I'm done with teaching. It's time.

[Tracy]

Sad to hear it even though I knew it was coming. As someone who has taught your past students in more advanced level courses. I appreciate the time and effort you spent with your classes.
I understand where you are coming from, it is a sad reality.

 

[formernuke]

As a brand new instructor I cannot disagree.

We had classes on how to sell more classes to those I feel could not be ready for them.

We were encouraged to have the max student to instructor ratio, a ratio that I feel is unsafe to still be able to insure safety.

 

[Stoo]

I will also only respond to messages sent via email or Facebook. I've shut off the ability to send me private messages here.

Congratulation Jim. I retired from teaching years ago, but not before I'd been at steadily for 30 years or something.

In my case, I didn't like what was happening to training. It was the beginning of PADI dominating the SCUBA world, and dragging the other agencies with it. The dumbing down of training, the diluting of course content in favour of "requiring" the same person to take course after course after course. As a business model, I could see the benefits to shops and to PADI, but I knew I could never be comfortable turning a bunch of guppies loose on the world when they knew literally nothing about diving, other than they needed to quickly sign up for another course. At the risk of offending a lot of people, there are zillions of new Instructors being spit out every year and many of them are of questionable competence. I hung out at a well known "training place" on a small, warm island when my daughter lived on this island. Watching and listening to some of their newly-minted Instructors was terrifying and it was all I could do to watch quietly. Perhaps I was that guy when I started, and I've just forgotten.

I miss teaching, but not enough to do anything about it. My Tobermory place is about 200 yards from a popular checkout site. If ever the renewal urge starts to get serious, I just wander down and watch for a few minutes. Instructing is a young person's job. They still have enthusiasm and all that stuff.

I hope you refocus on diving for fun. I still do buckets of diving every year and none of it's with students. Just me and the Missus, or me with a friend or two, off our own boats most of the time. You can't beat it.

 

[kaylee_ann]

As a brand new instructor I cannot disagree.

We had classes on how to sell more classes to those I feel could not be ready for them.

We were encouraged to have the max student to instructor ratio, a ratio that I feel is unsafe to still be able to insure safety.

Right? Someone just out of open water shouldn’t be immediately going to do their advanced, or whatever certification would come next for them. It’s all about the money. (Mod edit)

 

[GDHLEWIS]

I'm not an instructor, but after a 8 year break from diving and coming back in to it this year I cant agree more with what a lot of you are saying.
I started with BSAC 20 odd years ago, left them due to the local dive club being ran by a bunch of muppets, the course being taught was epic fun and I learned so much from my Ocean Diver. I ended up taking a PADI refresher one year in Thailand with my wife unplanned a few years later, we never went past PADI Open water as the local reef we dove was only 16 meters and we were happy. Well child comes along and 8 years later Im back in to it all, especially as the kid loves the Ocean. So I did the natural thing and went back to PADI...and must admit the course has gotten easier, did my advanced not so long back and learned nothing new at all. The material was very similar to what BSAC teaches at their entry level, which was a disappointment. Whilst BSAC have also dumbed down their courses as well, there is still enough emphasis on quality teaching for me to go back to them. That and the local club seems to be heading in the write direction.

 

[Doc]

Jim, well written, but what took you so long?

Good thing that this nattering nabob of negativism got moved to this ”instructor to instructor” forum where it won’t confuse the kids.

 

[chillyinCanada]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Hopefully we won't "confuse the kids" Doc.

We've moved the thread again.

Jim Lapenta has a large following, lots of past students and friends. Leaving his post in Instructor to Instructor didn't feel quite right either.

The intro to this particular subforum is being rewritten, almost as I write this mod post.

We wish you all the best Jim. Hopefully you'll still pop into Scubaboard from time to time. We'll look forward to your contributions.

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[lionfish-eater]

Jim I hope you will continue selling your book.
It is a valuable tool for divers, both new and old.

 

[Hojo in SC]

I applaud you for being an instructor, that is something I thought about but after being in the medical career, I was too paranoid about the liability, hence, I fully understand your feeling it is time to stop.

 

[rvojr]

Thank you for your contributions to the message board and your book, which I enjoyed, even though we have never met.