are people really this clueless???

[booth22]

To follow up with jk47's question- I've chatted with some at our shop who mentioned the class doesn't make much money on the classes, but rather gear sales. I'm not sure if they meant strictly OW classes, or all, but if classes aren't a money maker, why not have a higher standard? I would be more likely, as a student, to support my shop if I felt they had a higher standard in their classes.

I guess it comes down to what is the greater $$$- Money spent by people who are happy with the shop for not allowing a doofus (for lack of a better term) to skate through a class and waste everyones time... or the money lost when the doofus and those like him find a shop that will allow them the slack their way through classes.

 

[Michael Schlink]

Learning agreements-a simple contract between the instructor/diveshop and the student. Solves almost all of these "pesky" little problems.

 

[EvilSlumLord]

I just took the Nitrox class last week and everyone showed up reasonably prepared. What scared me was when we took the test and the teen partner of one of the adults in the class missed all the formula problems (find the exact MOD for EANx29, etc). They give you the formula on the test and the values to plug in. All you have to do is plug it in and turn the crank. Aside from being basic math that any teen should know it is all covered quite well in the book for the course so those should have been the easiest questions of all to answer. And yet the teen missed every one.

At the end of the day I was just worried that if they can't do it in the controlled, focused setting of a class, what hope is there that they will do it correctly (or at all) in real life)?

For the cases where someone shows up to a class without being prepared, I'd send them home and say come back when you are serious. Unlike not being prepared for a typical high school/college class where the worst thing that will happen is your GPA takes a dive (so to speak ), diving is not a place where people should just barely squeak by and pass. I'd want people to have the maximum margin of safety in their understanding of the material, skills, etc. as possible.

 

[Seasaw]

I guess what I find most disturbing about this thread is that most of the comments are "accepting" of this behavior. I find it "unacceptable". I've been a Naui, Padi, & tdi instructor for 12 years. I speak with my students either beforehand on the phone or at orientation and set my expectations. Either be prepared and show up ontime..... or don't show up at all. It is unfair to and disrespectful of the other students as well as the instructor, to waste their time.
My 2 cents.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

So a question for the instructors...I imagine it would make you pretty nervous about taking someone under water who was unable to follow instructions to do homework. Have you ever turned someone away?

Yes ... I've sent students home after asking them to contact me when they feel they're ready to put the necessary effort into the class. In one case, he called me back the next day, and turned into a model student. In the other two cases, I never heard from them again ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TheRedHead]

What scared me was when we took the test and the teen partner of one of the adults in the class missed all the formula problems (find the exact MOD for EANx29, etc).

IRL, you won't be diving EAN29, but EAN32 or EAN36 and you can remember the MOD for those. It doesn't excuse being unable to use a formula, but most divers don't ever use the fomulas after the class.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

IRL, you won't be diving EAN29, but EAN32 or EAN36 ...

That depends entirely on the dive plan, the way you were trained, and the skill of the person doing the mixing.

FWIW - I dive mixes in the EAN28 to EAN30 range by intent on some dive profiles (125 to 135 fsw range) ... most recreational agencies teach "best mix".

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TheRedHead]

FWIW - I dive mixes in the EAN28 to EAN30 range by intent on some dive profiles (125 to 135 fsw range) ... most recreational agencies teach "best mix".

Yes, but you can't get those fills in most places. What did you dive in Bonaire? I wish I could dive EAN28 in Cozumel.

 

[do it easy]

IRL, you won't be diving EAN29, but EAN32 or EAN36 and you can remember the MOD for those. It doesn't excuse being unable to use a formula, but most divers don't ever use the fomulas after the class.

I sometimes dive mystery mix after I use a nitrox tank and then air top it- it might be 24% or it might be 38%. Before you get your x-shorts in a bunch, I do analyze it and I also top with the same air that I would blend with. Of course, when I dive mystery mix, the MOD, PPO2, CNS clock aren't limiting factors.

 

[TheRedHead]

Before you get your x-shorts in a bunch, I do analyze it and I also top with the same air that I would blend with.

I don't care. I would dive strange mixes (even 80% for deco) if I could get them. But you aren't gong to DIE because you can't remember the formula to the MOD because you're going to be mostly diving EAN32 and EAN36 because most shops bank those mixes. My EAD table has MODs for 22 to 36% and I mostly use that to look up an odd one.