in time for everyone in the class that in only an immediate gage in the process of become a safe/good motorcyclist.

3 comments:

irondad said...

I agree. We consider our classes a safe place to explore and discover. Some people discover they shouldn't be on a motorcycle at this time. That's the important statistic in my book!

Anonymous said...
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Geoff James said...

Couldn't agree more. Getting new motorcyclists past the "I don't know what I don't know" stage is the biggest hurdle of all.

I cringe when I see scooter riders in bare arms, shorts and flip-flops on their feet and the lack of comprehension when I have a polite word, well.....