annasea:
What types of questions do you recommend divers-to-be ask of prospective instructors?
Cost and class size are pretty obvious ones, but, for example, I read in a thread here recently that some instructors teach required skills with the students in a more realistic, horizontal position as opposed to a vertical one such as I was in when I learned mask clearing. I had no idea that skills could, or should, be taught in a way other than how I *learned*. (I was unable to complete my OW here in Vancouver so I am now trying to educate myself as best as possible as I go through the process of interviewing instructors.)
Any other considerations you'd care to share?
TIA!
The long thread you're looking for was written by Walter. You should be able to find it with the search.
Here are a couple of questions that I personally think are important:
- How much time do you spend in the pool? (answer should be "as much as we need")
- Can I repeat a module if I still don't feel comfortable? (answer should be "yes")
- Do you certify everyone? (answer should be "no")
- How long have you been teaching? (experience *does* matter in this game)
- How big are your classes? (a good number is 4-6 in my mind)
- Do you work alone or do you have an assistant? (not having an assistant is a good indicator that you'll spend a lot of time waiting around)
I wouldn't stare blindly at learning skills neutral as a good indicator of quality in an OW course. What I *do* really think is important is that you have the chance to try the skills while neutral once you've been taught the technique. Learning while neutral is difficult and teaching everything neutrally to start with takes a lot longer. In my mind, what's effective is to teach the technique first and then practice it while swimming. In other words, move the bar up a little at a time until you can do the skills neutrally.
Take mask clearing, for example. If you learn the technique while kneeling and then try it in a fin pivot once your instructor is happy that you've got it then you're still learning how to do it while neutral. Once you can do it in a fin pivot, then try letting some water in your mask while swimming and so on....
...so in other words, what you're looking for is an instructor who will give you lots of time in the pool to practice what you've learned. How instructors do this varies a lot. Some don't give you any time to practice stuff or just a few minutes at the end of every session. Run away if ynou see this happening. How much practice time you will need will depend on you but how much practice time you *get* will depend on the instructor's logistics. As a rule of thumb, an instructor who has his/her logistics totally nailed can run an adequate OW course with 6 students in 8-10 hours of pool time. If classes are too large or the instructor doesn't work with a decent assistant then he/she is likely to need more like 15 hours in the pool.
By way of comparison, lots of shops try to do their OW course with 5-7 hours in the pool.... This just isn't enough for most people to really get a grip on the skills. Some people can but most can't. If the shop/instructor is trying to run the course at this tempo then the important question is what he/she will do if you feel that's it's going too fast for you. If you get 6 hours in the pool and no chance for remedial sessions if you want/need them then you're almost guaranteed to become one of those divers we all moan about.....at least to start with. If the basis is 6 hours of instruction with the option of spending another 6 hours practicing then you'll be pretty much squared away by the time you're finished.
The question about experience is relevant. Most people get better at stuff with a little practice and a new instructor will probably be ok in terms of teaching the skills but they'll usually need more pool time than an experienced instructor will. The difference is often in logistics.
Finally, big classes are a nightmare for the instructor and also for the students. There are always a couple of slower people in the course and if the class is too big then everyone who isn't slow will be rushed along to make time for the slow ones. This applies to groups of 4 or 6 as well but the instructor has more time per student with smaller classes and it's easier logistically to deal with the slow ones. A group of 6 with one instructor and one assistant is an ideal size. At the shop where I work we occasionally do groups of 10 but then with two instructors and a DM, which basically amounts to two groups of 5. A big group can be fun but the important thing is that the ratio of staff to students doesn't get above 3:1 or 4:1.
Hope that helps a bit.
R..
