How did you choose your con ed instructors?

[MXGratefulDiver]

My initial instructor was chosen entirely by accident ... in fact, at the time I didn't even know there was a choice. I was walking out of the YMCA, Cheng giving me a hard time for hurting myself playing basketball again, when I saw a sign on the wall that said "learn to scuba dive". I pointed to the sign and told her if she bought me scuba lessons I'd give up basketball. Who knew she'd take me seriously ...

I ended up taking my first three classes ... OW, AOW and SLAM (Rescue) from the same instructor ... and he was excellent. But he got married, had a kid, and retired from teaching.

Follow-on classes came through a more selective process. I went to a few local shops, and settled on one where I found an instructor who treated me like an adult and didn't talk down to me, try to tell me what I needed to buy, or brag about what a great diver he was. I ended up taking several classes from him ... up through instructor ... as well as nitrox and gas blending classes. Sadly, he got out of teaching shortly after I became an instructor, and sold his shop to someone I didn't get along with nearly as well. I moved south and established relationships with other shops and instructors.

I took a recreational triox class with another instructor who came highly recommended. Although he was, I think, a pretty good instructor, his style and approach to diving weren't nearly a good match for where I wanted my diving to go. He's also since retired.

I'm seeing a pattern here ... my first three instructors all stopped teaching shortly after I took classes with them ... :shocked2:

I took advanced nitrox/deco with an instructor I'd known almost since first becoming OW certified. He was knowledgeable, personable, thorough, and completely incompatible with how I wanted to dive. But I broke the pattern ... he's still teaching. And although I got a lot from his class, I decided to look elsewhere for further technical training.

I took my NAUI Trimix and Wreck classes with a younger instructor ... in fact, when this guy was taking his IE, I was one of his evaluators. But I knew even back then that he'd be a seriously good instructor, and I wasn't wrong. I have since developed a friendship and business relationship with him and still will take classes from him as time and desire permit.

Cave training was where I put some effort into selecting the right instructor ... spending some time interviewing, and being interviewed by, prospective instructors. I eventually selected Jim Wyatt, and couldn't have been happier with the choice. Jim was exactly the right instructor for me ... a good fit for both my personality and what I was hoping to get out of the class. He seemed to know exactly when to push me hard, when to back off, when to kick me in the butt, and when to let me kick myself in the butt. Overall I'd rate it some of the best training I've ever had.

Finally, last year I took a sidemount class with Rob Neto (Dive-aholic). Selecting Rob was easy ... he was offering the class I wanted to take in the place I wanted to take it. Overall it was a great choice, and I got serious value for my money.

Overall, I think I've done pretty wel with the instructors I've managed to find for the classes I wanted to take ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[nielsent]

I have been a student for a REALLY long time, not for scuba, but one thing that being a student has taught me about choosing instructors, when i finally made it to scuba, was not to be afraid to take classes from as many instructors as I could, even if it was just a diving day where they critiqued my skills.

I have found that by exposing yourself to many instructors, you can take away the good and the bad and apply that to the way you like to dive. As a result, I always encourage the students that I teach to learn from as many instructors, mentors, DM's as possible, because even the worst teacher will teach you something, though it may be what not to do in the future. This does not only apply to instructors too, read as much as you can, discuss as much as you can, then you are really learning.

There are a lot of people that think of education as a straight line: Pick the course/instructor, take the course, get the cert, assess the value, move on to the next level. In a sense you are losing out a lot because of the fact that the knowledge is concentrated into the teaching style and opinions of one instructor, independent of whether he is bad or good.

I like to think of it more holistically, like a mosaic: There are lots of little pieces of education, experience, and skills that you pick up from all sorts of places. Some of these pieces come from similar places and some don't, but they all go into making the whole education. So why not take as much as you can from as many sources as possible, that's what makes the learning experience great!

 

[Jill from Phoenix]

I dare say the instructor is more important than the course.

I keep thinking of relationship analogies: better to be alone, than with the wrong instructor.

 

[boulderjohn]

Like most people, all my early instruction was blind luck. OW and AOW were done in resort areas, and I picked shops with very little, if any, real inspection.

By the time I was ready for Rescue, I had decided on a local shop. I took whatever instructor was scheduled for the scheduled time that was convenient for me. I took DM from the same shop, and again I had no choice: the Course Director working there taught the class.

After that I was working for the shop, and when you are working for a shop, you had better use what the shop has! The Course Director who had taught my DM class taught my AI and Instructor classes. When I started Tech, I used the shop's one tech instructor.

I was not until after I had a pretty fair amount of tech under my belt that I started making my own decisions. When I wanted to do cave, I went to several web forums, including this one, and I read through all the threads I could find in which people asked for instructor recommendations. I filtered them as carefully as possible for the reasons the person was being recommended. For example, when I saw one instructor being recommended for his ability to curse at you clearly and articulately through the regulator, I decided he was not for me. I found one who described his instructional approach on his web site in a way taht appealed to me. I then made what I feel was a wise decision.

When I decided that it was time to change directions in my tech instruction, I again did as much research as I could. I sought out recommendations. I contacted several potential instructors and interviewed them by phone. I finally found one who I thought would work, and that turned out well. The decision to go a different direction with my tech instruction brought an end to any conflict with the shop, so I was then free to do whatever I wanted. I will be returning to that same individual in a couple of weeks for my next classes.

Overall, I think my experience parallels a lot of people's experiences. I don't think very many people start exercising choice and discretion until they are pretty far up the line of continuing education. I don't think they are in a position to realize what a difference it can make.

 

[RTee]

My initial scuba diving instructor happened to be an ex-military individual who had graduated years before from the Military institution I was attending. I went through the NAUI Scuba Diver curriculum which in retrospect was much more demanding then the one my son went trhough when he got certified with PADI.
As far as the instructors I ended up choosing for my con-ed...they were all recommended from very reliable sources ie people I know. Those are the one I also picked for my son's EAN and AOW certifications.

 

[50Fathom]

Zombie thread I know, but I have a relevant question:

I've read here that one should find "the one" instructor that you just "gel" and "fit" with and take further tech/cave/high-speed-low-drag training through them, since there is trust and "connection" with them where you are both "simpatico" and work and learn well together.

Then I hear that this approach can be bad, (for reasons I'm not totally aware or convinced of), and that one SHOULD spread themselves out and take each class from a different instructor, even within the same agency, in order to see different approaches and become more well-rounded and diverse.

It seems the OP and others have tried many different instructors for different courses and had a mixed-bag of results. So, it seems to add credence to the argument to stick with "the one" once you find them. I'm kind of in that boat and of that mind. Any counter-point? I mean, if you find that ONE person who is "your guy" as it were, and you know they can take you wherever you wanna go, and there is trust in the relationship and you are compatible as far as learning and teaching styles, why not go with it to the end?

 

[koozemani]

My OW was what was close by. The instructor was knowledgable, but not ideal for me.

Deep was with the same instructor, again because of convenience. Actually, it was an instructor in training with him overseeing the class.

I moved to a new city and by chance walked into a new dive shop that I hadn't even known about. Great shop, great staff, I couldn't be happier.

I've since taken Nitrox, Navigation, Buoyancy, a Fish ID class, and Night/Low vis class planned in a couple of weeks. So far, I've been through 4 of the shops instructors. I'm starting to see which instructors are better for me, and which simply teach the fluff out of the book.

 

[Teller]

It was easy, he was the most knowledgeable diver I know. Being a NAUI and a TDI coarse director was a plus too!

 

[TSandM]

I think the ideal thing would be to take classes from a variety of instructors, all of whom turned out to be good choices

Even in my worst disaster instructor mismatch, I learned some things from that instructor that I hadn't learned from anyone else. People see things differently, or express things differently, or have different examples to offer that highlight different points.

I think, if you found a very good instructor who was a perfect match for you, and did all your training with him, you'd end up a well-trained diver, but with a narrower point of view than you could achieve otherwise.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The problem is that sometimes "the one" rather than moving you along may end up stifling your growth as a diver. My initial instructor had no interest in tech diving, preferred reefs and fish over wrecks, had never done an ice dive, and only was familiar with the standards of one agency and only taught classes approved by that agency. No workshops or tailored courses. Had I stayed with him I might not be diving now out of boredom. Or be stuck doing cookie cutter classes with no room for creativity. That would be diving hell for me now.

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