Posted by Jim Hoffmann on February 14, 2002 at 10:43:52:
In Reply to: Certification: it's the instructor, stupid. posted by AADIVER on February 13, 2002 at 16:31:29:
Frank, you are right a good experienced instructor (PADI, NAUI, YMCA, LA County, SSI) will get the job done. The experienced instuctors that I know, still lecture in the classroom (with some A/V), they spend extra time in the pool, and they do more dives then what is required. Most experience instructors I know have their own programs. They do what the agency requires, and then add more, because they know that just doing the requirements will not make most students water safe.
The major problem with the dive industry today is the drop-out rate. I feel that one of the reasons for the high drop-out rate is that most of the instructional program today give the students less time to learn the material. In most of todays Openwater 1 classes instructors do less lectures (not talking to the students, they pop in a video tape, or the students does home study, for the classroom)they do less pool time (no hourly requirements)and they do less dives (only four,20 min. dives). This meets the minium reqirements for some of the agencies. The sad part of this is that they think that this is all that is needed. But the reality of this is that, they are producing a student who is not ready to be a diver (and someone who will never dive again).
Leaning to dive takes time, those of us that have been teaching for a while have leaned that,it's to bad that the people running some of the training agencies have not.
Jim Hoffmann
NAUI 5888
PADI 6301
Scuba Toys and Schools Inc.
Cypress, Ca.