Question for PADI Divemasters and Instructors

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First, an instructor just needs to pay his/her dues to maintain status. There is no recertification required for instructors. While I and many other instructors would support it, I doubt it would fly, given the peanuts that many instructors have to live off of when teaching in backpacker tropical destinations. And a lot of certifications come out of those places.
That's not completely true. GUE requires an instructor requalify every 3(iirc) years face to face with an instructor trainer, plus some sort of CE program. And they also require a certain minimum number of classes taught by an instructor each year to maintin instructor status. GUE is not where people looking for easy or low cost certs go.
 
...needed to maintain my certification. Are PADI instructors required to do that? What oversight does PADI provide?

That's not completely true. GUE requires an instructor requalify every 3(iirc) years face to face with an instructor trainer, plus some sort of CE program. And they also require a certain minimum number of classes taught by an instructor each year to maintin instructor status. GUE is not where people looking for easy or low cost certs go.

She didn't ask about GUE, but PADI. My answer is correct.
 
This video?
First, an instructor just needs to pay his/her dues to maintain status. There is no recertification required for instructors. While I and many other instructors would support it, I doubt it would fly, given the peanuts that many instructors have to live off of when teaching in backpacker tropical destinations. And a lot of certifications come out of those places.

I don't think a CV will guarantee good instruction. You need to understand what is involved in open water courses. A CV won't capture the self-education they have done to become a better instructor. You need to interview your instructor, have a good understanding of what your needs are (are you a fish and have no issues or do you have any phobias? Or somewhere in between). What is their teaching style? Does his or her personality mesh with yours? You want to get a good course, but you don't want to think your instructor is an ass.

Here is a blurb (a cut and paste) of what I tell people interested in taking an open water course. I hope this helps.
---
If a student wishes to maximize her or his benefit from early training (open water and advanced open water certification), it is important that the student interviews prospective instructors to find a good match in terms of personality and teaching methods.

In order to facilitate this process for the teaching methods, there are a couple of books and websites that I highly recommend (I also recommend them to instructors who pursue excellence as an instructor).

The books I recommend are by James (Jim) Lapenta for open water and advanced open water courses.

https://www.amazon.com/SCUBA-Practical-Guide-New-Diver-ebook/dp/B00I9K2KW4/
https://www.amazon.com/SCUBA-Practical-Advanced-Training-Adavanced-ebook/dp/B01N3UDHLT/

The online resources I recommend are by Harry Averill (a.k.a. Cave Diver Harry) and Andy Davis. Both are generous with publishing top notch training. Their respective websites/blogs are found here:

http://cavediverharry.com/
http://scubatechphilippines.com/scuba_blog/

For those who seek true excellence in diving in the skills they develop, I recommend that students look for instructors with strong tech backgrounds and/or ones that have gone through GUE Fundamentals, UTD Essentials, or ISE Basics of Exploration or are certified for cave diving. The reason that I recommend instructors with such a background is they have pursued excellence in their own diving, as these are some of the most difficult courses a diver can take. Students who take these courses find that they have the result of dramatically improved diving skills. And that translates to helping the new diver have the appropriate foundation of skills from which he or she can grow rapidly.

While people like Andy Davis, Jim Lapenta, and Harry Averill are not accessible to everyone, there are a number of other instructors who look at how to teach at the highest possible level. Look for them. Students may recommend other instructors, but honestly, while they have good intentions, they honestly don't know what makes a good instructor. It wasn't until I became an instructor that I realized how many standards violations occurred during many of my courses. Through my own pursuit of excellence as an instructor, I learned about better methods for teachings as I started with a number of shortcomings myself, and I'm still growing. Unfortunately I've learned that many instructors are mediocre. Fortunately, there are so many instructors who are excellent but it requires some work by the student to find them.

Finally, I'd recommend checking out this basic skills video: (not sure why it doesn't play at the beginning. Tried to force it but it doesn't work).

All skills should be performed while trim and midwater. This allows students to improve their buoyancy skills while waiting their turn to perfect the skills underwater, thus making much better use of confined and open water training.

Yes, this is an awesome video for newbies! Thanks so much for the books, and other resources. You guys and gals are great!
 
That's not completely true. GUE requires an instructor requalify every 3(iirc) years face to face with an instructor trainer, plus some sort of CE program. And they also require a certain minimum number of classes taught by an instructor each year to maintin instructor status. GUE is not where people looking for easy or low cost certs go.

Cool, thank you.
 
This video?
First, an instructor just needs to pay his/her dues to maintain status. There is no recertification required for instructors. While I and many other instructors would support it, I doubt it would fly, given the peanuts that many instructors have to live off of when teaching in backpacker tropical destinations. And a lot of certifications come out of those places.

I don't think a CV will guarantee good instruction. You need to understand what is involved in open water courses. A CV won't capture the self-education they have done to become a better instructor. You need to interview your instructor, have a good understanding of what your needs are (are you a fish and have no issues or do you have any phobias? Or somewhere in between). What is their teaching style? Does his or her personality mesh with yours? You want to get a good course, but you don't want to think your instructor is an ass.

Here is a blurb (a cut and paste) of what I tell people interested in taking an open water course. I hope this helps.
---
If a student wishes to maximize her or his benefit from early training (open water and advanced open water certification), it is important that the student interviews prospective instructors to find a good match in terms of personality and teaching methods.

In order to facilitate this process for the teaching methods, there are a couple of books and websites that I highly recommend (I also recommend them to instructors who pursue excellence as an instructor).

The books I recommend are by James (Jim) Lapenta for open water and advanced open water courses.

https://www.amazon.com/SCUBA-Practical-Guide-New-Diver-ebook/dp/B00I9K2KW4/
https://www.amazon.com/SCUBA-Practical-Advanced-Training-Adavanced-ebook/dp/B01N3UDHLT/

The online resources I recommend are by Harry Averill (a.k.a. Cave Diver Harry) and Andy Davis. Both are generous with publishing top notch training. Their respective websites/blogs are found here:

http://cavediverharry.com/
http://scubatechphilippines.com/scuba_blog/

For those who seek true excellence in diving in the skills they develop, I recommend that students look for instructors with strong tech backgrounds and/or ones that have gone through GUE Fundamentals, UTD Essentials, or ISE Basics of Exploration or are certified for cave diving. The reason that I recommend instructors with such a background is they have pursued excellence in their own diving, as these are some of the most difficult courses a diver can take. Students who take these courses find that they have the result of dramatically improved diving skills. And that translates to helping the new diver have the appropriate foundation of skills from which he or she can grow rapidly.

While people like Andy Davis, Jim Lapenta, and Harry Averill are not accessible to everyone, there are a number of other instructors who look at how to teach at the highest possible level. Look for them. Students may recommend other instructors, but honestly, while they have good intentions, they honestly don't know what makes a good instructor. It wasn't until I became an instructor that I realized how many standards violations occurred during many of my courses. Through my own pursuit of excellence as an instructor, I learned about better methods for teachings as I started with a number of shortcomings myself, and I'm still growing. Unfortunately I've learned that many instructors are mediocre. Fortunately, there are so many instructors who are excellent but it requires some work by the student to find them.

Finally, I'd recommend checking out this basic skills video: (not sure why it doesn't play at the beginning. Tried to force it but it doesn't work).

All skills should be performed while trim and midwater. This allows students to improve their buoyancy skills while waiting their turn to perfect the skills underwater, thus making much better use of confined and open water training.

Oh dear...

For those who don't know better... The instructor looks like **** in that video.

Out of trim. Starts blowing bubbles then stops... Looks like he touches the bottom.

Please please don't aspire to look like that idiot.
 
Oh dear...

For those who don't know better... The instructor looks like **** in that video.

Out of trim. Starts blowing bubbles then stops... Looks like he touches the bottom.

Please please don't aspire to look like that idiot.
I've only skimmed the video, and the bits I saw were okay, not perfect.

Do you have a better video showcasing the skills required in PADI OW? Maybe your own?
 
Oh dear...

For those who don't know better... The instructor looks like **** in that video.

Out of trim. Starts blowing bubbles then stops... Looks like he touches the bottom.

Please please don't aspire to look like that idiot.

The skills are what I focused on, not how well he performed those skills. I would love to watch a PADI instructor competition; that would be too cool. All that "alpha male" attitude in one pool -- you wouldn't need to heat it by artificial means hehehe
 
The skills are what I focused on, not how well he performed those skills. I would love to watch a PADI instructor competition; that would be too cool. All that "alpha male" attitude in one pool -- you wouldn't need to heat it by artificial means hehehe

That's the point I'm trying to make. Want to see the amazing skills underwater? Subscribe to DiveGUE.tv | Dive GUE. Actually, now that I think of it, you can get 3 days for free. I'd recommend checking it out, but it won't be applicable to a typical open water course, but I think you'll come away with some valuable information. Now it is new, so not all videos are perfect, but the in water demos are excellent.
 
That's the point I'm trying to make. Want to see the amazing skills underwater? Subscribe to DiveGUE.tv | Dive GUE. Actually, now that I think of it, you can get 3 days for free. I'd recommend checking it out, but it won't be applicable to a typical open water course, but I think you'll come away with some valuable information. Now it is new, so not all videos are perfect, but the in water demos are excellent.
Based upon the impression you are making on me, I can see a DIR agency in your future, whether it be GUE, UTD, or ISE. Their fundamentals/essentials/basics courses are pretty tough, but you will come away with much improved skills. You have the advantage of starting out with a lot more information than what I had when I did. GUE fundies changed my diving dramatically. While there is a bit of Kool-Aid in their curriculum, the camaraderie, helpfulness, and wiliness to help (that is what I've experienced) is really quite impressive. You don't have the squabbling that you see within or between other agencies.
 
I've only skimmed the video, and the bits I saw were okay, not perfect.

Do you have a better video showcasing the skills required in PADI OW? Maybe your own?

Well as a staff instructor I feel you should watch the video more closely. What would you say to an IDC candidate if they stopped blowing bubbles with their reg out? And what would you say if they were skulling when demonstrating neutral buoyancy?

I don't have a video but can create one this weekend of any skills you want to see demonstrated if you want.
 

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