cornfed:
This won't work under that model. The shop (and not just the instructor) needs to be interested in turning out quality students. They need to be willing to pay their instructors enough to do so. Geez, Bob I thought you took fundies. Remember all that talk about "holistic system".
My assumption is that someone who passes GUE OW will have the same skills as someone who passes DIR-F. I believe this a very real possibility. The problem is it doesn't fit the weekend wonder paradigm which is so come these days. But that's the point. GUE's concept for OW isn't a problem, it's a solution.
Yeah, I know what you're saying ... but I see it more as dreams than reality. The guys who are attempting it are more used to dealing with the highly motivated minority than they are the diving public at large ... and those are two very different target demographics.
As someone who works, week in and week out, with recreational students, I'm of the opinion that until the entire industry does an expectation reset, teaching DIR-F skills in OW won't work as a practical business model. It's simply too costly and time-consuming to appeal to a market that generally views it as an unnecessary commodity. That, I believe, is why after two years of talking about a GUE OW class, it still hasn't happened yet.
I'm out there nearly every week-end at our area's most popular teaching site. The shops with 20+ students ... week in and week out ... are the ones who offer the $100 self-study classes. Those, like the shop I work for, who offer a more expensive, more comprehensive class, typically have 2 or 3 students.
Yeah, I know all about the holistic system ... the real problem isn't the class concept, it's one of customer expectations. Try telling someone who knows nothing ... and cares even less ... about quality instruction why they should pay $400 for an OW class that spans multiple weeks when they can drive down the street to your competitor, pay $100, and be certified by next week-end. There's a reason for the current dismal state of OW instruction, and it's largely customer-driven.
No matter how you explain it to them, you'll get a very small minority who'll be interested in paying more, either in dollars or in time, for a quality education ... most simply want the C-card for as little time, effort, and money as possible.
I'm very interested in seeing how ... or if ... they manage to do it. Suffice it to say I'm skeptical ... and believe that the difficulties involved in competing against the "Walmart" approach to instruction is the reason it's been discussed for more than two years now without becoming a reality.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)