rjbarlow,
I understand what you are saying. I'm always glancing at the display when my wife is driving. That is good that you have not brought up FE. Learning how to drive a manual takes a lot of patience from both teacher and student. I've been on both ends. When I was learning, my dad was extremely impatient and offered little instruction. I ended up learning with my mom quietly sitting in the passenger seat. As for teaching, I've had one success story and one failure story. As for my failure story, that's part of why we don't have a manual transmission car any more.