PADI Training Question

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ZzzKing

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Location
Dallas
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None - Not Certified
I have a question relating to PADI trading. I am not interested in an agency bashing session and am looking for constructive input relating to the specific topic. Thank you.

My sister-in-law had her first, and only pool session today for her Open Water cert. She said the instructor came in saying they were going to complete all pool work in one day so he didn’t have to work tomorrow. Of course he couched it that they would have the day off also. So, in cramming everything into one day, he really stressed her out and her friend decided that scuba wasn’t for her and just quit. So bad reactions for them both. My opinion is they should terminate their relationship with him immediately and not complete their open water dives next weekend which is what I expect to be the general reaction around here.

My question, however, is what are PADI Instrctors supposed to do? When I was certified about 15 years ago, we did the pool work over two days with an evening between to contemplate what you learned and adjust your thinking. I thought that PADI required it over two days. Is that correct? I’m pretty sure the open water dives have to happen over two days because you can only complete 3 dives in one day and 4 are required. So, I am wondering whether a) he is just a crappy instructor or b) he is a crappy instructor and should be reported to his certifying agency. Either way, he is getting reported to the associated dive shop, whom I’ve been shopping at for a decade and a half.

Thanks for your input and it would be great if people with specific PADI knowledge would chime in.
 
I know I did my pool sessions over three days (back in the day) with PADI, BSAC it was over 4 days. For a new diver I would say that is unacceptable and would just excess task load. I have left dive centers over similar circumstances, unfortunately a lot of places around the world are similar
 
There is no minimum nr of days requirements for pool, so, it is not against any standards to do it in 1 day. This however can be very tough on students. Basically you learn all the skills of the course in 1 day.
I agree if they are not happy, they should seek for a remedy acceptable for both parties, like paying 1/3 of the course and get a referral for the parts completed. They can later complete the course with some other instructor.
 
So, in cramming everything into one day,

It also depends on the number of students and the student's abilities. Large class of basic students, no way it works. Semi private class (2 people) that already have great water skills (non-scuba), no problem.
 
If the student is comfortable in the water and with the equipment, there is no reason why the pool sessions cannot be done in one day.

However not everyone learns at the same rate, and if they did not feel comfortable about this then they should have spoken out at the time that they would prefer more pool training.
 
If the student is comfortable in the water and with the equipment, there is no reason why the pool sessions cannot be done in one day.

However not everyone learns at the same rate, and if they did not feel comfortable about this then they should have spoken out at the time that they would prefer more pool training.
The problem is most wont say something, be it embarrassment, overt trust to the instructor or a mixture of both. In the end the Instructor should know better and be able to read the abilities of their students. But it would seem this instructor was more worried on having a day off, but that can open a whole other set of questions for the dive center.
 
Technically, he didn't do anything wrong based on your description. You should have spoken up, in a diplomatic way, and discussed it with him and asked for more time in the pool in a less demanding regime. You should communicate to him your concerns and ask for one more session in the pool before proceeding to openwater.



NOTE: I am NOT an advocate of these one or two session courses at all but it is done out there and they aren't violations of their respective agency's standards. The entry level diver course I teach is actually 9 sessions in the pool for a total of 20 hours in pool in addition to 8 openwater dives.
 
You said one day, but you did not say hos long that day was. In my experience, a typical "day" of pool work was 4 hours, and we did it in 2 days, for a total of 8 hours. That was plenty of time to get an average sized class of students through all the required skills, with the exception of an occasional student who needed (and got) more time.

Fewer students take less time, and students who learn fast take less time. A class with just a couple of quick learning students can zoom through the requirements.

We did not schedule 8 hour pool sessions because it would be exhausting on the students, and they would get very cold, even in warmer pools.

So if I had a more than a couple of students, and if they were average learners, no, I could not do the requirements in a day.

But I did do my own pool session in a short day, and I later learned that they did that by skipping a lot of the requirements.
 
I definitely wouldn't want to teach the complete confined element in one day and, fortunately, the centre I work for wouldn't ask me to.

Just because the instructor may be able to manage it, doesn't mean the students can. There is definitely a point where a students mental and physical concentration tails off and they're not able to absorb information and perform to the best of their ability. If you continue after that you're wasting their time and risk making them despondent.

With unrealistic time constraints, something's got to give. Yes, you may be able to knock out the required skills, but the end of dive 'free-time' and dive 5 will inevitably suffer. In my view these are the most important aspects of confined water.

When it comes to the open water dives, you can easily spot which students have been taught by an instructor who wants to finish early.
 
There is no minimum nr of days requirements for pool, so, it is not against any standards to do it in 1 day. This however can be very tough on students. Basically you learn all the skills of the course in 1 day.
I agree if they are not happy, they should seek for a remedy acceptable for both parties, like paying 1/3 of the course and get a referral for the parts completed. They can later complete the course with some other instructor.
^^THIS^^
And the "some other instructor" might be with a different shop, because the initial shop tolerates crappy instruction.
 
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