Giving Away Dive Instructor Certifications.

[oceancrest67]

Back to the original posting...and other threads, opinions on the subject of standards and skills.

I agree with the lamentation that initial requirements to get to the OW, AOW and beyond have been marginalized in the name of expanding the market and profitability of the agencies and diving tourism.

Yes...it can be argued that obtaining an instructor rating in one area can be seen as lacking vs. obtaining it in another area. Then again, many students ask many questions and they do look up to instructors not only as teachers but also as a primary source of knowledge and experience.

I am old fashioned. I like a teacher, professor, or instructor to be well rounded and to have lived the experience as well as to have gained technical knowledge. Alas, I have seen to many a cocky newbie instructor read off of there power point presentation and fumble it all up in the water.

Just my 02.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

heres the link to the online test I did . I completed this test in 10 mins
just to see if you can cheat it and yes you can. instructors check it?
i got my classroom cert. all nice and pretty in a matter of days.I can scan it if you like.
im just glad i had the smarts to go to a real classroom and learn and take the test.
and yes the instructor who signed it was naui . im sorry but not safe. it,s all about the money to some i guess. http://www.onlinescubalessons.com/store/corres.html

I'm sorry, but as a NAUI instructor, I don't accept it. According to the link you posted, this is NOT a NAUI course ...

The Academic portion of the scuba course and it's certification works for ANY scuba certification agency.

When you go on vacation to any resort in the entire world, you can present your certificate of completion and by-pass the "book work" and go straight to the pool or open water. We include a "Universal Referral Form" and all other necessary paperwork to complete your certification. The "instructor of record" (the instructor that takes you into open water and issues your certification card) may want you to take a quiz, exam, or complete a verbal quiz to test your knowledge. They may want you to watch a video or two. But you won't be required to waste valuable vacation time sitting though the classroom portion of scuba diving. The certification agency will be the agency of which the instructor of record is a member. NAUI, PADI, SSI, IDEA, and YMCA are included in these agencies.

So ... this "course" does nothing other than give you a means to learn the academic topics covered in an OW class. You still have to do the confined water and open water skills with a live instructor, and that instructor still has to decide whether or not you are competent to receive the OW certification.

According to the above, the "instructor of record" would be any instructor, from whatever agency, that decides to accept this in lieu of your attendance during the classroom portion of the OW course.

Perhaps, after taking this course you can then take the NAUI written exam and bypass the book-work ... but if the instructor simply accepts this "universal exam" without giving you the NAUI test, they are violating agency standards.

It sounds pretty hokey to me ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[billmach]

[/QUOTE]It sounds pretty hokey to me ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)[/QUOTE]

My point exactly.
and sorry my cert.for the class is signed by thier
naui master instructor like it or not.
my point is this type of thing shouldnt be allowed in any refferal basis
think about it. they show up to do the pool work and
dont know jack and make the instructor and class suffer because
they breezed thru the online course.
it's Bunk.

 

[friscuba]

heres the link to the online test I did . I completed this test in 10 mins
just to see if you can cheat it and yes you can. instructors check it?
i got my classroom cert. all nice and pretty in a matter of days.I can scan it if you like.
im just glad i had the smarts to go to a real classroom and learn and take the test.
and yes the instructor who signed it was naui . im sorry but not safe. it,s all about the money to some i guess. http://www.onlinescubalessons.com/store/corres.html

OK.... These Guys!!! Aquastrophics.


They used to promise you that any instructor would accept their program and discount your course. Pure BS. Later they dropped the discount comment yet said this course is accepted by all agencies.

There is no guarantee ANYONE will honor this course. I get inquiries from time to time from people wanting to take this course and so I inquired to PADI for some official word to respond when questions came up. This was in mid-February of this year, so things may have changed since then, but I think you'll get the idea....

"Dear Steve,
Thanks for your email. PADI does not recognize this academic training for PADI diver certification. The owner of the site is not a PADI Instructor and has been specifically told, by our legal counsel, that he is not authorized to represent the training qualifies for a PADI credential. I am aware his website states this training is recognized by "all" certification organizations. However, he knows otherwise and we are again dealing with him via our attorneys. I also have been told other there are other agencies that do not recognize this training.

Please share this information with your customer. And, let me know if you have other questions or concerns.

Regards, "

I followed your link's "FAQ" link and he still makes the calim that PADI accepts this training, somehow I have my doubts.

I'd stay away from this one. If you have to do an online course go with the SDI course and hook up with an SDI instructor to finish you off so it's legit.

 

[J75]

Hi guys. Didn't want to start a new post, as my complaint is along the lines of the original post...............

I was happy to see that I'm not the only one who is disgruntled with the 5 week path to instructor. I've recently had a falling out with my LDS over this issue. I took a NAUI Advanced Rescue class two months ago and ran into something really disturbing. Out of the class of 8, there were 2 individuals who had just been AOW certified the week before, and OW certified the week before that. To make matters worse, BOTH were currently enrolled in the Naui Master Diver class, and had plans to become instructors ASAP. So in the span of two weeks of first getting into the water, here they were in the advanced rescue class and would be Master Divers two weeks later. It was appalling. Neither of them knew how to set up their equipment (after all, they've only had to do it a handful of times), and had difficulty participating in the drills. One of them had no idea how to do a mask clear, and didn't even know how to use a dive table. Both seemed shocked that the other divers in the class had at least 100 dives under their weightbelts, and felt proud that they were "so advanced". I was heistant that I should be taking the course so early in my diving career.

Several of us were upset that the class was slowed down to the pace of these two individuals who hadn't mastered the basics, so we complained to the dive shop. Basically, we were told that as long as they had the money to enroll in the classes, there was no waiting period or minimum dive requirement. If this is the case, why doesn't NAUI just offer an instructor certification for a set price, and skip the classes altogether (a sick joke on my part). It's discouraging that the instructors keep passing these people. The LDS bascially told me that if they doesn't pass them, they'll just go somewhere else, so I guess they feels that THEY should be the one to get their money.

It's just really scary that these people keep getting passed on to the next class, and soon they'll be teaching a new crop of people how to dive poorly. And as far as some of the posters in this thread who have mentioned that they are bothered by people becoming certified insturctors in tropical climates and then coming back to the Northeast, all of this training that I've mention is occuring in New Jersey.

Thanks for the opporunity to vent!
J.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hi guys. Didn't want to start a new post, as my complaint is along the lines of the original post...............

I was happy to see that I'm not the only one who is disgruntled with the 5 week path to instructor. I've recently had a falling out with my LDS over this issue. I took a NAUI Advanced Rescue class two months ago and ran into something really disturbing. Out of the class of 8, there were 2 individuals who had just been AOW certified the week before, and OW certified the week before that. To make matters worse, BOTH were currently enrolled in the Naui Master Diver class, and had plans to become instructors ASAP. So in the span of two weeks of first getting into the water, here they were in the advanced rescue class and would be Master Divers two weeks later. It was appalling. Neither of them knew how to set up their equipment (after all, they've only had to do it a handful of times), and had difficulty participating in the drills. One of them had no idea how to do a mask clear, and didn't even know how to use a dive table. Both seemed shocked that the other divers in the class had at least 100 dives under their weightbelts, and felt proud that they were "so advanced". I was heistant that I should be taking the course so early in my diving career.

Several of us were upset that the class was slowed down to the pace of these two individuals who hadn't mastered the basics, so we complained to the dive shop. Basically, we were told that as long as they had the money to enroll in the classes, there was no waiting period or minimum dive requirement. If this is the case, why doesn't NAUI just offer an instructor certification for a set price, and skip the classes altogether (a sick joke on my part). It's discouraging that the instructors keep passing these people. The LDS bascially told me that if they doesn't pass them, they'll just go somewhere else, so I guess they feels that THEY should be the one to get their money.

It's just really scary that these people keep getting passed on to the next class, and soon they'll be teaching a new crop of people how to dive poorly. And as far as some of the posters in this thread who have mentioned that they are bothered by people becoming certified insturctors in tropical climates and then coming back to the Northeast, all of this training that I've mention is occuring in New Jersey.

Thanks for the opporunity to vent!
J.

There are so many standards violations described above that I wouldn't even know where to start.

Do the world a favor and send an e-mail to NAUI Quality Control at ethics.qa@nauiww.org with the name of the shop and instructor(s) who are involved in these classes.

I'm certain they'd appreciate the input ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[drbill]

I know more than one diver currently working towards instructor level certification that I would not even dive with as a buddy. Reasons? First, they drink far too much topside and can't be in 100% functioning condition when they enter the water (of course I may not be either, but it's because I have an "older model" body but a fairly efficiently functioning brain). Second, they are far too immature in their behavior. I would never consider recommending a potential student to them.

I have friends who are their age who would make good instructors. However, I tend to go with my instructor friends and buddies who are a bit more mature and experienced.

I might add that I never intend to go for instructor certification. I just don't want the liability. That is an aspect many of these younger divers don't understand the consequences of.

Dr. B.

 

[J75]

Bob,

Thanks for the advice. I'll do that right now, for what it's worth.

J.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob,

Thanks for the advice. I'll do that right now, for what it's worth.

J.

Thank you ... it should be obvious that I'm rather proud of my association with NAUI. No organization is perfect, but my experience is that they take their quality standards seriously. Of course, the only way they can enforce their policies on members who are not adhering to them is to find out about it.

As a NAUI instructor, I take it as a personal favor when someone lets the organization know that one of their members is not meeting their obligation to train divers to the organization's standards.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[webjr]

.... DM rating should be held for a minimum of year along with a minimum # of assitanting classes ranging from OW-DM before you can begin the OWSI class ....

That's a much better idea than just a min number of dives . All dives are not equal . The best way to prepare for being an instructor is to actually help with as many classes as possible , preferably with a variety of realy good instructors . Diving with students is different from any other kind of diving . Being proficient in one type of diving does not automaticly make proficiency in another .