. . . and the Teacher?
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OF all the many things which, over the years, have been written about the teaching profession, perhaps the most apt remark (so far as road transport is concerned) is that of George Bernard Shaw: " I am not a teacher; only a fellow traveller of whom you asked the way."
Within these words lies the strength and the weakness of nearly all the efforts which are made to provide education facilities in road transport subjects. The strength lies in the fact that numbers of busy people, whose livelihood is road transport, are prepared to devote time and thought to what potentially is the biggest long-term problem the industry must face—the vital necessity to provide an adequate supply of properly trained personnel at all levels. Some people devote their time to the provision of facilities, others to the actual task of teaching at evening classes or via correspondence courses. But, however knowledgeable the teacher, the regrettable truth is that he rarely has any training in the difficult profession of instilling his knowledge into other people's less-expert minds.
Who teaches the teacher to teach? This is the inherent weakness implied by Shaw and very real so far as this industry is concerned. No criticism is intended (or, indeed, can be accepted) of those willing men who devote spare time to training. The Commercial Motor does, however, criticize the system which lamentably fails to back their enthusiasm with some form of teacher-training.
Why cannot Mr. Frank Cousins, as Minister of Technology, show a lead in this matter? He knows road transport, and its particular difficulties. Someone must back the willingness of volunteer teachers by showing them how to teach.