She is a lousy instructor if that's how she's known. And the shop is crap as well if you are only getting two days of pool training. Means you are getting rushed, the sessions are long, and you are likely getting tired, cold, frustrated, and mentally and physically overwhelmed.
These kinds of classes are why so many people do not take further training, dive after their first set of checkouts or maybe one trip. But they are fast and that allows immoral, unethical, and greedy operations to get a lot of people through quickly.
And for this they are going to get some silver, gold, platinum, or cubic zirconia instructor badge from an agency whose training model is based on profit rather than skills and education.
This is the kind of training approach that resulted in this:
Before I retired, my OW class was a minimum of 6 two-hour sessions in the pool spread over 6 weeks so the student had time to absorb the info, did not get physically overwhelmed, and had time to practice skills in a logical progression. Not just tick them off on a slate.
And often the classes went longer because I had a reputation for being patient and able to help those who needed a little extra time and effort. I would use whatever resources we needed to give someone the education they needed. I had one student with anxiety issues. Not with diving. They expected too much from themselves and would get upset and overly critical of themselves. So I asked a former student to come in and talk to them.
That person had 25 years of experience as a mental health counselor. They just talked to them. And gave them a few tips to deal with being so self-critical.
Next pool session- they did great, and instead of focusing on the things they were having a hard time with, they focused on their successes and used that for confidence to work through the harder skills for them. Every student is different, and I tried to tailor my classes to the student. Not force the student to conform to my class. Some skills are easier if you switch the order around a build confidence. The agency I taught for allowed that. Some don't or discourage it and if the instructor doesn't have some creativity or understanding of different learning styles, they can't do it.
You did not fail. You weren't the deficient one. The instructor was. She was a failure for not adjusting the teaching style. Probably doesn't know how. The increasing amounts of weight are a dead giveaway that she's incompetent, no matter what the shop owner's opinion is.
That instructor needs to be reported, and you need to file a complaint with the agency against her. Understanding that if it's a busy shop, they are liable to blow you off because they make them money.
I even wrote a book for new divers who are wondering what their class should consist of. It's called
"SCUBA: A Practical Guide for the New Diver"
and is available on Amazon in print and Kindle formats.
I'm retired from teaching now, but I still try to help divers not get screwed over by the industry.
These kinds of classes are why so many people do not take further training, dive after their first set of checkouts or maybe one trip. But they are fast and that allows immoral, unethical, and greedy operations to get a lot of people through quickly.
And for this they are going to get some silver, gold, platinum, or cubic zirconia instructor badge from an agency whose training model is based on profit rather than skills and education.
This is the kind of training approach that resulted in this:
Before I retired, my OW class was a minimum of 6 two-hour sessions in the pool spread over 6 weeks so the student had time to absorb the info, did not get physically overwhelmed, and had time to practice skills in a logical progression. Not just tick them off on a slate.
And often the classes went longer because I had a reputation for being patient and able to help those who needed a little extra time and effort. I would use whatever resources we needed to give someone the education they needed. I had one student with anxiety issues. Not with diving. They expected too much from themselves and would get upset and overly critical of themselves. So I asked a former student to come in and talk to them.
That person had 25 years of experience as a mental health counselor. They just talked to them. And gave them a few tips to deal with being so self-critical.
Next pool session- they did great, and instead of focusing on the things they were having a hard time with, they focused on their successes and used that for confidence to work through the harder skills for them. Every student is different, and I tried to tailor my classes to the student. Not force the student to conform to my class. Some skills are easier if you switch the order around a build confidence. The agency I taught for allowed that. Some don't or discourage it and if the instructor doesn't have some creativity or understanding of different learning styles, they can't do it.
You did not fail. You weren't the deficient one. The instructor was. She was a failure for not adjusting the teaching style. Probably doesn't know how. The increasing amounts of weight are a dead giveaway that she's incompetent, no matter what the shop owner's opinion is.
That instructor needs to be reported, and you need to file a complaint with the agency against her. Understanding that if it's a busy shop, they are liable to blow you off because they make them money.
I even wrote a book for new divers who are wondering what their class should consist of. It's called
"SCUBA: A Practical Guide for the New Diver"
and is available on Amazon in print and Kindle formats.
I'm retired from teaching now, but I still try to help divers not get screwed over by the industry.
