The big yellow sign on the roof elicits various responses from random passers-by. Some people want to be extra kind to us. They wave us on at intersections, give us big thumbs up when we do a good parallel park, and give us a wide berth on the road, leaving a large following distance behind us. I imagine that they remember what it was like to be a new driver, or have recently had a kiddo go through drivers ed. I appreciate it, and so do my kids.
On the other hand, we have people who see the big yellow sign on my roof rather like a bull sees a red flag waving. It elicits anger and speed. These people pass us on double yellow lines when we are going the speed limit, honk when we are clearly struggling with a skill, or in the case of the young man driving behind us yesterday, just drive along giving us the death stare and flipping us the bird for a solid five minutes. Now, we were going exactly the speed limit, as was the car in front of us, so even if we were not there, he would not have been able to go faster. Maybe he had a really bad experience with drivers ed, and hates us all on sight, maybe he is enraged by the color yellow. Not sure what was going on there, but also not sure what he accomplished by this expression of his displeasure.
In any case, you all want to check us out as you go by, which is just fine. Not sure what you are looking for, but you all want to take a peek. I hope you see the smiles on my students faces, the pride they have in their accomplishments, or even the gritted teeth as they struggle through the fear to do this amazing and scary task anyway. Know that we are looking right back to see if you are wearing your seatbelt, on your phone, or just maybe giving us a little patience and encouragement. Thank you.