Instructor vs Solo Cert

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Of course it is not enough air, which is why I never allowed it when teaching SDI Solo.

Wait, are you an SDI instructor and you don't know the contents of the SDI Solo Diver student manual?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

You two are so adorable together. You can make a late night tv show.

Aren't you the guy who claimed to be an SSI instructor (when there are no SSI shops in Libya and everyone knows SSI instructors have to be tied to a shop) and think that SSI requires open water courses are to be taught neutrally buoyant for the entirety of the course? While I wish that was true, it isn't. And you couldn't cite and standards but your argument is "trust me bro".

Sit down.

 

[tursiops]

Now I'm actually surprised that you were not aware,

I'm surprised you think I do not know about the Solo Manual for SDI.
I've certified 20-some SDI Solo divers, starting in 2004, and they all were required to use the SDI Solo Manual, once it was published in 2007. Before that, we used "Solo Diving" by Robert Von Maier. The Von Maier book was a proponent of the SpareAir, although he pointed out it was not enough for all situations! It may be that background that got SpareAir into the SDI standards.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I am assuming you have never read the SDI standards for Solo, which say,

"5. Equipment for Solo Diving

a. Redundant air sources: pony cylinder, twin cylinders with isolation, independent doubles, SpareAir™"​

Of course it is not enough air, which is why I never allowed it when teaching SDI Solo.

Go find something else to be pissy about.

I'm onboard with most of this post except for the first line and the last line which is just seems to be unnecessary, assuming and provocative.

The undeniable fact is that SDI as an agency clearly supports and clarifies the use of a SpareAir as a viable redundant air source.for their Solo Diving cert

If I was an SDI instructor I would send the following message to SDI...... " I've upped my standards, so...........UP Yours! "

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I'm surprised you think I do not know about the Solo Manual for SDI.

What do you expect if you ignore key parts of the course material?

I've certified 20-some SDI Solo divers, starting in 2004, and they all were required to use the SDI Solo Manual, once it was published in 2007.

Have you read the manual?

The undeniable fact is that SDI as an agency clearly supports and clarifies the use of a SpareAir as a viable redundant air source.for their Solo Diving cert

Again, there is key language in the manual where a student would learn "hey, at this depth, this thing won't cut it."

At least SDI has a manual. PADI doesn't have one for their version of the course

If I was an SDI instructor I would send the following message to SDI...... " I've upped my standards, so...........UP Yours! "

That's not how I like to operate with agencies. I would like SDI to change it to "sufficiently sized" cylinder.

For all SDI courses, I add performance requirements/dives, which they have been enthusiastic when I run the syllabus by them. That is one of the strengths of SDI/TDI: instructors are encouraged to add appropriate performance requirements/dives for certification. You can't do that in all agencies. I would prefer though to not have to add anything, except cold water stuff/bad viz (as not needed for people who dive only in the tropics).

 

[VikingDives]

What do you expect if you ignore key parts of the course material?

Have you read the manual?


Again, there is key language in the manual where a student would learn "hey, at this depth, this thing won't cut it."

At least SDI has a manual. PADI doesn't have one for their version of the course

That's not how I like to operate with agencies. I would like SDI to change it to "sufficiently sized" cylinder.

For all SDI courses, I add performance requirements/dives, which they have been enthusiastic when I run the syllabus by them. That is one of the strengths of SDI/TDI: instructors are encouraged to add appropriate performance requirements/dives for certification. You can't do that in all agencies. I would prefer though to not have to add anything, except cold water stuff/bad viz (as not needed for people who dive only in the tropics).

The beauty of the SDI standards is the flexibility of the courses, and the ability to add to them and hold your students accountable to them.

The beauty of PADI courses is the quality of the standards.

What perplexes me is that most international training (TDI, SDI, etc.) courses, (in my experience) and instructors exceed what PADI requires. Even though they don't have to.

OTOH, PADI has higher standards and, albeit, more of a "cookie cutter" view of how instructors should present courses. But their average course is of lower quality than SDI, etc. courses.

I've seen PADI instructors teaching self-reliant courses more than once with spare airs, but I've never heard about an SDI instructor who could do the same.

Now granted, this is an N of 1.

Before everyone gets all negative on me, hear me out. I think that there may be some reason that giving instructors more leeway in teaching actually makes them more likely to increase standards. Conversely, perhaps, making rigid standards could make instructors less likely to excel...

Honestly, I don't really know and this is just a brainstorm, but it'd be an interesting hypothesis to test, I think.

 

[boriss]

Before everyone gets all negative on me, hear me out. I think that there may be some reason that giving instructors more leeway in teaching actually makes them more likely to increase standards. Conversely, perhaps, making rigid standards could make instructors less likely to excel...

Nah, ultimately people are people. Just like any other profession: you have some people who are passionate about what they do or care about the output they deliver and you have those who just show up to collect a paycheck. This is exactly why the recommendation is to pick your instructor, not the agency. Good instructors will have higher standards than the agency minimums.

 

[boulderjohn]

The beauty of the SDI standards is the flexibility of the courses, and the ability to add to them and hold your students accountable to them.

The beauty of PADI courses is the quality of the standards.

What perplexes me is that most international training (TDI, SDI, etc.) courses, (in my experience) and instructors exceed what PADI requires. Even though they don't have to.

OTOH, PADI has higher standards and, albeit, more of a "cookie cutter" view of how instructors should present courses. But their average course is of lower quality than SDI, etc. courses.

I've seen PADI instructors teaching self-reliant courses more than once with spare airs, but I've never heard about an SDI instructor who could do the same.

Now granted, this is an N of 1.

Before everyone gets all negative on me, hear me out. I think that there may be some reason that giving instructors more leeway in teaching actually makes them more likely to increase standards. Conversely, perhaps, making rigid standards could make instructors less likely to excel...

Honestly, I don't really know and this is just a brainstorm, but it'd be an interesting hypothesis to test, I think.

Wow! You must have seen one Hell of a lot of courses being taught by both SDI and PADI instructors all ovrr the world to make generalizations like that. It is hard to imagine how extensive your experience must be! How many such courses do you think you have seen? 30,000? 40,000? How long did it take you to observe all of those?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Wow! You must have seen one Hell of a lot of courses being taught by both SDI and PADI instructors all ovrr the world to make generalizations like that. It is hard to imagine how extensive your experience must be! How many such courses do you think you have seen? 30,000? 40,000? How long did it take you to observe all of those?

Wow! You pull statistics out of your backside often and you come hard down on him for making a claim based on his personal observations. Last time I asked you for the source you said you didn't have one.

 

[BoltSnap]

Wholesale bullying discouraging exchange of ideas in a professional and beneficial atmosphere. What a shame, it was starting to get interesting and informative.