toolman04

Thanks to all for the great advice and information. In hindsight, I would have flown with the student and thought of some ways to point out why it's importatnt to know the material as sqwk alluded to (ask him to fly the a/c at various V-speeds (he didn't want to memorize these since he had a checklist), demo the relationship between lift and drag (his HW assignment), etc). His goal was to fly for pleasure (not a career), but he wanted to progress with his complex, HP, and instrument. His goal was to finish in two months with the PPL, and move on to fly his dad's Commanche. Therefore, based on his desires, I knew we had to hit the ground running in order to meet his goals with an acceptable level of safety and proficiency. I explained the goal was to fly a min of three times per week, and that I would quiz him to determine his level of understanding of the principles he was studying in the groundschool (this was test prep, though, not a home study course - part of the problem). After a quick review, we would go fly to bring about some correlation. I explained it would be a bit faster-paced, but I didn't mind filling in the blanks with the knowledge portion....there just seemed to be a great many! Lessons learned:

-- Consider the student's motivation and objectives!! Rookie mistake on my part. He may want to get done in 2 months, but if he's not preparing, then it will reflect in his rate of progress (and financially), and he may step it up on his own to reach his goal...no need to cancel a flight.

-- Future students that do their own g-school should be home study, not test prep...thanks, rick. I always do a review of material before we fly and I love to teach the material so, if I have to delve into a deeper explination on a subject or start from scratch on something he was supposed to study, I really don't mind....it's still saving me time in the long-run by having him skim the material.

-- Exercise a bit more patience. Perhaps he would have studied more diligently if we flew and he found himself behind the power curve...I know there's a fine line between motivation and frustration, but I could have facilitated his learning by tying in the principles when he recognized the need for some additional understanding

Nothing like instructing to make you realize how little you really know!! I'm working on it....appreciate the support.