Look and Listen

Biography

When the industry you work for requires a regulation stating that “No school shall be conducted from a liquor store, bar tent, temporary stand...” you should be wary. When that industry involves teaching kids, you should get scared. In the spring of 2006, Thomas Sullivan began serving as an instructor for the largest private Driver’s Ed company in Oregon. Over the next five months he learned more than he thought possible about poorly maintained cars, calm kids with angry parents, inefficient efficiency drives, and scheduling blunders. LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE, an irreverent narrative told from the inside of a Driver’s Ed car, relates the author’s journey as he struggles to keep a grip on the teaching mission while enmeshed in a comedy of errors. This title is available at: WWW.LULU.COM Thomas Sullivan is a veteran of the sordid worlds of unregulated vocational education. His prior school was shut down by the federal government and is now facing three class action lawsuits. As a long time teacher who has never shied away from under-funded and dangerous missions, Thomas was uniquely equipped to guide teenagers through their War on Error.

Inspiration

Kids. Teenagers are a resilient bunch. We can learn a lot from them, if we stop to watch and listen. I began writing after I watched a group of kids survive their experience at the hands of a sleazy, unethical Drivers Ed company (for which I worked). The kids got me writing. I wanted to create a fun tribute to celebrate their resolve. That and I was also unemployed. -- Thomas Sullivan