In each lesson, the eponymous Mr. Overbeke offers an hour's worth of really neat information about how to drive a car without getting yourself killed.
Overbeke knows exactly how to make teaching boring and how to make sure that his students won't remember a whit of what they learn; and that's exactly what he doesn't do. (It's because he's funny.)
He asserts that there's a state-mandated amount of instructional videos, so he's dug up the most interesting possible videos to fill the time. It's not this "horrific pan shots of bloody corpses" stuff you read about in the papers; he's found really neat material. Who knew there was a whole lobbying association devoted to keeping people off of train tracks?
Every few classes is devoted to actually looking at a car; students go outside and work with the driving school's training cars. The rest isn't just bland instruction; students are involved in the learning. (One demonstration teaches how to survive four-way stops. Imagine four young teenagers standing in the front of a room, waving at one another frantically and hoping someone will step forward.)
Overbeke draws on his dozens of years of experience in his former life as a Beachwood High School history teacher to teach his driving school students in a way that is both lasting and enjoyable. He and the in-car instructors in his employ are friendly, professional, and good at their job.
The school continuously runs many sessions, so it's easy to make up any class that's missed without missing out on learning anything. Because the instructor is sincerely concerned about making sure his students learn to drive safely, and because he's got a remarkable presence, this school works. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour a week, and it's kept me from making stupid mistakes in the years since I attended.
Sit in on a lesson to see what I mean. This is an excellent driving school.
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