Friend is into flight simulators. I think his are computer based simulators like X-Plane, for learning the rudiments of flight, for fun.
We have other simulators locally, being close to Gatwick, as much training of airline pilots takes place nearby. More than just for fun.
billywells22 and friends landing with a bump at Gatwick!
It got me thinking though about other simulators, perhaps for other jobs. If they can do it for flying aircraft and car driving perhaps they can do it for other professions…
I have occasionally been involved in interviewing people for new positions, and there are times when I wish we could put people on some sort of simulator, to see what they may be like in practice on the job. Will they be any good? I suppose some places do it in some ways – I remember being sent off on Teaching Practice from Westhill College in Birmingham (sadly no more), which is that of a sort job simulation for teachers.
The idea of an apprenticeship has been revived in recent years – and not just by Sir Alan. Working alongside a more experienced colleague, to learn from them, as many trades in Britain and abroad have done, has value. It is also a pattern we see modelled in the Bible, whether it is Moses & Joshua, Elijah & Elisha, or Paul & Timothy. Thinking about it, that is also why after sending people to theological college, after ordination, new clergy work as a curate alongside a senior colleague. I suspect that, as with some other simulators, not everybody qualifying via these various apprenticeships are always great practitioners. But many are, because of it.
“Life is not a rehearsal”, as David Brudnoy would like to remind us. That is often the received wisdom, that we only have one chance at this life, so get on with it; make the best of it.
Gavin Ashenden, however, would beg to differ. On his Sunday morning radio broadcast (26 April 2009, briefly available to listen again), he mooted the idea that for those who believe in a resurrection life, this is indeed the rehearsal. A chance to make mistakes, get things right. Perhaps this is the ultimate simulation.
