I think it is unfortunate that the original poster asked about gliding and we are now in a slanging match about flight safety philosophies. Chuck knows exactly what TEM is, so I have to wonder what the motivation for asking the leading question was ........
Back to the topic at hand
One point which hasn't really been touched on is that powered aircraft flying training is a business and you are the customer while gliding is more a hobby with a huge volunteer "club" aspect.
By that I mean everyone is expected to help out the gliding operations and so you don't just turn up and go for a glider lesson. A glider lesson is really going to be an all day event of which only a part will be in the air because you will be helping get the gliders out to the flight line, retrieve ropes , run wing tips etc etc.
For me that is part of the appeal as there socializing at the aerodrome and mucking in to get the gliders airbourne is part of the fun.
If that does not really appeal to you, powered flying from the outset is probably best as you can generally book a lesson show up, do the briefing, go flying, and then go home.
Last edited by Big Pistons Forever; 24th Mar 2015 at 17:22.