How do you feel about PADI bashing on this thread??

[Diver Dennis]

there are wannabies at all levels at all agencies

This is SO TRUE almity. Excellent post...

 

[timle]

Someone has to train non-divers to be divers, currently it seems GUE is only willing to take "bad" - in their opinion - divers and make them better divers - again their opinion - I pass no judgement.

However if they feel standards are lacking and the existing orgs are producing unsafe divers, why do they not offer an "open water" - train non-diver to be diver - course?

 

[SteveAD]

Many people want to blame less than competent divers on the agency, more reasonable folks say there are good instructors and bad instructors in any agency, what I haven't seen is anyone who places the responsibility on the divers themselves. I have been teaching for 16 years and in that time I have trained some great divers and some that I have refused to certify. but not one of them finished the ow class as a great diver. being great takes time and practice. any adequate diver who chooses to practice can improve. what stuns me is how many people refuse to admit their own lack of greatness.

 

[Buoyant1]

It is easy to point the finger at business. And this is what it boils down to. Buiness.

PADI being in the business of diving. They write up standards in hopes the professional individual will adhere to. But it never says that they cannot think outside of the BOX.

It boils down to the instructor..not the agency. The standards may be flawed. But they are there nonetheless. Why not improve instead of disaprove.

Why not make up a set of methods that will improve the standards set forth by ANY certifing agency. In this case PADI. they are not perfect..but then again whom is.


Safe dives
Stephen

DING DING DING DING DING DING! We have a winner! A course is a couse (of course of course) but it's WHO is teaching it that makes it worth your time and hard earned money! (and this doesn't only pertain to diving) With the guy that certified me, I felt I got my money's worth, and that I got a good solid basis for diving! I've read horror stories of instructors here and there and I'm VERY glad, I didn't have one of them!

I'm sure there are <insert certifying agency you love to hate here> instructors that "phone it in" so why bash ONE agency?

I feel I had a good experience with PADI, and I'm still diving, and learning each time I dive!

 

[redrover]

It’s an unfortunate aspect of human nature….
maybe that is human behavior.

“Someone’s got to be oppressed.”
Jesus Christ Superstar

 

[Diver Dennis]

Many people want to blame less than competent divers on the agency, more reasonable folks say there are good instructors and bad instructors in any agency, what I haven't seen is anyone who places the responsibility on the divers themselves. I have been teaching for 16 years and in that time I have trained some great divers and some that I have refused to certify. but not one of them finished the ow class as a great diver. being great takes time and practice. any adequate diver who chooses to practice can improve. what stuns me is how many people refuse to admit their own lack of greatness.

The problem is that most recreational divers do less than 10 dives a year. I do agree that divers should take more responsibility for keeping their skill sharp or at least remember them...

 

[BuoyantC]

stevead said it right. I've taught for two agencies, and the skills that are taught are more similar than not. In fact PADI requires more O/W skills than the other one. If someone isn't teaching to "industry standards" it's not the agency, but the instructor.

I agree standards have relaxed over the years, but that includes all the major agencies, and reflects the changing dive business as much as anything. With the majority of divers just following DMs on their annual warm water holidays, the days of doing push-ups on the beach in scuba gear just won't sell anymore.

Serious divers will be curious enough to continue learning throughout their diving career. Casual divers won't, and won't remember what they were taught regardless of the certifying agency. But without these divers, there wouldn't be half the resorts, diveshops, dive professionals, or the need for them.

Dennis

 

[Oriskany Divemaster]

I've never understood the whole PADI/NAUI/Whoever Thing. It's only the new open water types that ask me, "So, are you PADI or NAUI?" Who gives a rats rearend? It's not like it's some kind of rivalry like the Gator Nation and those knuckleheads from Tallahassee.

Divers should take responsibility for their own skills. Really, how hard is it to doff and don your gear underwater, clear your mask, or NOT run out of air? And why is it such a big deal that one learns it from one business and one from another? When it comes down to it, they all teach exactly the same thing...how to enjoy a scuba dive and not get bent or die. 99.9% of the time, accidents don't happen because of poor training, they happen because of poor execution. And execution is the responsibility of the diver, not the instructor nor agency.

To really answer the question of which is better, the more accurate determination would be to search DAN accident archives to see which agency has more accidents per active members....but there would be too many variables to consider. So why bother? An agency is an agency is an agency. But every single diver handles stress differently, and DNA make-up is not a patch you can get with PADI....yet.

Yeah, it's late and I've been drinking....so what?

 

[mrjimboalaska]

i understand PADI is making a deal with the French government to impose mandatory CO² emissions control on all PADI centers in the world (including the US) or they will not let the centers keep their PADI affiliation

well, in this case..........BASH AWAY.................:mooner:

 

[pir8]

The problem is that most recreational divers do less than 10 dives a year. I do agree that divers should take more responsibility for keeping their skill sharp or at least remember them...

How can you hold an agency or even an instructor responsible for someones knowledge that only does 10 dives a year. You learn to dive by diving, If you're not going to dive much you are only going to digress in your skills and knowledge and that is not your instructors fault.