By SUSAN KENNEDY
Student teachers say coaching student drivers is not that bad.
Students enrolled in Health 445 are taught how to teach Driver's Education. They are then put behind the wheel with pupils who are learning to drive.
Most 445 students are teaching majors with Driver's Education minors.
Those learning to drive are enrolled in Health 10. Twenty-five students, representing 18 countries, are taking the class.
Since most of the students are foreigners, student teachers encounter difficulties such as language and lack of knowledge about traffic flow, student teachers said.
However, Paul Coon, assistant professor of health sciences and Driver's Education instructor said, 'Anyone who can teach someone to drive can teach anything. This is a great opportunity for them to teach someone in an outcome-based situation.'
Coon said he encourages education students to minor in Driver's Education for several reasons.
First, only 16 hours are required to complete the minor, which can greatly augment a teacher's salary. It is also a good learning experience, and it helps teachers become better drivers, he said.
Carrie MacDonald, a senior from Sierra Vista, Ariz., majoring in health education, took Health 445 last spring. She was encouraged to take the class for her major.
'I was never really nervous to get behind the wheel with an inexperienced driver, but you do forget what people don't know. You assume that they know what you know,' she said.
MacDonald said since many of the students in Driver's Education are foreigners, language barriers present an additional problem.
MacDonald said she was only frightened once, when one of her pupils got too close to a pole. Instead of hitting the brake, the driver hit the accelerator. 'I was glad I had my own brake,' she said.
Marina Spassova, a senior from Sosia, Bulgaria, majoring in international relations and French, took Driver's Education when she came to BYU.
'Health 10 was fun and easy,' she said. 'There's nothing hard about driving.'
She said her instructors were 'totally good' and remained calm even when she wasn't.
Teaching people to be calm in frightening situations is an important part of Coon's job, he said.
'If the teacher is nervous, the feeling transfers to the student,' Coon said. 'Not everyone can teach Driver's Education. You have to be mentally equipped and realize that you are in control.'
It is not uncommon for students to hit their accelerators instead of their brakes or to make other minor errors, Coon said.
MacDonald said the benefit of teaching Health 10 is that students learn 'patience and caution.'