TELL April-May 2019

attached to it that make it different
from simply being a passenger.
One of the rules as a supervisor is
that you cannot touch your mobile
phone, just as the driver cannot.
You have to act in the same manner
as if you were the learner driver,
not a passenger. So, as soon as the
session begins, the phone goes into
a pocket or the cubby hole, and
being the conscientious person that
she is, Rachel even activates “do not
disturb” on her phone. For the length
of the drive, you are uncontactable,
allowing you to focus all your
attention on the tasks at hand.
Our natural instincts are to see this
as an unnecessary restriction, an
impediment. We are so obsessed with
what we believe our rights are, that
we cannot see the rationale behind
this curtailment. By not having the
distraction of the phone ringing and
beeping and making all sorts of other
noises, we can focus on helping the
student in their quest to become a
better driver, by learning from our
years of experience in the driver’s
seat. In effect, we have been given a
freedom from our “captor”, which
has allowed us to take on other
tasks with a different perspective
and a renewed sense of how we
can apply ourselves in a different
situation. We find that we have
released ourselves from that which
constrained us, and suddenly we
are free to do so many other things,
because we’re not distracted by (in
this case) the phone. We can direct
our attention to where it is needed.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not having
a go at the poor mobile phone.
I’m not saying it has taken control
of our lives (even though there’s a
strong argument in support of that
theory). What I am saying is that we
don’t allow ourselves to be removed
from the madness and interference.
We don’t have the discipline to
ignore the distraction, so it’s only
when we’re forced to ignore it or
leave it alone, that we do so.
On a plane, especially on those
long-haul flights, we can’t use our
phones as we normally would,
so it’s almost as if we’re forced to
allow ourselves freedom from that
constraint. We occupy ourselves
with other activities like reading
or catching up on the latest visual
or audio offerings. Similarly, when
driving (or supervising a learner
driver), we accept that our focus
has to be on the road and what’s
happening around us. Once
again, we are almost forced into
acknowledging that there is a choice.
Of course, the world we live in
is changing all the time, and
we become more reliant on
technology each time there’s a new
development. We cannot, nor
should we, ignore progress in the
hope that we can allow ourselves
the freedom that we don’t demand,
but that allows us to take a break
from what has become routine.
In both examples I’ve given, we’re
forced into allowing ourselves that
freedom. Are we, therefore, incapable
of taking that leap ourselves? Do we
lack the discipline to proactively give
ourselves an alternative even when
we don’t need to? Optimistically,
I’d say that we are both capable of
taking the leap, as well proactively
giving ourselves an alternative. We
don’t throw a temper tantrum (well
most of us don’t!) when the cabin
manager or one of the stewards tells
us to switch off our phones or put
them in “airplane mode”. Therefore,
we are able to take that break, we
can accept that we need to take
that break. What most of us lack
is not necessarily the discipline to
do so, but perhaps the capability
to allow ourselves that choice.
It’s not just about wifi on planes,
or using your phone in
the car. It’s about the
many situations we find
ourselves in without the
apparent motivation to do
things differently, to give
ourselves the ability to
choose our opportunities
for freedom, and to
do so when we feel we
need to. We are quite
capable of taking steps
to control many other
aspects of our life, so what is it
that’s missing from this equation?
TRANSFORMATIVE LEARING
Just as in many other aspects of
our life, we’ll look back one day
and reflect on the opportunities
we had, and the decisions we
made. Inevitably there will be
some regrets about the decisions
we made. There will also be regrets
about decisions we didn’t make
and chances we didn’t take. We’ll
reminisce about what could have
been, if only we’d given ourselves the
opportunity to make choices that
were better for us, although they
may not have been as convenient.
We’ve all heard the saying; “Today
is the first day of the rest of your
life”. The question is, what are we
going to do about it? Let’s find
the strength and perhaps even
the audacity to make this day, the
day we start exercising our rights
and choose freedom. Freedom
to do what’s best for us, freedom
to say no or to say yes, freedom
to not be afraid of looking out
for number one. Freedom to
actually switch off from the rest
of the world - give it a try!
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