Criticism of certification agency for instructor's short coming

[fisherdvm]

Is it fair to criticize the certification agency for failure to reign in incompetent instructors? I don't think so.

If medical schools were required to monitor and restrict doctor's practices, they can't.

If state medical boards have a hard time removing incompetent doctor's from practice, how can cert agencies do so?

And it is harder yet, if not impossible, to remove or retract an MD from a doctor, even after he loses his state's license.

Aren't we asking too much of a certifying agency to regulate their instructors? I can only see this happening if multiple non-anonymous written complaints were filed on the same instructor over a short period of time. Sporadic complaints will come, even to a good instructor, from unsatisfied clients.

 

[Aquamaniac]

I think its fair that an agency can pull an Instructors certs if he is not performing to their standards.

 

[Mark_J]

You cannot fault the agency for a bad teacher anymore than you can fault a College or High School for a bad teacher. However, the agencies do have a responsibility to address documented, validated complaints of incompetence and take appropriate action.

 

[DennisW]

 

[RikRaeder]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't most if not all of the internationally recognized agencies agreed on minimum standards for OW certifications? ie: PADI has signed off on NAUI's, NAUI has signed off on YMCA's, YMCA has signed off on SSI's...etc minimum requirements. If that's the case, what's the gripe on any specific agency? If the MINIMUM standards are the same, anything else is gravy. If instructors aren't giving you what you pay for isn't that on them, not the agency?

 

[Dive-aholic]

The problem is agency standards keep getting lower, so they are, in a sense, creating incompetent instructors.

 

[RikRaeder]

Individual agencies are lowering their standards, independantly of one anothers'; or all agencies are lowering standards together?

 

[Hemlon]

No matter what the field or course of study, people will always think that it was SO much more difficult back in the days when THEY did it.

I see it all of the time among my peers. In certain cricitical care areas, we are required to have a certification called ACLS. (advanced cardiac life support)

I've been re-certifiying in it for the past 9 years and my peers with equal (or more) experience always tell the newbies that it was SOOOOO much worse back in the good old days.

It doesn't matter what field or course of study, we tend to romanticize the past.

The message that's intended is this: "Back when *I* took the course, it was so much harder so *I* must be SO much smarter than these schmucks today."

Get over yourselves.

 

[YellowfinKunkfish]

I think the individual dive shops should be responsible for their instructors, they should be monitoring the classes, and possibly asking students to fill out a form at the end of the class to rate how well the instructors did, and address any problems they had with the instructor. To me this would make more sense than trying to complain to the agency they certify with. The dive shop should be concerned with how well their instructors instruct, because it directly reflects on their shop! (and ultimately their bottom line) JMHO, don't throw rotten tomatoes!

 

[Hemlon]

I think the individual dive shops should be responsible for their instructors, they should be monitoring the classes, and possibly asking students to fill out a form at the end of the class to rate how well the instructors did, and address any problems they had with the instructor. To me this would make more sense than trying to complain to the agency they certify with. The dive shop should be concerned with how well their instructors instruct, because it directly reflects on their shop! (and ultimately their bottom line) JMHO, don't throw rotten tomatoes!

Good point! I just wonder if OW students know that their instructor wasn't good at the end of the course.

My guess is that they don't. They probably don't realize it until they have taken other courses (AOW, Nitrox, etc) and/or they have spent lots of time around other divers.