Redesigning AOW

[mgmonk]

Is anybody else ok with the basic premise that a for profit venture large enough to be worldwide in scope is going to, in most cases, throw out as wide a net as possible whereas a non-profit organization can offer more regimented and personalized because of its smaller size? Or how about the fact that wreck diving in the Carolinas is fundamentally different than boat diving in Koh Tao.

Maybe this conversation is so convoluted because there is a sense of perspective that's being ignored. Diving is many things to many people. Maybe the question is, "Within the PADI framework, what changes could benefit the AOW course?". As opposed to, "Within the entire scope of diving, the universe and all of the opinions she holds, what could we do to make the AOW course perfect for every living soul?"

So,
as for question one...

I think that there are more than a few Adventure Dives that are silly (boat being my favorite example, DPV being the other), but then again, I had another instructor, from another dive environment than mine, explain me a few benefits of those. He even gave me tips on how to teach DPV in my world and make it more than a ridiculous excuse to underwater race. Essentially, why drop anything? If there is a time and place for it, and as long as the more site specific dives aren't made mandatory, leave it be.

What to add/change? That's more interesting. I'd like to see underwater conservation taken more seriously in general, so I think the fish ID/naturalist modules could do with updating. I feel like the naturalist dive was born in a different era and that the AWARE dives were just slapped in later as opposed to integrated in. I'd like to see all of that more unfied, and then, perhaps, there could be separate modules for different regions. In my world, I see naturalist taught this way, and PADI's structure gets thrown out the window anyway, but I'd like to see it from them.

Any more (constructive) ideas?

 

[bfw]

And then there are other possible considerations: Diving into Troubled Waters: Sexual Discrimination in a Male Dominated Recreational Culture.

Sounds like the same sort of pseudo-scientific crap that's prompting Congress to consider Title IX quotas for science and engineering courses.

Studies on discrimination start with a conclusion and then twist whatever they must to support it. Politics and science are a worse mix than politics and religion.

 

[Thalassamania]

Sounds like the same sort of pseudo-scientific crap that's prompting Congress to consider Title IX quotas for science and engineering courses.

Studies on discrimination start with a conclusion and then twist whatever they must to support it. Politics and science are a worse mix than politics and religion.

I do'nt know, I read the entire paper and if you ignore the BS jargon it is kind of interesting. But ... not the point I'm interested in here, which is just how pervasive the dropout rate is as demonstrated by how widespread the commentary on it is, and how no one feels a need to reference it.

 

[mgmonk]

I guess that's a no

 

[peterbj7]

regimented and personalized

Aren't these opposites?

 

[mgmonk]

Aren't these opposites?

:mooner:

I meant strict. As in a structure that would be geared towards your personalized interests but regimented within your choices. ie, you can choose what modules you want to take, when you want to take them, and where you want to dive them, but I provide a strict, regimented (maybe taxing) set of criteria for you to meet before I will consider the skills "mastered"

But my guess is that you knew exactly what I meant
:blinking:

 

[Thalassamania]

Actually I'm glad you sort of explained it. I had no idea of what you meant, and frankly I'm still not completely sure.

 

[mgmonk]

HA! think you can drag me into your back and forth.

So, the other thing I was thinking about was something that dealt with responsible hunting. I've never hunted myself, but it was popular when I used to dive in CA and I do see it sometimes now. If people are getting into diving with the intention of hunting, it might be good for everyone if they learned safe and responsible practices from the start.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I guess that's a no

Actually, some of us answered your question way back when this thread got started ... you can find my answer in reply #22.

I agree with what you said ... what gets taught, and the methods for teaching it effectively are going to vary within the constraints of local diving conditions.

However, basic skills can be applied within those constraints ... and my only objection to AOW as it's most commonly taught is that there doesn't seem to be any emphasis on actually teaching anything ... it's all about experiencing different conditions. To my concern, without the skills all you're doing is exposing students to those conditions in a way that provides a false sense of security, and assuming they'll learn what they need to know on their own before they get themselves in trouble ... or sell them yet another class that promises to teach them more.

Fundamental skills like dive planning, gas management, buoyancy control, situational awareness, communication, buoyancy control, propulsion techniques ... these can be taught and improved upon at any level of diving, and under any conditions. What I would most like to see with AOW is more emphasis on teaching someone how to properly prepare for these dives before doing them ... rather than just taking them on a "trust me" experience and expecting them to learn how to do it properly by signing up for a follow-on class.

For example, in my AOW class I WILL NOT take a student on a deep dive until they demonstrate to me that they have proper buoyancy control, can ascend and hold a proper safety stop mid-water (because they might have to), can perform an OOA without touching the bottom (because there might not be one), and understand gas management sufficient to know beforehand that they are carrying adequate gas supplies for the dive they're planning to do.

Those are not particularly difficult skills ... and any recreational diver should have them to one degree or another. If we don't emphasize those skills in the first class or two, when ... and how ... are students expected to learn them?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[emttim]

He was right. Unfortunately. But it is not just that they take people down there. While doing some research before my own trip, I ran into an article written by a DM who described getting angry at a diver who was having ear issues because they had to stop at about 70 feet instead of going all the way

Incredible. I guess people who take awhile to equalize like me would just enrage ******** errr dive ops like that.