Preparing for my AI class, any tips?

[Diver0001]

In main lines: denial and they have no way to measure if it's happening or not. Probably if you pushed too hard on this they would conclude that you have an attitude problem....

There's just a big disconnect between what we believe standards should be (and what PADI's roll should be) and what they are.

Instructors in the trenches just want to produce competent divers. Unfortunately that's not PADI's goal. PADI's goal is to product a LOT of divers..... The dive industry is like any other, they want return on investment. The standards and the existence of PADI (et al) serve two main purposes.

1) keep the government out of it, because as we all know governments usually screw up anything they touch.
2) facilitate a continuous new stream of divers who will buy stuff and make use of the goods and services.

PADI's standpoint on quality can be seen in the Undersea Journal I quoted above when they basically encourage "good enough" thinking.

What is "good enough" to a business? Maximizing return on investment. The business case for producing good quality isn't very strong. They're convinced that diving is an entertainment sport and that people would be discouraged from having to work too hard to get certified. I think partially they're right. If you just look at it in terms of the dollars, probably they're right. The way I read that article seemed to suggest that they're quite willing to tolerate a certain level of accidents as long as the business case is maximized.

Looking at it like that, your roll as instructor (and what Peter keeps butting up against in his course) is that "exceeding standards" wouldn't help if it were done on a large scale and the influx of new divers slowed down..... that's how I interpreted what I was told....

From ground level, the trainwreck in motion that characterizes a lot of diver-training causes a lot of concern and a lot of moaning about standards. As instructors we don't adhere to "good enough" thinking because we're the ones looking real people straight in the eyes.... they're not just numbers on a spreadsheet to us, hence the disconnect.

R..

 

[aascubagirl]

Diver0001 - thanks for the food for thought. It is my belief that "good enough" is the enemy of "better than" and "better than" is the enemy of "the best." Settling for "good enough" shortchanges not only the student but yourself as the instrutor. For me, I try to visualize my student diving in the future without me there and if that thought scares me...well then my work is not yet done, regardless of whether or not they have accomplished the required skill of the moment.

There is a disconnect but I think that for the most part the gap can be bridged one instructor at a time, with the right attitude, level of caring and enough time with the student.

 

[Peter Guy]

Diver0001 -- Thank You!

Many years ago I got involved in a long discussion of "good enough" vs. "better" -- one night after dinner while on a charter in the BVI. The anal skipper and I were on the "good enough" side while my surgeon wife and the first mate were on the "better" side. This was a slightly different take on the issue because we were discussing whether a person should be satisfied with "good enough" or should you always strive for "better."

I argued then, and would argue now, that "good enough" is OK and that "better" can be deflating and self-defeating. The key of course is "What is 'good enough'?" and this effects not only PADI but every teaching agency.

Me, assuming I do become an instructor, I'll be ecstatic if all my students become "good enough" divers -- that is, "good enough" to be able to safely, to themselves, their buddy and the environment, "plan a dive and dive their plan."

 

[Diver0001]

I think my "good enough" bar is a little higher than PADI's. I don't think the majority of divers can become "good enough" by my standards after 6-8 hours in a pool and 4 checkout dives. But it's PADI's standards that count, not mine so I actually do discuss this in a round-about way with my students in the hope of making them see how important it is to keep active and/or take advanced and rescue if they intend to take diving (semi) seriously.

I can't change the system and I'm afraid that it's usually *after* the course the divers get the experience they need to get "good enough" .... The problem with these kinds of discussions is you're trying to pin down a moving target.

R..

 

[Crowley]

MAson - for your AI - make sure you've gone through the diving knowledge workbook again - this sets IE level questions and is a fine study tool. Be familiar with the instructor manual and the way it works and how to find information in either the paper vhoweverersion or the digital version.

Your instructors will guide you through the presentation techniques - these are frequently misunderstood however even if you think it's all a bit daft, learn from them and apply it to your teaching. It's a brilliant system when you understand it correctly.

PADI Does not have a "Good enough" mentality. Some instructors may, but PADI as an organisation do not. I am going to defend that to the death because I work VERY hard to make certain my divers are as cometently trained as I possibly can.

I've taught a lot of instructors - if you need unbiased help feel free to PM me.

Cheers and good luck!

C.

 

[Diver0001]

PADI Does not have a "Good enough" mentality. Some instructors may, but PADI as an organisation do not. I am going to defend that to the death because I work VERY hard to make certain my divers are as cometently trained as I possibly can.

What I see you saying here is that your own ethic is not one of "good enough". I'm glad for that. That's one thing we have in common.

Do you know the article I was referencing above? How would you interpret an article with a message to the effect of "let's all get out there and make reasonably safe divers"

That's not an attitude of excellence in my book and I would assume that what PADI publishes in the Undersea Journal says more about their values than what either of us thinks about our own work ethic and writes on an online forum.

How would you address the message being presented in that article? I interpreted that as suggesting a "good enough" attitude.

Look back through your UJ's and find it, read it and tell us how you interpret it.

R..

 

[Peter Guy]

[OFF TOPIC]

R -- you've referenced the U.J. article a couple of times. Can you, or anyone else, tell me how I can get it (I don't have any old U.J.'s, or new ones for that matter)? I tried the PADI Pro site but the articles don't appear to be online.

Not that I would advise ANYONE to ever violate a copyright, however, a link to a PDF version of the article would be very much appreciated.

[BACK TO THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING]

 

[Crowley]

okay several things - I don't have a copy of that article to hand so please feel free to post it to me.

I would firstly like to publicly apologise to Diver0001 - we've had a small discussion offline and hopefully - especially considering his last post - feel that we understand one another better.

Another potential instructor asked me about the same thing and I drew this example:

A student is required to clear their mask - and they do so - it's repeated a lot during the PADI Open Water program. It takes three attempts and possibly a bolt to the surface before they finally achieve performance requirements and clear their mask. That's "good enough"

PADI (And I can't speak for other agencies) defines mastery as being able to meet the performance requirements in a reasonably fluid, comfortable and repetetive manner"

So we take this student into the open water and they can't clear their mask. That means that although they might have done it in a swimming pool, they have not "mastered" the skill because they can't repeat it. That's the difference between "mastery" and "good enough"

Unfortunately - and I can name a number of instructors from different agencies who do the same thing - the pressure is on to make money, not train divers

I whole heartedly disagree with this principle, which is why I work SO HARD to train divers to the best of their and my abilities. If, as an instructor, you only teach "good enough", then go home, give it up, get a job flipping burgers or something.

I understand the pressure that we are sometimes under. I also very well understand the PADI IDC - I've taught a few of them - the way you are taught to do a presentation is not real world - but it starts you off on the right track. Okay so Contact Value Signals etc.

Contact: Let's find something we can relate to
Value: Why do we need to take our mask off underwater? - simple!

No you don't need to teach every single skill that way - and PADI are not asking you to - but it develops goood reasoning and good judgement as an instructor to better explain to students why you want them to do something.

In the famous words of master Yoda: "Do, or do not, there is no 'try'"

As always - if anybody needs assistance in this matter, please feel free to drop me a line

Dive safe,

C