PADI?

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Teaching drysuit skills to OW students in Belize would be a real waste of time, but it would be mandatory for classes using them in Seattle. Seattle students will also need to learn about planning dives around tides, while probably 90% of the world's divers will never need to give it a thought. A diver doing the OW dives in Denver should get instruction in altitude, which, the vast majority of divers will never have to consider.

Thank you for that.

I may be missing something, but it seems that a competent instructor realizes that EVERYTHING can’t be taught in 2-3 weekends

When you say everything, do you mean the performance requirements for open water?

I don't think that we are trying to teach everything. Now my OW course includes dry suit & nitrox. I have 2 days of pool time (4 to 5 hours, depending on my students, could be longer, could be shorter) and 4 days of open water (First/second weekend: confined water Sat, open water Sun, third weekend: both days open water).

As John stated, the currents are something that needs to be planned around. That's why I wrote a reference document. It isn't meant to be memorized, or learned. Just to go back and read it prior to diving if needed. Otherwise, I overload my students with too much information, and then I might as well underteach as I would get the same results.

 

[The Chairman]

About DSMBs... Sausages were just getting popular when I started teaching. Lift bags were around, but few carried them. I didn't teach them at all back then, but I do now. I also teach how to use your PDC without being a slave to it. Again, that's something I didn't teach in the beginning. Back then, I let my students kneel because I was taught that was important. Now I show them how simple getting trim and neutral is and they look fairly seasoned before they finish OW.

Most instructors evolve their teaching techniques to become more effective. We stop wasting our students' time with needless crap and focus more on what's important. Many call that "watering down", but I see it as smartening up. I would probably be horrified at some of my early students' skills.

 

[Colliam7]

When you say everything, do you mean the performance requirements for open water?

No, not at all. I was referring to the 'everything' I outlined above that statement, that some seem to think should be part of an all-inclusive course (that doesn't really exist).

I don't think most of us try to teach 'everything'. My comment was a response to those posts earlier in the thread that outlined all of the things that the poster thinks SHOULD (also) be included in the OW curriculum, i.e. a desire to add a) rescue skills; b) DSMB deployment; c) whatever else they think an OW diver MUST have.

I don't think that we are trying to teach everything. I think that, for the most part, we are teaching everything that the Performance Requirements outline, and doing it in a timeframe that works for the student - i.e. meets the market demand - which should allow us to produce an Open Water Diver capable of a) continuing to learn to dive (the OW certification is, and should be, nothing more than a learner's permit), b) diving in a way, while continuing to learn, that is reasonably safe, competent, and enjoyable.

Otherwise, I overload my students with too much information, and then I might as well underteach as I would get the same results.

Exactly my point about the downside of trying to include EVERYTHING.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

b) DSMB deployment

But I do include this. I do it gradually however. First at the surface in the pool. Then in the shallows where I don't gripe if they touch the bottom. Then in the deeper end to get close to their actual safety stop depth (but not quite).

In my area, boat diving is common. DSMB deployment is a mandatory skill. That isn't my opinion, but the conclusion of peer reviewed science.

 

[tursiops]

I took that Fish ID course as part of my advanced open water (had exactly 15 minutes to go through the book before the dive).

"That's a fish, that's a fish, that's a fish *pointing at turtle* That isn't a fish."

So, you had a really crappy instructor, who avoided the course standards. What's your point? Did you complain? Did you report him to PADI? Did you ever tell anybody his name and shame him? No? Then you are part of the problem.

 

[tursiops]

Why agencies don't describe that proper weighting is the exact amount of weight to keep a diver at a safety stop with an empty BCD/dry suit with a nearly empty cylinder just baffles me.

How do you go from this goal to telling the student how much weight to put on when the dive starts?

 

[tursiops]

My annoyance with them is along the line of so many “certs” like an inhale underwater card, exhale underwater card turn on your tank specialty, turn off your tank specialty

Can you give any real examples?

 

[tursiops]

My biggest gripe is the everyone can be a pro leading to insta-instructors, where someone can become an instructor with not many more dives than one can accumulate on a 7 day live aboard.

You can do 100 dives on a 7-day liveaboard?

 

[boulderjohn]

You can do 100 dives on a 7-day liveaboard?

C'mon, get with it. We live in a post-truth world now. You don't have to give actual facts in support of your position. It is perfectly acceptable to make stuff up, the more extreme the absurdity the better. Facts are so old school!

 

[tursiops]

C'mon, get with it. We live in a post-truth world now. You don't have to give actual facts in support of your position. It is perfectly acceptable to make stuff up, the more extreme the absurdity the better. Facts are so old school!

You are right. I keep forgetting. I'm glad I'm old. I couldn't take much more of this nonsense.