Driver's Ed

Alex took an accelerated course of driver's education July 18-21. It was Monday through Thursday, 8-4 everyday, but only 4 days! He complained of it being "painfully boring" and that he didn't learn anything. I did feel a little bad for him since I remember how much I disliked driver's ed and I only went 2 hours a day and it went on for something like half of my summer every morning at 7am. However, I think I would have been grateful to have it done in 4 days, and I did choose a course where he had a soccer friend in class with him. I think he did learn some things, and I am glad that he took it.

After the class time, they had to do 6 hours of one-on-one driving with an instructor in 2-hour blocks. He did the driving part the first week of August just before school started.  The week in between was youth conference in Nauvoo, so he had a very busy summer.  Below was his first day with the instructor. It was nice that they came to our house to pick him up, and dropped him off afterward. Alex was nervous about driving at first, so the instructor drove out of our driveway and the first few minutes.

On the first day, Alex said that he was "so good" that the instructor couldn't believe that he hadn't driven before.  He is doing pretty well on the road now, but sometimes he gets a little over-confident.  In Tennessee, they are allowed to get their learner's permit at age 15, but must have a learner's permit for a minimum of 6 months and be age 16 before they get their official license.  While they have their learner's permit, they may drive only if an adult is with them.  It has been a little bit scary at times, and sometimes I push "my brake" when he is not stopping fast enough. :)  He has been improving though and trying hard.  Driving with him is sometimes contentious however because he doesn't like being corrected...  Anyway, for the most part, I am looking forward to him getting his driver's license and easing the burden on me of driving each of the kids to so many places.