psychocabbage:
You heard correctly, the replacement agency with former YMCA Instructors and very similar high standards, but no affiliation with YMCA is SEI Diving (SCUBA Educators International).
How would you teach a 10yr old to use dive tables?
- Thread starter psychocabbage
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You heard correctly, the replacement agency with former YMCA Instructors and very similar high standards, but no affiliation with YMCA is SEI Diving (SCUBA Educators International).
diver 85
Contributor
Personally I would not want my 10 yo to learn to dive.......Trust me, @ 12 yo our youngest was on the borderline for learning & he was a sharp cookie then(Later made a 33 on ACT, full ride in engineering to LSU etc etc)....They have their whole life ahead of them to learn, why try & screw it up???......
pidgiepoo
Contributor
Tell that to my grandsons, especially the 15 year old who lives and breathes diving. I think they would gladly tell you that diving did not "screw up" their lives, but enriched it. They both love Cozumel, and will hold on to their memories of diving the reefs forever. The 15 year old got his AOW this summer and will get his rescue diver cert in 2009(he's also quite a good underwater photographer). The 13 year old (who started at 10 years) can't wait to gear up and get back in the quarry this summer. Maybe your 10 year old doesn't want to dive yet, but don't punish the young kids who love it and are totally awesome at the sport by saying it's "screwing up their lives".
Reg Braithwaite
Contributor
I view the idea of teaching my children to dive safely exactly the same way that I view teaching them to drive a car safely, for exactly the same reasons.
I agree with letting the instructor do his/her job to avoid any possible confusion. But I'm curious, has she given you any reason for you to believe she can't handle the math, what little bit there is? Your other two kids must have got it ok. Or are you looking for possible back up plan just in case?
ScubaSarus
Guest
Is there anyway to create a flow chart and substitute into it the relevant numbers pertaining to the childs repetative dives so the child see it in a different way.
Beanazz a 10 year old's brain would sop up the dive tables like a dry sponge on a summer day, unlike most of us grown-ups, I doubt if it would be difficult at all to teach him/her/it the dive tables. However, since the dive tables are about as modern and useful as a Model 'T', I'd just buy the kid a computer and forget it.
Okay, here goes. You taking your 10 year old child, untrained, uncertified, for a dive at any depth, for any time, is just indicative of arrogance and ignorance. You are a relatively new diver. You are not a Rescue diver even, much less a DM or instructor. You are singularly unqualified to take your child on a dive. This is one of the people you value most in the world, yet you are sure that you can take care of her, when you are not experienced enough or properly trained. I am not attacking you, but simply amazed at the number of divers like you who think it's just fine. It's not. And taking your child down a line on your octo is just a picture that proves that you should not do this.
If she is in classes, you can certainly help her practice with her tables. Tables are not difficult or even 4th grade level. The instructor will teach her to use them and you can help her practice them.
I can say this to you from an instructor's viewpoint, and a parent of 2. My son was certified at 12, and my daughter at 10.
However, if your child cannot pass the course on her own, without your help, then she is not ready to be a diver, and you should be patient until she is ready.
Finally, please stop allowing your untrained children to dive. It is unsafe and you are modeling bad habits to the most important people in your life.
If she is in classes, you can certainly help her practice with her tables. Tables are not difficult or even 4th grade level. The instructor will teach her to use them and you can help her practice them.
I can say this to you from an instructor's viewpoint, and a parent of 2. My son was certified at 12, and my daughter at 10.
However, if your child cannot pass the course on her own, without your help, then she is not ready to be a diver, and you should be patient until she is ready.
Finally, please stop allowing your untrained children to dive. It is unsafe and you are modeling bad habits to the most important people in your life.
As an educator and a DM here's my three cents:
First: When dealing with young divers, it's not their age but the maturity and desire. I've work with fourteen and fifteen year olds who were not ready to dive even with close supervision. By far the best kid I've ever worked with was a boy who did his Open Water check out dives ON his tenth birthday.
Second: It's not the math part of dive tables.... it's a basic understanding of the concept of the dive table. I'm very serious with kids when teaching dive tables and I tell them it's something you don't fudge or sluff off. Once kids see the pattern behind table usage, they get it. I still insist that students need to know how to use a dive table. eDRPs and computers are great, but basics are necessary. Kids are digital natives, technology is second nature. However, even though a child can use a calculator, it doesn't mean that he or she can understand math. Dive tables are the same way.
Third: Several others have already said it.... Parent support is critical and nescessary. However, when the parent interfers with the instructional process, things tend to get missed. Diving is differnet than school, but in 30 years of working in the field of education, I can not recall ever of hearing about a parent sitting in the back of a classroom arm chair teaching. Back in another life when I was coaching football, I made it a rule that parents (especially dads) could not be on the sidelines for games or practice.
If the parent is already a certified diver, I encourage them to play the support role, but it's tough to train a child when the child is constantly looking over his or her shoulder at mom or dad. Parents who choose to accompany thier child on a check out dive and hang back and observe can then reinforce newly learned skills once the certification is awarded. I also invite the already crtified parent to join the class and use it as a refresher.
Finally: If the parent has done the necessary research BEFORE enrolling thier child in a SCUBA course, the parent should feel comfortable with the instructor. Parents need to find a LDS or a specific instructor who is good with kids. A good instructor can do a reasonably good job teaching adults. A exceptional instructor can teach kids!
First: When dealing with young divers, it's not their age but the maturity and desire. I've work with fourteen and fifteen year olds who were not ready to dive even with close supervision. By far the best kid I've ever worked with was a boy who did his Open Water check out dives ON his tenth birthday.
Second: It's not the math part of dive tables.... it's a basic understanding of the concept of the dive table. I'm very serious with kids when teaching dive tables and I tell them it's something you don't fudge or sluff off. Once kids see the pattern behind table usage, they get it. I still insist that students need to know how to use a dive table. eDRPs and computers are great, but basics are necessary. Kids are digital natives, technology is second nature. However, even though a child can use a calculator, it doesn't mean that he or she can understand math. Dive tables are the same way.
Third: Several others have already said it.... Parent support is critical and nescessary. However, when the parent interfers with the instructional process, things tend to get missed. Diving is differnet than school, but in 30 years of working in the field of education, I can not recall ever of hearing about a parent sitting in the back of a classroom arm chair teaching. Back in another life when I was coaching football, I made it a rule that parents (especially dads) could not be on the sidelines for games or practice.
If the parent is already a certified diver, I encourage them to play the support role, but it's tough to train a child when the child is constantly looking over his or her shoulder at mom or dad. Parents who choose to accompany thier child on a check out dive and hang back and observe can then reinforce newly learned skills once the certification is awarded. I also invite the already crtified parent to join the class and use it as a refresher.
Finally: If the parent has done the necessary research BEFORE enrolling thier child in a SCUBA course, the parent should feel comfortable with the instructor. Parents need to find a LDS or a specific instructor who is good with kids. A good instructor can do a reasonably good job teaching adults. A exceptional instructor can teach kids!
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