art.chick
Contributor
(This is all just my own experience, & may be totally unlike anything else in the world):
Everyone I know who is in entry-level dive leadership training programs has a 1-on-1 mentor situation with an instructor-trainer. There is a certain amount of ego-investment for the mentors because they are conscious of the impression the new AI or DM will give of them as trainers. So things tend to move smoothly when you are just doing pool quals & book work. It looks like you are just about to finish, & then you get to the Open Water where you have to work under their leadership.
Every candidate I know wants to be the best they can be. However, the trainers can really strive to put personal touches on their demands. In at least 1 large certification organization, the trainer has the right to ask candidates to exceed minimum standards (within a reasonable range), and that is when things get a bit subjective. It's good to have requirements checked off a list in case the trainer "gets busy" with better-paying work in the middle of your test. That way, you can switch mentors if you must to keep your time goals.
I found that when I worked under a stressed instructor who set unreasonable schedules, did not plan according to real-world exigencies (ie: promised early morning dives to a student in a location where early morning air-fills were impossible), & overcommitted himself, the chaos led to an inability on my part to keep track of my own role in the activities. I got a little tired of "accepting responsibility" for promises he had made to students & could not fulfil. I have worked with others, too & concluded: "As he lives, so does he teach."
If I take my education further, I will consider many instructor trainer factors already mentioned by other divers here, but also seek out a personality type likely to harmonize with my character pluses & minuses rather than to grind against them. The best trainer for me is a decisive leader with a concise, compact lecture style & a firm, instantaneous feedback system. You may prefer another style.
Everyone I know who is in entry-level dive leadership training programs has a 1-on-1 mentor situation with an instructor-trainer. There is a certain amount of ego-investment for the mentors because they are conscious of the impression the new AI or DM will give of them as trainers. So things tend to move smoothly when you are just doing pool quals & book work. It looks like you are just about to finish, & then you get to the Open Water where you have to work under their leadership.
Every candidate I know wants to be the best they can be. However, the trainers can really strive to put personal touches on their demands. In at least 1 large certification organization, the trainer has the right to ask candidates to exceed minimum standards (within a reasonable range), and that is when things get a bit subjective. It's good to have requirements checked off a list in case the trainer "gets busy" with better-paying work in the middle of your test. That way, you can switch mentors if you must to keep your time goals.
I found that when I worked under a stressed instructor who set unreasonable schedules, did not plan according to real-world exigencies (ie: promised early morning dives to a student in a location where early morning air-fills were impossible), & overcommitted himself, the chaos led to an inability on my part to keep track of my own role in the activities. I got a little tired of "accepting responsibility" for promises he had made to students & could not fulfil. I have worked with others, too & concluded: "As he lives, so does he teach."
If I take my education further, I will consider many instructor trainer factors already mentioned by other divers here, but also seek out a personality type likely to harmonize with my character pluses & minuses rather than to grind against them. The best trainer for me is a decisive leader with a concise, compact lecture style & a firm, instantaneous feedback system. You may prefer another style.
