As I read the many Driving Personality Makeover reports, I
noticed that many students possessed one or more bad driving habits. I
read on and asked myself if I had any. I noticed that the habits of the
Generation 3 students included speeding and being emotional while
driving.
Bruce Nakada's report
from Generation 3 states that he considered himself to be a good driver.
A Driving Personality Makeover involves improving a persons driving
habits through self observations. This can be done by noting down their
thoughts on paper on their driving. Also, some students had their tape
recorders beside them as they drove. This technique allowed some of the
Generation 3 students to record what they were thinking and feeling at
that moment in time. The idea of assessing ones own driving is a good
way to point out the negative side of his or her driving. Perhaps this
will prevent fewer accidents on our roads whether it may be on the
freeway or on residential roads.
Driving Personality Makeover Steps
The attempt to do a Driving Personality Makeover seems like a
simple task. According to Nancee Aki of Generation 3, it
involves three steps. The first step is to recognize the problem and
behavior. By driving recklessly a person can endanger the lives of other
people. Analyzing the internal and external experiences allows the
driver to complete the second step. As Nancee states, internal
experiences include personality, inner conflicts or psychological
factors. External experiences are usually situations that are beyond the
drivers control such as weather conditions or the ways of other drivers.
The third step and final step is to change ones own driving behavior.
According to Bruce
Nakada of Generation 3, his second report stated that for one week
he observed himself by recording information onto a pocket recorder and
writing his feelings and observation when he arrived at his destination.
He tended to speed even though he did not intend to. After completing
their observations, they implemented plans for a change. Braden Kato, from Generation 3,
experienced the same problem as Bruce. In his second report, he
enumerated five reasons for change. One, it is dangerous in bad weather
conditions. Two, it is not legal to drive over the posted speed limit.
Three, maintenance costs on your car will increase due to wear and tear.
Four, gas is wasted since speeding burns excess fuel. And lastly, the
fifth reason, driving faster wont get you anywhere any quicker. Speeding
causes accidents, injuries, and deaths. My best friend past away in a
car accident last year. The other passengers and the driver himself
claimed that he was not drinking, but weather conditions led to cause of
the accident. If this was the case, I have not ruled out that it may
have been speeding.
By reading the reports of the Generation 3 students, I feel
confident enough to attempt a Driving Personality Makeover plan myself.
I recall in the past while driving that I came close to being in many
accidents. After each incident, I became a cautious driver but then
quickly resorted back to my old driving habits. I am sure I could
succeed if I put my mind to it. Any person who possesses bad driving
habits would show resistance to change. A person cannot change because
they are told to do so, but must want the change for themselves. In the
reading the reports of the Generation 3 students, they had difficulty in
changing. For example, Nancee tried to be a cautious
driver and as a result she was involved in a car accident where her
vehicle had been a mess. This experience made her think that by being
too cautious of a driver put her in an accident. However, she did not
rule the possibility of attempting to try the makeover again.
Reaction To Online Generational Curriculum on Traffic Psychology
My first day on Netscape proved to be a frightening
experience for me since I had no idea what it was about. After many
tries I learned to wet my feet in something new. Dr. James provided
information on how to pull up reports from the Generation 3 class. I
asked other people for help and sometimes they couldnt give me an answer
or was misinformed. Eventually, I managed to find solutions to them.
Being that this is the second week of the first summer session, my
emotions have being going up and down like a roller coaster. I feel
confident to hang in there but when the going gets tough I just want to
give up. The thought of learning something new posed an exciting
feeling in me. How was I going to do the required work if I had no idea
on what I was doing? At the present moment I feel more confident than I
did a day ago.
Working On-line
Working with the online generational curriculum shows
different views while learning about traffic psychology. Like me, I
learn something new while writing my report. On the other hand, it can
be frustrating at times and try to encourage myself to finish through.
Its only for six weeks! What is six weeks compared to sixteen weeks?
Well, that keeps me from giving up. When I think about work, I find it
to be an obstacle to overcome. I think to myself, Do I have the time to
do this? When I do get onto Netscape I dont notice the time flying. It
seems like only a few minutes but an hour, two hours, three hours, or
more has past. This class is quite different from the other classes I
have taken in the past. I've never had to write papers and send it via
computer technology. It eliminates the possibility of trying to memorize
a lot of information and sitting in class being bored. It is a lot more
fun doing hands-on explorations through Netscape. There is no thinking
of "Oh no, Im going to class and it makes me fall asleep".
For future generations who decide to take Cyberpsychology, be
ready to accept a challenge. This class will ask you to do things that
you probably never saw or heard of such as UHUNIX and Netscape. Find
someone in class who you could work with, ask questions, and dont be
afraid to enter a new realm. The generational curriculum looks so
complicated. I never knew such a thing existed. I didn't know that this
kind of class was offered at all. This approach to teaching is so new to
me. In my opinion, I think its a liberal way of teaching. Many
instructors follow an outline that they must follow to comply with
university standards. This concept of teaching is different and unique
that I believe that many students may welcome the thought.
Cyberpsychology has finally gotten me to sign up for an
E-mail account and learn about Netscape. I always thought to myself that
I didnt need E-Mail and who cares about the Web. The continuation of
this class is important because of the new technology that is being
introduced to us everyday. So many people are computer illiterate and
this may be because of the fear of computers or they simply never thought
that they didnt feel the need to. Being involved in a program like this
is challenging to me. I hope to provide input into making this class
even more successful for Dr. James.
Furthermore, high school students might be able to work with
this approach to teaching. I never had the opportunity to really work
with computer programs in school such as Word for Windows, etc. Perhaps
it will prepare them for college and the professional world. Who knows,
more courses might be implemented like this one as the University takes
notice of students achievements in this course. This could simplify the
need to print term papers and hand it in person. The instructor would
simply receive it in just a matter of moments. Thats a great idea!
Thus, an expansion of the generational curriculum will result. With
words of encouragement from Dr. James and others, a student can survive
this challenging course.