SSI Class - Failed

[Superlyte27]

At the completion of every required skill, the instructor is required to tell students whether they have completed the skill satisfactorily or not. If not, then they are supposed to repeat it until it is OK. Under standards, you cannot complete the pool work until you have either demonstrated mastery of every skill or been told specifically what skills you failed and will need to make up.

I agree completely. So many instructors miss that word.... "mastery"

 

[Heath Sapp]

Any more news from OP?

 

[Lead_carrier]

Going back to the original poster's complaint, I'd like to see if we can somehow benchmark what reasonable expectations should be.

How many SSI, PADI, or NAUI instructors reading this thread have flunked 7 OW students in one class after passing the written exam but before the OW dive?

How many have flunked 7 OW students under the same circumstances over a one year period?

Five years?

Their careers?

I'd really like to hear some instructors' responses.

Ok, I'll give my stats. Been a part-time SSI instructor since 2001. I have taught a few hundred students and I can think of only 1 student that I have flunked. I have had some long talks with students about their reasons for and the true desire to dive. Most of those didn't really want to be there and I have always given them the choice, withdraw until they knew what they wanted or I would flunk them and take the peer pressure off them and the "peer" could come discuss the reason for flunking with me. I never had a complete class get to that point and rarely ever had more than 1 that needed remedial work.

 

[flots am]

You cannot expect someone to work for nothing..

You can if the person doesn't consider it to be "work". Most of the instructors I know have other "real" jobs or are retired. Teaching SCUBA is just a fun way to "pay it forward".

Diving is fun and a passion for many instructors, if not all,,but working for nothing is not going to happen here. Do you work for nothing?

See above.

Do you find that you are asked to work overtime to get a job done and accept doing it for free? I worked in corporate and my overtime was time and 1/2 plus if over 9 hrs for that week it was double time pay.

I own a small business and won't do anything without being paid. However I don't consider teaching SCUBA to be a "job" and do it because I enjoy it. If it takes me an extra few pool sessions to get someone from "terrified of mask leaks" to "doesn't care about mask leaks," I just consider it being good to another person.

Any other instructors are free to charge or not charge for whatever they want for extra time required to teach/learn OW skills, however I don't and neither do my friends.

No difference here. a student pays for a course,a course is delivered and others in the class do well and pass.The student that fails should expect that to continue or get extra 1 to 1 time with an instructor that there is a cost involved to do so.

Why?

The class tuition covers the pool and other overhead. If there are instructors willing to take their time to make a good diver without demanding more money, I'm not sure I see a problem.

flots.

 

[Divejones]

i am SSI, (Advanced Adventurer) while it is important to know everything about the Diving before getting into water, for OW one could restrict to safety, emergency procedures and could know bits on the local condition, if the entire class didn't farewell on that, there is seriously something wrong (a) the divecentre may not be ready and palming off their inadequacies on you (b) if there is an iota of doubt that you guys weren't prepared there is no harm in instructor going over the whole thing with you again, either ways knowing what needs to be known keeps the fun part alive, else you are always wondering on your 'knowhow' level and this could be a cause for anxiety underwater

 

[coreyallen]

I took the naui open water class and got certified without even taking a test. They just threw me in the water showed me a few things then gave me the homework to do that night. I got home so late I didnt have time to read much of the book or watch the dvd and then went diving again the next day. Didnt know anythng about equalizing my ears or even how to use my bcd or even not to hold my breath I just done a few simple things in the water and the instructor said the whole class was certified. Then I go home and read my book and see there are things you really need to learn before diving. Ye my class was run by an idiot obviously they also put the wrong name on my c card and wouldnt change it.

 

[michaelw]

I took the naui open water class and got certified without even taking a test. They just threw me in the water showed me a few things then gave me the homework to do that night. I got home so late I didnt have time to read much of the book or watch the dvd and then went diving again the next day. Didnt know anythng about equalizing my ears or even how to use my bcd or even not to hold my breath I just done a few simple things in the water and the instructor said the whole class was certified. Then I go home and read my book and see there are things you really need to learn before diving. Ye my class was run by an idiot obviously they also put the wrong name on my c card and wouldnt change it.

That's not far off what my class was. Did manage to get the right name on the c card. No test in my class either. I have leaned more in the last week reading scubaboard than I did in the $400.00 class.

 

[Scuba_Noob]

I took the naui open water class and got certified without even taking a test. They just threw me in the water showed me a few things then gave me the homework to do that night. I got home so late I didnt have time to read much of the book or watch the dvd and then went diving again the next day. Didnt know anythng about equalizing my ears or even how to use my bcd or even not to hold my breath I just done a few simple things in the water and the instructor said the whole class was certified. Then I go home and read my book and see there are things you really need to learn before diving. Ye my class was run by an idiot obviously they also put the wrong name on my c card and wouldnt change it.

I wouldn't say that you not finding the time to read the book or watch the DVD is the instructor's fault, if he told you to do it on your own time. Your instructor expected you to read the book and watch the DVD and assumed that it was so, and you didn't tell him otherwise so he couldn't give you extra instruction.

Maybe the instructor had other flaws (like incorrect spelling of your name), but assuming that you followed instruction was probably not one. But then again, if he didn't tell you to read the book on your own time, then it's his fault. End of .

 

[boulderjohn]

I wouldn't say that you not finding the time to read the book or watch the DVD is the instructor's fault, if he told you to do it on your own time. Your instructor expected you to read the book and watch the DVD and assumed that it was so, and you didn't tell him otherwise so he couldn't give you extra instruction.

Maybe the instructor had other flaws (like incorrect spelling of your name), but assuming that you followed instruction was probably not one. But then again, if he didn't tell you to read the book on your own time, then it's his fault. End of .

I think the point you missed was that he didn't read the book, didn't watch the DVD, didn't know what was in either, and still passed the class. Yes, the student is supposed to do the reading on his own time, but the instructor is supposed to check for understanding and provide a test that demonstrates mastery of that material.

 

[coreyallen]

I wanted to read the book and watch the dvd but I got lost on the way home from swimming and didnt get home till 12. Then I had to be at the springs the next day at 9 fr my last day of dives and it was a 2 hour drive away. My instructor didnt ask if I had studied and didnt ask for a test back so how was she gonna grade it. Its not the instructors fault my gps sucks the highway was closed and I didnt have time to read up but it is her fault for not checking about my test and passing me anyway. The most important things I learned in the book and not what little she showed me while diving. I didnt know youre not suppose to hold your breath when coming up so I did and could have damaged my lungs. Didnt know about equalizing my ears either but here I was diving in 30 feet of water.