Do we need instructors?

[Thalassamania]

Mutual respect and friendship does not require a room, and never needs to be hidden.

 

[sailingk8]

I feel that a diver should be able to learn the skills anywhere but still has to be certified and "tested" to get a "license" to dive. You can just as easily pay a bad instructor as a good instructor in just about any thing. I taught my daughter to drive a car better than the service I was forced to pay for by the state. It's the instruction quality in the long run that counts and the ultimate "testing" of that instruction by an authority that determines if you are ready to jump in the deep end or not. IMHO

 

[Paladin]

Throughout much of this thread, I have been amazed at the vehemence with which one poster has defended the title of "Professional SCUBA Instructor." The very idea that PSIs may not be absolutely necessary to the basic training of divers elicits an almost violent response. This poster has taken the discussion as a personal attack and has responded with a combatative "Me against Them" attitude when the entire purpose of this discussion is just that: a discussion.

I have pondered this at length and am reminded of something we studied in one of my psychology classes in college. Sometimes a person may invest so much of their being into a career or lifestyle that it becomes more than an ancillary part of his or her life. It actually becomes their identity.

One man, let's call him Joe, might think of himself as a husband and father first and, say, a carpenter second. His identity, as he sees himself, is "Joe, husband of Jill, father of Johnnie, professional carpenter by trade." If Joe loses his job as a carpenter, he finds another one and thus thinks of himself as "Joe, husband of Jill, father of Johnnie, professional truck driver by trade." The vocations of carpenter or truck driver are mere incidentals to Joe, nothing more than support mechanisms for his primary identity.

Across the street from Joe lives Bert. Bert is a professional electrician. He thinks of himself as Bert, electrician, husband of Mary, father of Lisa. The title of "Professional Electrician" is so important to his own sense of being and self worth, it has actually become his primary identity with Mary and Lisa serving as the support mechanism. In his mind, he exists primarily as an electrician and his professional position is the end-all and be-all of the man he perceives himself to be. Everything else in his life is ancillary to this identity. Because of this, any perceived threat to his profession is immediately seen as a threat to his very identity. This is reasonable, as, to his mind, he is his profession and his profession is he. Take away his profession, make it obsolete or less important to society and you are, in effect, diminishing the importance of Bert himself.

Joe's profession is "what" he is.

Bert's profession is "who" he is.

Joe can easily change the ancillary "what" of his identity but Bert cannot change the primary "who" of his.

We often see in the news where some stock broker or company executive or other professional has committed suicide because of a financial downturn or has lost his job or some such. These are the "Berts" of the world. For one reason or another beyond their control, they have been stripped of their professions and, therefore, their identities.

It also happens in the blue collar world. How often have we heard of a man who has lost his life-long job at a factory, falls into the depths of despair and kills first his family, then himself. With his identity gone, he no longer has any use for his support mechanism (his family) or the shell that once contained his identity.

Does this make any sense to y'all?

NOTE: I am not saying that the aforementioned poster fits in this category, only that I was reminded of something I learned a long time ago.

 

[captain]

I feel that a diver should be able to learn the skills anywhere but still has to be certified and "tested" to get a "license" to dive. You can just as easily pay a bad instructor as a good instructor in just about any thing. I taught my daughter to drive a car better than the service I was forced to pay for by the state. It's the instruction quality in the long run that counts and the ultimate "testing" of that instruction by an authority that determines if you are ready to jump in the deep end or not. IMHO

As long as that "license" is solely to provide proof of competency and does not criminalize someone who choses to dive without obtaining it it.

 

[I Dive]

Throughout much of this thread, I have been amazed at the vehemence with which one poster has defended the title of "Professional SCUBA Instructor." The very idea that PSIs may not be absolutely necessary to the basic training of divers elicits an almost violent response. This poster has taken the discussion as a personal attack and has responded with a combatative "Me against Them" attitude when the entire purpose of this discussion is just that: a discussion.

I have pondered this at length and am reminded of something we studied in one of my psychology classes in college. Sometimes a person may invest so much of their being into a career or lifestyle that it becomes more than an ancillary part of his or her life. It actually becomes their identity.

One man, let's call him Joe, might think of himself as a husband and father first and, say, a carpenter second. His identity, as he sees himself, is "Joe, husband of Jill, father of Johnnie, professional carpenter by trade." If Joe loses his job as a carpenter, he finds another one and thus thinks of himself as "Joe, husband of Jill, father of Johnnie, professional truck driver by trade." The vocations of carpenter or truck driver are mere incidentals to Joe, nothing more than support mechanisms for his primary identity.

Across the street from Joe lives Bert. Bert is a professional electrician. He thinks of himself as Bert, electrician, husband of Mary, father of Lisa. The title of "Professional Electrician" is so important to his own sense of being and self worth, it has actually become his primary identity with Mary and Lisa serving as the support mechanism. In his mind, he exists primarily as an electrician and his professional position is the end-all and be-all of the man he perceives himself to be. Everything else in his life is ancillary to this identity. Because of this, any perceived threat to his profession is immediately seen as a threat to his very identity. This is reasonable, as, to his mind, he is his profession and his profession is he. Take away his profession, make it obsolete or less important to society and you are, in effect, diminishing the importance of Bert himself.

Joe's profession is "what" he is.

Bert's profession is "who" he is.

Joe can easily change the ancillary "what" of his identity but Bert cannot change the primary "who" of his.

We often see in the news where some stock broker or company executive or other professional has committed suicide because of a financial downturn or has lost his job or some such. These are the "Berts" of the world. Fpr one reason or another beyond their control, they have been stripped of their professions and, therefore, their identities.

It also happens in the blue collar world. How often have we heard of a man who has lost his life-long job at a factory, falls into the depths of despair and kills first his family, then himself. With his identity gone, he no longer has any use for his support mechanism (his family) or the shell that once contained his identity.

Does this make any sense to y'all?

NOTE: I am not saying that the aforementioned poster fits in this category, only that I was reminded of something I learned a long time ago.

There is something else potentially at play. I call it the "Curse of the Internet". Whether a person just doesn't do a good job of conveying their point/thought/message/whatever when they type it, or a person reads more into something than the "typer" intended, I've observed many times that electronic communication causes resentment where none is needed. You can't see the person's posture when they type, hear the tone of their voice, or read their body language. There is also a delay in back-and-forth dialogue. These are all important aspects of communication that are lost in email and message boards. This is not to say that there are not people who type up absolutely ridicilous things, make obviously offensive statements, etc... But many times things are just taken the wrong way. And, some people just naturally take things more personally than others. This is not to discount anything you stated, just offering other possibilities...

 

[Paladin]

I dive,
No resentment on my part. Merely a bit of "stream of consciousness" observation. I've lived too long and am now too old to take offense at the obviously wrong opinions of those who are beneath my vastly superior intellect!

 

[peterbj7]

As long as that "license" is solely to provide proof of competency and does not criminalize someone who choses to dive without obtaining it it.

It's never proof, just evidence, and the message it is intended to convey can be negated by other observations.

 

[I Dive]

i dive,
no resentment on my part. Merely a bit of "stream of consciousness" observation. I've lived too long and am now too old to take offense at the obviously wrong opinions of those who are beneath my vastly superior intellect!

:d:d:d:d:d

 

[theduckguru]

I have experienced the self-service propane cages. Improperly maintained, dented and rusty tanks, short fills and bad valves are just a few of the problems. Picking up a propane tank such as these for your grill is one thing, trusting this kind of service for breathing air is another. Not for me, thank you. You could never be sure what you're getting.

That certainly isn't the experiance I have in my area. If you have unsafe cylinders, leaking valves, short fills, ect in your area, you might want to contact your local fire department and your division of measure and standards because both you like to know about your observations. You might also want to let the business who has this service on site know since its a fire hazard.

Really, you driven up to a Home Depot, Lowe's, Menard's or Walmart with propane cylinders in the condition you list being vended?

 

[DCBC]

If you want to be technical about it a mentor will be held, in court, to a rather less stringent standard than a certified instructor.

Unless of course he places himself in the Instructor's role; at which time he will be expected to act accordingly.