For the past 38 years, Mr. Mike Downing has been teaching the summer program, Driver’s Education, with the passion of being able to help teens take the next step towards adulthood and more importantly, learning a useful life skill along the way.
Downing has always viewed Driver’s Education as a major step for teens going into adulthood. He loved being able to help teens become responsible and safe drivers for their future lives on the road. Downing explained, “I see learning to drive a vehicle as a major step for a teenager to take toward becoming an adult. I enjoy being in a position to help a young adult become a responsible driver. I feel comfortable helping young drivers make the transition to becoming a safe driver.”
Entering Driver’s Education can be a whole new experience for a beginner driver. With this knowledge, Downing always prioritizes the basic skills of the driver, always wanting to make sure the beginner feels comfortable behind the wheel before progressing any further. Downing explained, “I start with very basic skills and progress as a student feels comfortable behind the wheel. Not all students learn at the same rate, as some students feel very comfortable behind the wheel while others are not ready to take that step.”
Aydan McClinton (10), described her personal experience being a part of Downing’s Driver’s Education program over this past summer, “It was very educational! I definitely would have struggled much more as a driver if I hadn’t taken Driver’s Ed, and Mr. Downing was very patient and professional.”
Taking Driver’s Education can be a different learning experience for each student, as some take away different important skills than others. Kynlee Peck (10), explained a driving skill that she learned in Downing’s class, “Something good I learned from Mr. Downing is how to parallel park. Parallel parking is not very easy but I learned some good tips from Mr. Downing during my time at Driver’s Ed.”
Driver’s Education is an important extracurricular for students learning how to drive or simply a student wanting to practice more on their own driving skills, as learning how to drive is important for a student’s transformation into adulthood. Downing explained why teaching the class is important to him personally, “The motor vehicle you will be driving is constantly changing. Your car has all the comforts of home with all its distractions that SIRI/Alexa can control, those distractions can keep us from the most important still you need to focus on: driving. You can be doing everything right but you cannot control what the other guy is doing behind the wheel.”
