Have training standards "slipped"?

[Tigerman]

Yes, standards does have variations from agency to agency.
My choice of agency is however convenience and not indepth knowledge of the different standards..

The "standards have slipped" arguement is no different than "I walked three miles in the snow to school" arguement.

Of course I did! I live in the middle of nowhere in Norway.. But my granddad, now he had to walk TEN miles in the snow to school!

 

[The Chairman]

Yeah, the standards have all gone to pot. We are no longer allowed to crawl on the reef. We surely don't get to learn about underwater combat or how to set underwater charges. Gone is the neo-Seal training exercizes that were designed to weed out the timid diver.

Now diving has been opened up to just about EVERYONE. The gear has gotten easier to use, more reliable and lighter as well. Gone is that Macho image that we worked SO HARD to foist on the unsuspecting public. Hey, even grandmas are getting certified WITH their grand children! I have to say that I LOVE IT!

 

[Hemlon]

Yes, standards does have variations from agency to agency.
My choice of agency is however convenience and not indepth knowledge of the different standards..


Of course I did! I live in the middle of nowhere in Norway.. But my granddad, now he had to walk TEN miles in the snow to school!

 

[jeckyll]

I've found GUE standards to be quite high. I don't think there's much slipping there

 

[bookboarder]

Hmm... Had never heard of GUE and just started looking at some of their info. It definitely sounds like they are rigorous. Very interesting, considering I'd like to not die.

 

[waterpirate]

The standards have not slipped, they have been modified.
In the dark ages when I was first certified, you were a diver or not, period. There was no advancement plan, discover dives or other cards neccassary, you either were or not.
Today I think the open water 2 day course is fine, it is a learners permit if you will, with a clear path and classes for advancement. Back then it was go dive, dive with someone better than you and get better. I still advocate the mentor strategy, but with classes to back that up.
Eric

 

[Hemlon]

Well said, waterpirate!

 

[agilis]

Of course standards have declined, in a general sense. To deny this obvious fact is to ignore reality. Many who defend contemporary standards are actually arguing that the more stringent standards of the past are unnecessary. In any case, the quality of instruction still depends more than anything else on the instructor. My observation is that standards for certifying instructors have slipped a lot more than standards for basic scuba certification. I have met instructors who have unbelievably limited experience, and others, even more dangerous, who are frighteningly stupid and careless.

I think in some ways it's like driving. If all the incompetent drivers were deprived of the right to drive, automobile manufacturing, road construction, and thousands of related industries would be financially destroyed. The dive industry replicates this model on a much smaller scale. If there weren't thousands of mediocre instructors training tens of thousands of marginally skilled divers the industry would collapse. I have no problem with current simplified and abbreviated methods of scuba instruction. I do try to stay as far away as circumstances permit from the products of this brave new world. Again, it's just like driving. You have to accept and be prepared for some imbecile talking on a cell phone to come drifting into your lane.

My experience is that it takes longer than two days to teach a would-be diver how to use a snorkel and how to pee in a wetsuit.

 

[Thalassamania]

...
My experience is that it takes longer than two days to teach a would-be diver how to use a snorkel and how to pee in a wetsuit.

Didn't you get the memo? Snorkels have been canceled, all that's left is ...

 

[The Chairman]

Of course standards have declined, in a general sense. To deny this obvious fact is to ignore reality.

Dude, neutral bouyancy was not taught in the 70s. Do you really think the current emphasis by insctructors on this important skill has declined? It grows stronger every year. Doing pushups in full gear, trying to buddy breathe to the surface, jumping in to find and then don your gear are all testosterone laden skills that are NEVER needed by the average open water diver.