Is there a "Rate My Instructor" or "Rate My Dive Shop" site?

[oddible]

I'm kind of losing faith in the instruction process for diving. I just finished my Advanced OW with PADI and I have to say I doubt I'll do another PADI course. I know people always say that it is the instructor, not the course, but the PADI books are really written for the lowest common denominator and full of marketing schlock. My questions here are: is there a website like ratemyprofessor.com for dive shops and dive instructors?

Is there an instructional system that doesn't suck as much as PADI?

In this advanced open water the instructor basically rushed through the skills checks then just led us around underwater, completely ignoring us except to check that we were behind him. One of the guys in the group had horrible trim problems, was at a 45 degree angle for all 5 dives, was using his fist to keep himself off the bottom for the entirety of all of the dives and literally tried to touch every bit of wildlife below the surface. The instructor never mentioned any of this - didn't even notice it - didn't even comment on his trim, on buoyancy control, nothing. And one of our specialties was Peak Performance Buoyancy. On the 4th dive this diver was kicking anemone up into my face for half the dive so I swam forward grabbed his fin and tried to indicate that he should ascend a bit to stay off the bottom - didn't work so well. I brought it up with the instructor and he gave it a cursory "try to work on your trim" but that was about it. It was pretty lame.

 

[Jax]

Sorry you are disillusioned with PADI. I'm sure you can write to the HQ at qa@padi.com. (See PADI Quality Management)

My personal favorites of the moment are SDI / TDI.

As for "Rate my . . . " I think you just posted on it.

 

[jmasin]

I don't know of a site, but to me your story proves it is the instructor not the course.

Sorry to hear of your experience.

 

[TSandM]

Unfortunately, there is nothing wrong with the class, and not much wrong with the agency (although I share your distaste for the PADI materials, they have to be written for anyone who signs up, so they are constructed to be readable by children). There IS something wrong with individual instructors who provide superficial classes.

I don't know the instructor corps in Vancouver very well, but I can refer you to one person in Vancouver proper, and two on Vancouver Island. You can contact Todd Powell or Mark Gottfried of UTD, or Guy Shockey of GUE. I can guarantee you that any class you take from any of those three will meet your expectations, and that if you don't want to make the gear changes required for those classes, one of those guys will likely be able to point you to a mainstream instructor who puts a bit more effort into his teaching.

 

[Guba]

Very sorry that you got an "instructor" who could not teach. However, that's not the barometer by which you should measure the PADI programs and courses. I'm a professional educator, and I would hate it if I was evaluated on the depth and level of the texts provided. You are correct that they are written in order to meet the needs of the largest number of people possible (even high school texts are actually written below level, and newspapers and magazines rarely use vocabulary and sentence structures above grade 8...I know, because I wrote for an Associated Press paper). It's up to the TEACHER to supplant and augment the material and experiences for the diving students, and the instructor should be held accountable for shortcomings. Before one takes a course from a shop or independent instructor, it would be prudent to get references BEFOREHAND, not wait and want to "grade" the instructor after the fact. I don't know of a website like the one for which you are searching, but it might be nice.
I hear horrific course tales all the time here on the boards, but it simply hasn't been my experience. I had three different PADI instructors for the first three levels (OW, AOW, and Rescue), and all three shops and ALL the associated instructors did a very fine job (and I say that after years of experiences upon which to reflect). My advice to anyone who wants to take another course is "do your homework and find a good, reputable instructor with whom you can feel confident".
Hope you find a good shop for Rescue...it's worth it.

 

[oddible]

Yeah, I'm a professional educator too and I always look at the required reading list for courses to know where things stand. If we're reading the Reader's Digest version of the scuba diving instructions, I think I'm over that and ready for the next step up. The priority in PADI is not 'to provide the best possible instruction' it is to provide a basic level of instruction to the masses so they don't kill themselves or their buddy. There is a massive gap between DIR and PADI and while I doubt I'd subscribe to the orthodoxy of the DIR system I just think that the PADI system allows far too much flexibility that allows too many instructors and dive shops to operate at a very poor level. Getting a 5-star PADI rating doesn't mean you have the best PADI instruction, it just means that someone there has the appropriate certification level and that the shop paid a lot.

Thank you TS&M for the recommendations. I've been reading more and more about GUE / DIR and while I doubt I'd subscribe to the whole party line it is definitely a good place to start looking to find something a bit more meaty and hopefully higher quality instructors. Will contact these folks before I start a new course.

I did find this link:
The DIR Project - Dive Shops

Which ranked the dive shop I've been diving with appropriately. I have been looking at IDC (which teaches GUE courses) and will probably tap them for any subsequent training.

 

[Jax]

I certainly understand and relate to your disappointment with your instructor, materials, and experience, but there are some PADI instructors that post on here that show a fine level of understanding and commitment to excellence. Please don't let the experience with this instructor lead you to paint all PADI with the same brush. That said, it is ALL about the instructor - I hope you find a good one.

 

[oddible]

I guess it is my feeling at this point that it isn't ALL about the instructor, it is also about the shop and who they hire as an instructor. And if a shop is willing to be a revolving door to random instructors that they don't vet and don't quality check then it is the shop's reputation that is getting hurt. If I know that a shop has a high quality requirement and that the instructors are self-checking each other to improve their instructional / educational level and that they fire or stop contracting instructors who don't meet a minimum level, then I'm going to that shop. If the shop has none of these quality checks, I'm avoiding them. I've been working with one such shop, I've dove with several different instructors there, several of which are problematic (in fact, the shop got rid of some of its best, most experienced instructors last year and hired a bunch of new people who are significantly less attentive and poorer instructors). Blame rests on the shop too. I don't think you can just blame the instructors, the shop hires them and makes their name off the quality of instruction they deliver.

And as far as PADI goes, it is what it is. Still, the 5-star rating should mean something about quality and currently the number of stars has almost zero relationship to the quality of the instruction.

 

[Jax]

In that case, with that kind of research, I think you should contact the PADI quality management folks. I'm sure they would want to hear your story.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Send me your email and I'll send you my AOW outline. OR buy a copy of my book and see what an AOW class can contain.