Until very recently it was, in Florida. However, the BSAC Centre hasn't renewed their membership.
Edit: correction:
Amoray Dive Resort is listed again.
Kelowna Divers is based in the Okanagan, Canada.
Last edited:
Becoming an Instructor
- Thread starter Michael Guerrero
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Edit: correction:
Amoray Dive Resort is listed again.
Kelowna Divers is based in the Okanagan, Canada.
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@Michael Guerrero
what you are missing with what @NetDoc , @oya , and I were trying to point out is that no matter how good your knowledge of diving is, how good your skills are, etc. those skills have nothing to do with you being prepared to teach. The story would be very different if you had years of experience volunteering with recreational level classes and were already acting as an AI and you started the thread with something like:
"for the last 3 years I've been volunteering with a local instructor for almost all of his classes. He's been letting me do a lot of the teaching aspects of it and I've found that this is something I really want to do. Unfortunately he is not a CD and the local CD wants me to spend $3k over 2 weeks to take an IDC. I feel like I'm ready to do this based off of my real world teaching experience, and I'm looking for a faster/less expensive way to finish this since I've done the mentor route for the last few years. What is your opinion on that, and do you have any suggestions on how to move forward"
That goes a lot farther with us than someone who thinks they are a good diver, but has no teaching experience, asking how to find the bare minimum way through to get what they want. No different than cave divers asking who the cheapest instructor is, or who only teaches to the course minimums. Do you want to be a good instructor, or do you just want the card? If you don't learn how to teach students, it doesn't matter how good your knowledge of the subject is, they won't learn from you. Not sure if you went to college, but anyone who went to college in some sort of STEM field can relate. How terrible were the full professors that you had to take courses from for low level courses vs. your high school teachers? You took Chem101 from a big name professor that is one of the leaders in their field but they can't teach for sh!t. Conversely your high school teacher was teaching the same material, but because they had a degree in TEACHING you actually learned more from them because they knew how to get through to you. Their knowledge of the subject was nothing like what you had from the professor in college, but the professor didn't have any formal background in teaching. Change chemistry to calculus, physics, whatever, I can basically guarantee that everyone who has a college degree can relate to this.
I am an instructor, I have diving knowledge and skills far superior to that of most course directors around the globe, certainly most instructors, but that does NOT mean that I am a better instructor than they are. I do not teach basic recreational courses because I understand my limitations as an instructor and know that there are those in the world that do it much better than I can. I much prefer to teach the advanced/technical courses where I can pass on the subtle hints and tricks once the student is comfortable in the water, but I still went through a very long mentorship program learning how to teach open water students. What they need from you as an instructor is someone who can teach them the basics, they don't give a damn how good your knowledge of physiology is because they don't care, they don't care what certifications you have or how good your line skills are, that's not what you are there to teach them. They need someone that knows how to relate to them to help them get through what they are struggling with and someone to teach them the very basics of scuba. How you go about doing that is what you should be learning from preferably a long mentorship with a good instructor, or at least a well run and thorough ITC/IDC whatever acronym your agency uses for it. That may not be cheap, but if you want to be an effective instructor, you have to do it.
what you are missing with what @NetDoc , @oya , and I were trying to point out is that no matter how good your knowledge of diving is, how good your skills are, etc. those skills have nothing to do with you being prepared to teach. The story would be very different if you had years of experience volunteering with recreational level classes and were already acting as an AI and you started the thread with something like:
"for the last 3 years I've been volunteering with a local instructor for almost all of his classes. He's been letting me do a lot of the teaching aspects of it and I've found that this is something I really want to do. Unfortunately he is not a CD and the local CD wants me to spend $3k over 2 weeks to take an IDC. I feel like I'm ready to do this based off of my real world teaching experience, and I'm looking for a faster/less expensive way to finish this since I've done the mentor route for the last few years. What is your opinion on that, and do you have any suggestions on how to move forward"
That goes a lot farther with us than someone who thinks they are a good diver, but has no teaching experience, asking how to find the bare minimum way through to get what they want. No different than cave divers asking who the cheapest instructor is, or who only teaches to the course minimums. Do you want to be a good instructor, or do you just want the card? If you don't learn how to teach students, it doesn't matter how good your knowledge of the subject is, they won't learn from you. Not sure if you went to college, but anyone who went to college in some sort of STEM field can relate. How terrible were the full professors that you had to take courses from for low level courses vs. your high school teachers? You took Chem101 from a big name professor that is one of the leaders in their field but they can't teach for sh!t. Conversely your high school teacher was teaching the same material, but because they had a degree in TEACHING you actually learned more from them because they knew how to get through to you. Their knowledge of the subject was nothing like what you had from the professor in college, but the professor didn't have any formal background in teaching. Change chemistry to calculus, physics, whatever, I can basically guarantee that everyone who has a college degree can relate to this.
I am an instructor, I have diving knowledge and skills far superior to that of most course directors around the globe, certainly most instructors, but that does NOT mean that I am a better instructor than they are. I do not teach basic recreational courses because I understand my limitations as an instructor and know that there are those in the world that do it much better than I can. I much prefer to teach the advanced/technical courses where I can pass on the subtle hints and tricks once the student is comfortable in the water, but I still went through a very long mentorship program learning how to teach open water students. What they need from you as an instructor is someone who can teach them the basics, they don't give a damn how good your knowledge of physiology is because they don't care, they don't care what certifications you have or how good your line skills are, that's not what you are there to teach them. They need someone that knows how to relate to them to help them get through what they are struggling with and someone to teach them the very basics of scuba. How you go about doing that is what you should be learning from preferably a long mentorship with a good instructor, or at least a well run and thorough ITC/IDC whatever acronym your agency uses for it. That may not be cheap, but if you want to be an effective instructor, you have to do it.
Doesn't matter if they're in one dive center in the US. OP's profile shows he's in America. Unless he wants to teach overseas, which I did not get from his posts.
If I were a student looking at instructors and discovered the OP's background, there is no way I would want to take a class with him. Cheapest/quickest method to becoming an instructor to me means someone who wants to cut corners. I'll be damned if I take a diving class from someone who has that mentality, for all his talk about doing tons of research on many aspects of diving. You get what you pay for. Cheapy and quicky usually do not equal quality.
If something is worth doing, it's worth doing properly. Period.
I think people are being more than a little too hard on the OP. He has been around the online diving community for a very long time. He has been diving at a pretty high level for a very long time. We are not talking about someone who just got certified and is looking to teach--a phenomenon we see on ScubaBoard about every other month.
Doesn't matter. Cutting corners is cutting corners.
I want to address the issue of teaching skills. As a career educator, I am firmly in the camp that training in teaching methodologies certainly helps a lot. Experience in teaching also helps a lot. On the other hand, a large part of my training and experience has been in teacher evaluation, both theory (I created a teacher-evaluation protocol still in use) and practice (I evaluated teachers), and I have seen teachers with plenty of training and experience who were still downright terrible.
On the other hand...
I also coached high school girls' basketball for 14 years, and I was highly successful, winning nearly 80% of those games and never suffering a losing season. One year I attended a coaching clinic that featured two of the most famous coaches in NCAA women's coaching history, Jody Conradit (Texas) and Pat Head Suimmit (Tennessee). That was an experience I will never forget. Conradt and Summit took turns showing us stuff by coaching a group of players local players they had never met before as we all watched. It was quite clear why they were out on the floor demonstrating (and likely being paid a whole lot to do so) while we were in the stands taking notes. Both had a simply phenomenal ability to communicate with the players and get them to do exactly what they wanted them to do. I was quite humbled, because it was clear to me that those two were that much better at coaching players than I.
I just checked their biographies. Neither had any special training in teaching or coaching before they started.
So training and experience in educational theory and practice helps a whole lot, but there is also a component of instruction that seems to come naturally to some people.
On the other hand...
I also coached high school girls' basketball for 14 years, and I was highly successful, winning nearly 80% of those games and never suffering a losing season. One year I attended a coaching clinic that featured two of the most famous coaches in NCAA women's coaching history, Jody Conradit (Texas) and Pat Head Suimmit (Tennessee). That was an experience I will never forget. Conradt and Summit took turns showing us stuff by coaching a group of players local players they had never met before as we all watched. It was quite clear why they were out on the floor demonstrating (and likely being paid a whole lot to do so) while we were in the stands taking notes. Both had a simply phenomenal ability to communicate with the players and get them to do exactly what they wanted them to do. I was quite humbled, because it was clear to me that those two were that much better at coaching players than I.
I just checked their biographies. Neither had any special training in teaching or coaching before they started.
So training and experience in educational theory and practice helps a whole lot, but there is also a component of instruction that seems to come naturally to some people.
I disagree somewhat with the idea that the average student will avoid zero-to-hero instructors. The average student simply won't know better. Honestly, has anyone ever checked the qualifications of their dentist, butcher, beautician (is that a word?) etc etc etc? We go to the nearest shop or the one we can afford, and assume they have the skills. If they fail too spectacularly: yes, we may start asking questions post factum.
Edit: I am talking about OW students without past experience.
Edit: I am talking about OW students without past experience.
Not everyone can teach, but those that can't, do...Whether its English, flying, diving or driving a car, not everyone is capable of teaching, but there are a many that have that gift. One has to know what questions to ask in any one specific category, ie scuba instructing, to scrutinize the teacher/instructor.
The internet today has a way of weeding out the good from the not so good
The internet today has a way of weeding out the good from the not so good
Bubblesong
Contributor
Speaking of students, being an instructor means being able to figure out which students are paying attention and which are going to "come to a bad end".
In one class I took, students asked if they could: "breath skip" to make air last longer, which, (along with breath holding and breath-less one night stands on Liveaboards) is the worst practice.
The whole crowd of students are going to surprise in a lot of ways and the best teaching training will help you prevent more of the foolishness that could come your way.
In one class I took, students asked if they could: "breath skip" to make air last longer, which, (along with breath holding and breath-less one night stands on Liveaboards) is the worst practice.
The whole crowd of students are going to surprise in a lot of ways and the best teaching training will help you prevent more of the foolishness that could come your way.
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