Relationship with students
Joined: Jan 1999
Aviation Qualifications: CPL
Posts: 899
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From: Slowly decaying (disgracefully)
IMHO it's very important to build a good and supportive relationship with the stude. I usually also offer to provide email support with things they may be struggling with and am easily persuaded to stay in the bar (or a pub) after the day is done.
Teaching your kids - yes, done that. My eldest son had one of the best pair of hands I've seen but was never able to find time to do the studying and exams so didn't get his licence.
HFD
Teaching your kids - yes, done that. My eldest son had one of the best pair of hands I've seen but was never able to find time to do the studying and exams so didn't get his licence.
HFD
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,490
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From: Hotel this week, hotel next week, home whenever...
Been flying the kids around for a while, thought I'd offer my eldest daughter the chance to learn......"Wot wud I Wanna do that for?"
Times they are changing!
Times they are changing!
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 235
Likes: 3
From: Down South, preferably inverted
IMHO it's very important to build a good and supportive relationship with the stude. I usually also offer to provide email support with things they may be struggling with and am easily persuaded to stay in the bar (or a pub) after the day is done.
. Two words......... Density Altitude...... He'll understand.... 
. And YEP!!! 
Can't dispute any of those 3 statements....
and now he'll be
............ 
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 10,804
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HFD I seem to remember in another thread discussing if you should be payed extra due to the additional stress involved teaching someone of the oppersite sex.
Any luck?
Or is the post work pint your only benefit?
The last student who I gave my email to procceded to fill my account up with girl on girl porn vids.
Any luck?
Or is the post work pint your only benefit?
The last student who I gave my email to procceded to fill my account up with girl on girl porn vids.
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 235
Likes: 3
From: Down South, preferably inverted
Mad Girl
mad_jock
He's been a star..... and I somehow think it's NOT because of my gender...... 
Just had my skills test binned for the 2nd time in 3 weeks...
Kept me on the ground, rather than bouncing off the walls, for the last 2 days..... .
.
HFD I seem to remember in another thread discussing if you should be payed extra due to the additional stress involved teaching someone of the oppersite sex.
and I somehow think it's NOT because of my gender...... Just had my skills test binned for the 2nd time in 3 weeks...
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 10,804
Likes: 1
You stick at it girl.
He wouldn't let you even attempt it if you wern't good enough (and prob a wee bit to spare)
To be honest if he is anything like myself he will be more nervous than you. He knows you know your !!!!. He knows you are fit for it. But you could bollocks it up on the day due to being a fanny.
Take a few quid extra along and get your bloke to drive him home afterwards.
MJ
PS don't mention doing an IMC on the day give him a couple of day of grace before you land that one on him.
He wouldn't let you even attempt it if you wern't good enough (and prob a wee bit to spare)
To be honest if he is anything like myself he will be more nervous than you. He knows you know your !!!!. He knows you are fit for it. But you could bollocks it up on the day due to being a fanny.
Take a few quid extra along and get your bloke to drive him home afterwards.
MJ
PS don't mention doing an IMC on the day give him a couple of day of grace before you land that one on him.
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 235
Likes: 3
From: Down South, preferably inverted
But you could bollocks it up on the day due to being a fanny.
Take a few quid extra along and get your bloke to drive him home afterwards.
.Getting this thread back on track....... sorry!
My instructor is very sociable and extremely supportive and I regard him as a mate.....a platonic friendship (If some of you understand the word
). I can, and do talk to him about everything.. He knows when work is stressing me out or I'm not sleeping as it DOES affect my flying.... so he's been known to cut lessons short or change things around to do the "fun" stuff so that I'm STILL making progress, as being assertive doesn't always make me up my game...
The other instructors at the club are equally approachable - even though I'm not theirs - and I'd even regard some of them as friends....
But my school is also a club... and everybody knows everybody else so maybe it's different in a professional school. (That wouldn't be half as much fun in my book)
There's nothing wrong with being friendly with your students...... They're learning to fly for themselves..... but if they ALSO don't want to let YOU down, they will try harder to get things right..... and it's easier to get things back to "normal" if you've just had to let loose with a torrent of abuse..... (NOT something HFD does by the way)
I do think that the romantic side is a bit off though..........
Students have to have total trust in their instructor and I can see where it would be very, very wrong.......... abuse of power (but maybe that's an older "girly" perspective!).
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 469
Likes: 1
From: I'm right behind you!!!
Heard it explained best by another instructor in a bar after his student called him "sir"
He said: "At the school, its sir. In the bar, its <first name>"
No reason you can't be mates with your students as far as drinks after a hard day go. There does definitely have to be a distinction between flying and beer o'clock though.
As for the romantic thing, well wouldn't know. But definitely would be giving them to a different instructor to fly with methinks.
He said: "At the school, its sir. In the bar, its <first name>"
No reason you can't be mates with your students as far as drinks after a hard day go. There does definitely have to be a distinction between flying and beer o'clock though.
As for the romantic thing, well wouldn't know. But definitely would be giving them to a different instructor to fly with methinks.
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,684
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From: Down at the sharp pointy end, where all the weather is made.
He said: "At the school, its sir. In the bar, its <first name>"
I always ask for a first name and give them mine. I'd be most put out to be called 'sir', though I hope I'd be gentle in politely reminding them that I have a name. The ONLY time it's remotely appropriate is when meeting a customer as a stranger for the first time i.e. they walk into the school 'can I help you, sir?'
TheOddOne
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 469
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From: I'm right behind you!!!
I agree completely with you OddOne. At the school he was at, the students were mostly from overseas, many of them insist on calling you sir. Some of them refuse to sit in an instructor seat in a briefing room. It was more to demonstrate that there is and should be a distinction between work and play. In this case he was responding to a student calling him sir outside work, not to being called "bob" at work.
Arrr
Arrr
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,684
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From: Down at the sharp pointy end, where all the weather is made.
At the school he was at, the students were mostly from overseas, many of them insist on calling you sir.
Would this be from a culture overly reliant upon deference, that does so much damage to the concept of CRM & MCC, so vital to in-flight safety?
I expect my students to speak up if they feel something isn't right. I've currently got 12 students myself who aspire to careers as airline pilots. Though it's sometimes a bit embarrassing, I welcome feedback on my own performance from them, especially if it serves as a useful learning point. I hope that they respect me for my desire to share my knowledge with them rather than any 'authority' that I might appear to represent.
TheOddOne
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 10,804
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That cultural element was brought home to me at OAT when I watch 6 blokes kicking the hell out of a fellow student ripping his clothes punching him to the point of black eyes. By this point a copper who was doing the brush up ground school with us went off down stairs to nick the lot of them. But got stopped by one of the Instructors
Apparently its tradition to get your head kicked in on doing your first solo in some cultures.
Apparently its tradition to get your head kicked in on doing your first solo in some cultures.
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 231
Likes: 0
From: Birmingham
That cultural element was brought home to me at OAT when I watch 6 blokes kicking the hell out of a fellow student ripping his clothes punching him to the point of black eyes. By this point a copper who was doing the brush up ground school with us went off down stairs to nick the lot of them. But got stopped by one of the Instructors
Apparently its tradition to get your head kicked in on doing your first solo in some cultures.
Apparently its tradition to get your head kicked in on doing your first solo in some cultures.
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,280
Likes: 66
From: Chedburgh, Bury St.Edmunds
I taught people to drive for 39 years, and flew for 10 as a PPL. The relationship between teachers and pupils is always slightly tricky. I found that girls [and ladies] looked up to and admired you and it was, in driving, VERY easy to get into a romantic relationship. I was perfectly happy for this to happen, until I married a beautiful young girl who was NOT my pupil and I made it quite plain from then on that , whenever it seemed, from the pupil's side, to be heading towards rather more than friendly, then I made it plain that it stayed friendly, but no more than that. When I was learning to fly, my main instructor, a high ranking R.A.F. Officer, fell for one of his pupils, left his wife, and, as far as I know, pupil is now his wife. Commonsense and maturity play a large part in teacher/pupil relationships, and I had to terminate peoples lessons for them getting too close on several occasions. The situation is no different in flying instruction than driving. Use your head, stay clear of married women who show too much interest in you if you are married. They tend to be the worst offenders when it comes to wanting more involment
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 70
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From: Aus
As a student, I always had a good working relationship with both of my instructors during my training, and while we socialised outside of the school (where I also worked on the reception) everything was very professional inside the plane. I have retained those friendships, a few even becoming work collegues once I completed my instructor rating.
As an instructor, up until now, most of my students at my previous flying school have been Indian students and it I have always ensured that I maintained a strictly professional relationship and that contact with my students did not continue outside of work - but despite my efforts, upon leaving that school, one of my students began stalking me, leaving me love letters, emails sms's etc for three months until they finally took me seriously and stopped, after I threatened to charge them with harrassment!
At a different school, I plan to keep in touch with most of my current students and some of my former students with whom I have developed a few good friendships. Many still see me for advice, just like I still regularly call up my old instructors and have a good old chat!
Try not to date your students! It doesn't look good for either of you! I have known of a few relationships that occurred between instructors and students and very few of them lasted - the others usually just became gossip that is scrawled onto the scare chairs - which usually develops into a poor reputation for that instructor or student!
Cheers,
Mo
As an instructor, up until now, most of my students at my previous flying school have been Indian students and it I have always ensured that I maintained a strictly professional relationship and that contact with my students did not continue outside of work - but despite my efforts, upon leaving that school, one of my students began stalking me, leaving me love letters, emails sms's etc for three months until they finally took me seriously and stopped, after I threatened to charge them with harrassment!
At a different school, I plan to keep in touch with most of my current students and some of my former students with whom I have developed a few good friendships. Many still see me for advice, just like I still regularly call up my old instructors and have a good old chat!
Try not to date your students! It doesn't look good for either of you! I have known of a few relationships that occurred between instructors and students and very few of them lasted - the others usually just became gossip that is scrawled onto the scare chairs - which usually develops into a poor reputation for that instructor or student!
Cheers,
Mo
