I manage a resort in northern Minnesota, so it's been a week or so since I've been able to log in and keep up with everything happening here at Scubaboard. To that end, I see that there are four pages of responses to this small request for clarification. Thanks to everyone who responded. I'll try to respond a little bit at a time so as not to overwhelm anyone.
There are a few instructors that put more emphasis on training vs certification. I mean a vast majority of instructors (from most agencies) will
take you on the dives, go through the skills and sign your certification card.........that is how its been done for ages......and lets you "practice until you get it" on your own after the course. Sound like your open water course?
This is precisely my complaint.
It seems to me that you have a desire to learn and feel confident in new skills that expose you to more elements of diving and just having a card doesn't matter...... you want to be a diver.....
Yes. This is exactly what I'm looking for.
She had an excellent instructor who charged by the day ... I would gladly pay this instructor for a day or two of his time with no official certification to be gained, as I feel that one day with him is worth several times that on my own in terms of skill development.
Where does one go about finding instructors like these? What is the process?
I hope the expectation is not that you'll get a course where once you get the certification, you've "mastered" the skills of the speciality, as it's really practice, practice, practice. There's always room for improvement and you'll eventually encounter situation you've not encountered in a course.
Yes. Absolutely. I'm not looking to "master" some skill by the end of a training course, but I would like to have been trained in said skill above reading about it in a book and demonstrating that I can do it one time.
Here's an example: During my open water check-out dives, while demonstrating my ability to retrieve a lost regulator, my second stage began to free flow before it even left my hand. My arm was outstretched, away from my body, preparing to let it go when gas began flooding from it. Very calmly, I pulled the regulator back (having never let go of it) and stuck my finger in the mouthpiece to build up enough pressure to end the free flow. By the time I had completed the maneuver, however, I was feeling CO2 overload and needed a breath. I stuck the reg back in my mouth to take a breath with the intention of attempting the reg retrieval a second time. Instead, my instructor gave me the "okay" sign and moved to the next student. I didn't even get to officially complete the skill and was checked off.
In all fairness, the water temperature was 45° on the platform we were at, but there were only five students. Honestly, what would have been best for "testing" the reg retrieval skill (even if it happened in the pool sessions) would have been if the instructor randomly slapped the reg out of my mouth. How often are you going to pull your reg from your mouth and let go of it in a real world setting? It's likely to be kicked or slapped or otherwise dislodged in a moment of surprise. Using this to test the skill seems a better choice.
So, while I don't want to be a "master" of a skill, I'd still like to walk away from a training session I've paid for feeling (at the very least) confident and competent. I did not master the skills of essay writing from a single semester of English Composition in college, but it certainly helped me to feel more confident and competent.
