BonnerSprings.com

As driver’s education wraps up, instructors are taking a closer look at how a new method of teaching worked during this trial year.

Instead of requiring driver’s education students to sit in a classroom for two hours a day for three weeks out of the summer, the Bonner Springs school district opted for a more high-tech approach. Enrolled students could access a Web site that contained all the materials they needed to learn about driving safety.

“The beauty of the program is (the students) have access to the program 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” said Tim Ney, who has been teaching driver’s education in Bonner Springs for five years. “All that information is there anytime they want.”

At the end of March, students who enrolled in driver’s education were given access to the Web site and its information. For nine weeks the students completed homework assignments that were submitted online and went to the school for weekly, supervised tests. Ney said the goal was to have all the students finish the “knowledge-based component” of the course before the practical, hands-on driving was scheduled in the summer.

Overall, Ney said he was happy with the way the program worked out. The main success, he said, was that the program was “family-friendly” and allowed students and their families to schedule more activities such as summer school and vacations rather than worry about daily class time.

“I feel like this was an attempt to make it easier for the family to schedule things and gave a little more flexibility to do the coursework at their convenience at home,” Ney said.

Each student was required to complete six hours of driving time with an instructor. Ney said that this was the point that nerves usually set in for the students. For those students who have no experience driving, Ney said he likes to start them out in a parking lot were they’re in no stress, and then work them slowly up to highway driving.

“That’s the thing I enjoy the most,” he said. “The greatest joy is watching their confidence level grow exponentially.”

But that six hours of driving is just a drop in the bucket, because following the driver’s education course, each student must get another 19 hours of supervised driving time before receiving a restricted license, which allows a young motorist to drive alone only to work and school. Another 50 hours is then required before the students can get their actual driver’s licenses.

“I look at this as a partnership with the families,” Ney said about the work parents must take on once his job is over. “The best thing a student can get is time. Time is critical. It’s an ally for a student.”

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