PADI Poll

[DIR Tec Diver]

Hello People, this is a ridiculous discussion. Who has a poll comparing, Ferrari, Toyota and Kia? You can not compare agencies this way. I am a PADI instructor, and I am also a Halcyon Dealer with affiliation and training with GUE. There is no comparing these agencies.

PADI is by far the leader in recreational training, and whether you agree with them or not, they got to the top for a reason. They have structure, standards, and policies that they enforce, adhere to and promote globally. PADI is the only agency that you can go anywhere in the world as a diver, and you are recognized and accepted to dive. However, most all agencies NAUI, SSI, CMAS etc. have very similar standards (as they mostly copy PADI), so the main difference is the recognition of the agency and the instructor. There are good and awful instructors in all the above mentioned agencies.

GUE is by far the worlds leading technical diving academy. There are no agencies that have better standards or instructors. yes I know what I am talking about, I have IANTD, TDI, PSA and NSS certs, and GUE blows them all away. There are NO bad GUE insturctors as their standards are so high that if you are not the very very best you stand no chance to instruct for them. I know these people personally and they are the best divers and educators I have ever had the pleasure to meet,and I can only hope I can be half as good as they are.

If you want to have a poll, get your issues straight and don't just stir up the silt to create a mess. Don't pick on PADI because they are on top. Instead of complaining, why don't you support the fact that they are devoted to diving and get more people certified than any other agency in the world which benefits all of us, as the world is a better place with more divers

 

[LUBOLD8431]

Dude, tune it down a little buddy. PADI may be the largest agency, but its not because they are the best. The only reason why they certify more divers and have more instructors in the world than any other agency is because of the Instructor mills out there that will push you through to a PADI instructor in a week. That does not make them better. That doesnt even make them a good agency. Just because PADI has standards and procedures that a MORON could follow (and by the way, no one copied PADI, most of them started along the same lines, AND all agencies have standards and procedures; ever hear of the RSTC??? They kinda make everything the same because it is made up of most of the agencies), and they tell you EXACTLY how to teach every skill, going down to exactly what to say when you teach a skill, you could have an IQ of 25 and be a PADI instructor. That does NOT make them the best. You should stick to the FACTS, and not let your NAZISM come through in your posts. little general go home...

 

[icediver]

I guess you just cut down every agency that has anything to do with the RSTC.

I take issue with indiviuals that paint all PADI Instructors with the same brush. That to me is a true sign of a moron. Do you see the difference in that statement, it was only directed at one and not the masses.

Oh and not backing DIR Tec cause I have read some of his other posts.

T

 

[LUBOLD8431]

PADI is the one that tells you exactly how to teach each skill and even what to say during each skill. And the exact format of each module. The RSTC does not. You misread what I was trying to say.

All the RSTC does is come up with a core set of skills that must be met in a scuba course. Thats it... Nothing about how to teach them.

 

[icediver]

I must have slept through that part on my IDC.

Since then I have staffed many IDC and we coach canidates on many different ways of teaching skills.

For what they say. They are taught to get to the point and not to run off on a tangent.

Why would you not want a consistent format for each module. That way things are not missed.

T

 

[LUBOLD8431]

Well, I for one, like to have some flexibility in my teaching. I understand that in PADI, it does make for a very smooth format, and goes from one skill to the next. I dont have a problem with that... I just like to be able to teach the way I want to. When I decided to become an Instructor, I researched the different agencies, and how they trained Instructors, and the way they teach their course, as well as the books and materials... I found that SSI was better in all regards. Thats my experience. Maybe, someday, I will become a PADI Instructor as well, but for right now, SSI is good for me.

 

[Doppler]

LUBOLD8431 once bubbled...
Well, I for one, like to have some flexibility in my teaching.

SNIP>>>>

This is the key point. PADI has built a system that's essentially "customer proof" for its instructors... follow the plan and the brand is secure. However, from what I remember, this agency's instructors are not encouraged to add value to the training programs.

If you think about this tactic for a while, you have to think that it dismantles the concept of competitive advantage between PADI instructors... the only competitive strategy for many of them is price.... rather than content.

DD

 

[Diversauras]

I got introduced through B&W TV and Lloyd Bridges and texts and pictures by Jacques Cousteau. My first go at it was New England Divers and there were four 1 hour pool sessions, no test, no book work, tho they did suggest the purchase of the New Science if Skin and Scuba Diving, and...

ready for this???

NO open (or any other kind) of check out dive(s).

There was no Padi then, no BCs, no safe seconds, no SPGs and my first reg had two hoses, actually it still has two hoses.

Anyway it wasn't PADI that introduced me the the silent world.

 

[Walter]

PADI is a relatively newcomer. LA County was the 1st certification agency. Lots of experienced divers taught diving and issued "hot" cards. The first nationwide agency (YMCA) didn't come along until 1959, NAUI followed the next year. For several years, it was common to start diving with no formal class.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

PADI was formed in 1967----does this really make it a relative newcomer?