OW to Instructor in 23 days

[Kingpatzer]

In my (admittedly limited) experience as a DM (for a couple years) and as an AI (for about a year) and having just passed my IDC (but not yet having taught my own course -- and not planning on doing it for about a year or more, still getting experience teaching) the issue isn't the number of logged dives. The issue is experience with students under the water. And the two are not the same thing.

I'd feel safer with someone with only a few hundred "dives" who has taught thousands of people in the pool than a person with thousands of dives who has only taught a handful of students.

Now, that's not to say this course provides this level of exposure -- it can't in that amount of time.

But the equating of viability as an instructor with the number of dives seems to me to be missing the point that what's critical is being able to handle students in the water.

I'd also be far more accepting of an instructor with fewer hours in OW classes who was teaching in 7' vis cold water lakes than with someone with many more hours teaching in crystal clear warm water on a white sand bottom. The former will have faced many more interesting control issues than the latter.

But ultimately it comes down to this: while the number of dives is not a good indicator of the quality of instructor, there is a minimum level of experience someone should have with students before they take on that responsibility themselves. If you're going to get your OWSI on a fast track, and then spend a lengthy amount of time getting experience with actual students in some sort of monitored apprenticeship, then there's no real issue. But if you're going to go from never having taught to teaching on your own in 30 days -- regardless of how many dives you have -- you'll be a danger to your students.

 

[nerdkid]

i wont trust somebody tat has like 23 days of experience to be my instructor man..

 

[Tigerman]

i wont trust somebody tat has like 23 days of experience to be my instructor man..

Well, the way the OP is worded it sounds like that would be the case after the mentioned course. However, who says the person taking the course dont have 2000 dives already?

 

[The Chairman]

The off-content posts have been split off to here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/feedback/344281-thread-worthy-split-ow-instructor-23-days.html

 

[RU4SKUBA]

Rainbow Reef took twelve days to complete my Divemaster, and I was very prepared, so I highly doubt that estimate is accurate for AOW to OWSI. I was neither impressed with their management nor happy with their inability to handle my reservations professionally, although my instructor was quite good.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

It's no rubber stamp. I spent time with a slacker student who couldn't even get his advanced card from me because he was so ill prepared. He was sent by his mother to Rainbow Reef to get his instructor card. 2 months later he finally quit the course.

 

[ScubabunnyCR]

I truly don't believe that you can gain the experience needed to be a good instructor from a crash course that takes just 23 days. As "string" mentioned previously there is a 6 month rule in place to stop this. If in the water and diving pretty much every day from your first cert, even then I don't think so. I think upon gaining the Divemaster cert and then getting experience from that, assisting and guiding, then you can start looking at a Instructor certification.

 

[The Chairman]

It's no rubber stamp.

It would appear that the most vitriolic of those against this sort of training are those with absolutely no experience with them. I guess if you don't understand it or have never used it: feel free to bash it!

 

[weidelk]

In my experience having undertaken approx. 8 different dive courses there has been zero - and I mean ZERO relationship between the training background of the instructor and the quality of the instruction delivered. My OW instructor was the product of a zero to hero program in Thailand with approx 150 dives under his belt and he was brilliant. My AOW instructor was a crusty old veteran who had been diving for decades and spent his time, like many SB posters, telling us how poor the instructors are in most parts of the world. And he was absolute rubbish. Maybe he had better dive skills and experience, but he was still rubbish.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

It would appear that the most vitriolic of those against this sort of training are those with absolutely no experience with them. I guess if you don't understand it or have never used it: feel free to bash it!

Yeah bashing is great sport. Several years ago I met a new diver that was very focused on turning pro. He was a great assistant and when he became an instructor with only 125 dives lots of people bashed that. Turns out he became a full time instructor and currently a dive shop manager in the Keys. He's been teaching now for 5 or 6 years. Is he better now than when he first started? Probably but he was very good back then.

There are some people who just end up being great instructors right off and some who are just horrible no matter how long they've dove.