Kirby at Driver's Ed
[email protected]
Today is day five of nine, halfway through driver's ed for Kirby.
He got his learner's permit the second day, so theoretically could be driving
around. But my car went into the shop two days before that and still isn't
back.
Sunday night I took him to a parking lot near here, at midnight, and he
repeatedly started and stopped the 20 year old Jetta with the standard
transmission. I told him if he could deal with a clutch, the automatic would
be click-and-point in comparison. There was no shifting to 2nd, just driving
around in first, parking, going again, letting it die from letting the clutch
out too fast, getting it flooded from too much starting.... the usual. He
felt bad about the herky-jerkiness of getting it to go, and half the time it
was pretty smooth. I told him nobody learns to drive a standard without some
of those crazy jerky starts.
Other than that he hasn't driven since he got the permit (he drove the van
some a couple of years ago, on not-real roads, as have Marty and Holly).
Maybe the van will be done today. The transmission had something broken.
Truly broken. But under warranty from the second full rebuild. I shudder...
So my washing machine is also broken and the part won't be here for four days.
Today Keith's coming home early to drive us to the laundramat.
But back to driver's ed.
The first day they had a pre-test. The teacher asked if everyone was
through. Everyone was, but Kirby, who had three more left.
My fear came true. He had never been to school at all, and he didn't know
now to do it.
There was a question sheet and an answer sheet. Kirby was circling the right
letter and then writing out the right answer. Everyone else just circled the
right letter (or whatever letter struck their fancy).
He got seven out of ten. Missed one about hydroplaning which he said wasn't
worded well to get the answer they wanted. I totally believe him.
Th third day, Monday, they had a truck driver talk to them. He told them how
to drive around big trucks, and other tales of big trucks. Then they all
went outside where his actual Big Truck was and he asked if anyone wanted to
get in it. Kirby said he looked around, and the kids were just kinda
shuffling and avoiding eye contact (something fairly new to him <g>), and so
he said "I will!" and did.
They went through showing and talking about blind spots. Teenaged girls,
jumping and waving; Kirby couldn't see them. Giant block of concrete with
just happened to be there. Kirby couldn't see it with the mirrors at all.
"Nearly the size of a VW BUG," said the truck driver.
So Kirby got out and he asked "Who else?" Nobody. Kirby said "I'll go
again!" and that shamed a couple of girls into volunteering.
The first two days he didn't make any friends. The third day he made three,
he said, and in the course of telling the story, he named them casually. All
girls. I'm not surprised.
There's a homeschooled girl there, but Kirby hasn't introduced himself to her.
There's a girl he recognized from Active Imagination (a while back) but he
said she didn't seem to recognize him, probably because he used to have hair
past the middle of his back that's now short. He told me this morning he's
glad he didn't associate himself with her, because she's the one who's always
disruptive.
He likes the teacher. "Mr. Martinez is cool," he said. Yesterday they
talked about drugs. They have to for six hours, Kirby said. So two more
hours today, and that might mean that today is the scary-movie day. "Blood
on the Highway," I think Brett said it's called. Everyone I've talked to who
saw it was disturbed, and certainly it's mean to be disturbing. But if
today's the day I'll give Kirby more privacy and more slack til he gets
settled.
He works from 3:00 to 7:30 today anyway, so will only be home for a couple of
hours.
Sandra
He got his learner's permit the second day, so theoretically could be driving
around. But my car went into the shop two days before that and still isn't
back.
Sunday night I took him to a parking lot near here, at midnight, and he
repeatedly started and stopped the 20 year old Jetta with the standard
transmission. I told him if he could deal with a clutch, the automatic would
be click-and-point in comparison. There was no shifting to 2nd, just driving
around in first, parking, going again, letting it die from letting the clutch
out too fast, getting it flooded from too much starting.... the usual. He
felt bad about the herky-jerkiness of getting it to go, and half the time it
was pretty smooth. I told him nobody learns to drive a standard without some
of those crazy jerky starts.
Other than that he hasn't driven since he got the permit (he drove the van
some a couple of years ago, on not-real roads, as have Marty and Holly).
Maybe the van will be done today. The transmission had something broken.
Truly broken. But under warranty from the second full rebuild. I shudder...
So my washing machine is also broken and the part won't be here for four days.
Today Keith's coming home early to drive us to the laundramat.
But back to driver's ed.
The first day they had a pre-test. The teacher asked if everyone was
through. Everyone was, but Kirby, who had three more left.
My fear came true. He had never been to school at all, and he didn't know
now to do it.
There was a question sheet and an answer sheet. Kirby was circling the right
letter and then writing out the right answer. Everyone else just circled the
right letter (or whatever letter struck their fancy).
He got seven out of ten. Missed one about hydroplaning which he said wasn't
worded well to get the answer they wanted. I totally believe him.
Th third day, Monday, they had a truck driver talk to them. He told them how
to drive around big trucks, and other tales of big trucks. Then they all
went outside where his actual Big Truck was and he asked if anyone wanted to
get in it. Kirby said he looked around, and the kids were just kinda
shuffling and avoiding eye contact (something fairly new to him <g>), and so
he said "I will!" and did.
They went through showing and talking about blind spots. Teenaged girls,
jumping and waving; Kirby couldn't see them. Giant block of concrete with
just happened to be there. Kirby couldn't see it with the mirrors at all.
"Nearly the size of a VW BUG," said the truck driver.
So Kirby got out and he asked "Who else?" Nobody. Kirby said "I'll go
again!" and that shamed a couple of girls into volunteering.
The first two days he didn't make any friends. The third day he made three,
he said, and in the course of telling the story, he named them casually. All
girls. I'm not surprised.
There's a homeschooled girl there, but Kirby hasn't introduced himself to her.
There's a girl he recognized from Active Imagination (a while back) but he
said she didn't seem to recognize him, probably because he used to have hair
past the middle of his back that's now short. He told me this morning he's
glad he didn't associate himself with her, because she's the one who's always
disruptive.
He likes the teacher. "Mr. Martinez is cool," he said. Yesterday they
talked about drugs. They have to for six hours, Kirby said. So two more
hours today, and that might mean that today is the scary-movie day. "Blood
on the Highway," I think Brett said it's called. Everyone I've talked to who
saw it was disturbed, and certainly it's mean to be disturbing. But if
today's the day I'll give Kirby more privacy and more slack til he gets
settled.
He works from 3:00 to 7:30 today anyway, so will only be home for a couple of
hours.
Sandra
joanna514
> My fear came true. He had never been to school at all, and hedidn't know
> now to do it.the right
>
> There was a question sheet and an answer sheet. Kirby was circling
> letter and then writing out the right answer. Everyone else justcircled the
> right letter (or whatever letter struck their fancy).said wasn't
>
> He got seven out of ten. Missed one about hydroplaning which he
> worded well to get the answer they wanted. I totally believe him.My 12 yo Carly took a Safe Babysitter coarse offered throught the Red
>
Cross yesterday. They taught them cpr and first aide along with
basic babysitting stuff. As I dropped her off I realized that she
would be taking a couple of tests to earn her certificate. I thought
of Kirby's story and wondered how she would do with it. Never having
taken a test. When I picked her up, I asked her how it went. She
had a good time. I asked about the test and she said it was multiple
choice and she thought she did fine. I asked if she was nervous
about it since she hadn't done that before. She said, "I've taken
tons of them mom. In magazines." Duh....the teenage girl magazines
are full of those quizzes.
Joanna
[email protected]
On Sun, 30 Mar 2003 14:33:09 -0000 "joanna514" <Wilkinson6@...>
writes:
She wants to do the Red Cross babysitting thing, too, but you have to be
11...
Dar
writes:
> She said, "I've takenHey, I never thought of that - cool! Rain has taken lots of quizzes. :)
> tons of them mom. In magazines." Duh....the teenage girl magazines
> are full of those quizzes.
>
>
She wants to do the Red Cross babysitting thing, too, but you have to be
11...
Dar