I'm with OhNoCB here.....even allowing for a post that might have been written in haste at the end of the day, there are things that simply don't compute.
Easy to explain.
45 hours into PPL training was handed over to me by a fellow FI.
Just like that? Not a word, not a warning comment?
Yes, it is policy for the trainer of the school to pass over students without statements prone to the generation of pre-occupational thoughts. Certain parts of the syllabus tend to be very personal chemistry between trainer and student. If it is potentially dangerous, get the student out, if not, discuss earliest after first flight.
As for allowing ab initio circuit training with an iPad on the student's lap; it just beggars belief.
I have seen this now several times at several schools and occasions. This is what we have to face in modern times.
It took me quite some discussion to let him leave the iPad on the ground
Come again? You actually discussed it? Why? He just needed to be told that it's totally inappropriate and that's the end of it.
The times of civil military behavior is over in commercials. We elder knew that we have to work hard, think hard, use our brain to gain improvements. We elder knew that sometimes we have to learn hard to overcome the mountains barrier, to climb on ice walls just to really
understand facts deep inside - even if this insight has been gained before by thousands of people, because we have to KNOW. Biggest quantum leaps in personal development are always located behind the terror and pain of hard labor. The current youngest are not willing to strain themselves, they google instead of think.
Just a suggestion, try to advice one of the younger to really work hard on an issue to understand it really in depth. Then let them go and look how they get the result. Probability is maybe 99+% use search engines, smartphone, some even look at Youtube videos only, very rarely they take a book or even start thinking. And they will always argue with you that this is the "most efficient and modern" way to do that, because "people have done that before, why should I?". In the end, they have gathered enough monkey answers to fool everybody into belief they understood. But, Artificial Intelligence has entered biological reality and if you dig into deeper discussion, you all of a sudden find out they can only pretend to understand, but on an extreme and impressive high level. Same I have seen throughout many, many management circles in recent years.
My belief, they will be subject to social, mental and economic degradation because of this. Former young generations did transformations and developed society, which is often brought as an excuse, but this time it is different, because no additional value is generated upon transition. But that is another story. Observation simply is: they do not understand and they do not obey, even if there is an urgent need to do so. I know this has been told of each and every young generation, but I fear this time **** definitely hits the fan. The only faith left to me is the belief someone from the younger will catch the falling.
After this ride I stopped working for the day
Well, OK, I can see that it must have been a bad experience. But instructors are supposed to be in charge and able to take control when necessary, and unless he refused to let go of the controls you were not in any danger. Why stop work just because of that, if that's what really happened?
Very easy, I do this for pleasure and because I have fun teaching. I don't do that for living. Over many years and up to this experience, I always got my students on a track I was comfortable to let them with. This time I was defeated and had to re-think whether I am still the right one to do training. Self reflection is my second nature.
Usually I do not look at the records of a student
From the context, you are saying this about a student you have just taken over from another FI. I would have thought it should be SOP to study the notes carefully in that situation, for all sorts of good reasons; that's what they are for, isn't it? There's nothing admirable about refusing to look at them.
Again, this is policy at this school and I carry that policy. There are two important things in it.
First is quality assurance, we only pass the number of hours and the status in syllabus to the overtaking FI. If there is a deviation in acquired skills from the status they should be at, we have a weekly review board meeting to improve following the written syllabus and review our capabilities to asses students skills. FIs also are on rotating schedule through the phases of training, to keep knowledge on all stages.
Second is avoiding pre-occupation traps. We are all people, student and FI, and we make personal judgements. Flying at PPL stage stays a very personal topic and everybody does have her or his own style. We are a bit old fashioned, but stay to it. We do not want to train the usual push button monkey, carrying tourist cattle optimized from A to B, we train pilots and sometimes we have the pleasure to find an airmen. As this is very personal and has to do with a foundation of non-trainable aptitude, we try to get the student in contact with several different ways of flying - from FIs from the bush-pilot gene pool to airline captains enjoying a different world. We do this to find a mental match between student and FI. This is why we change FI at least three times in training.
What do you think of such stubborn people
Well they're usually a PITA, but they are very easy to deal with. They need to be told in words on one syllable, that they either follow their FI's advice and instruction, or they can pack up and leave. The most important issue raised by your post is that ab initio instruction at your school/club seems, from what you say which is probably unfair, to need some urgent management changes, to put it mildly.
No, they are no longer easy to deal with, because they are the brave new world, like it or not. Yes, in former times most of them would have been sent back to grandpa to get their back plated, but again, these days are gone to paleontology. We had long discussions at that specific school how to deal with it and am struggling every day with the task, but so far we had success for all but this one.
Ok, for those who made it to the end, I apologize for the long text, but I felt to must write this down. I owe you a pint upon reading to the end ;-).