DIR- GUE Reflections on Fundamentals

[Hartattack]

Great write up!

With that said, GUE has a new book: The Fundamentals of Better Diving that might help in your quest. In addition to this, I'd add for folks to search out their local communities in there areas to get a sense of what diving like a team is about and some tips and tricks to help you through Fundamentals or the other programs they offer.

Here in the Midwest, we have: Midwest Underwater Explorers (MWUE) and our Facebook group

Other regions have their own and when you reach out to an Instructor, it might help to ask them about local communities in your areas.

 

[jadairiii]

...The instructor sat us down around the third day and calmly explained that realistically given our skills we could not finish the curriculum,

This was not your failure, but the failure of your instructor. I have posted this link before detailing my daughters Rec 1 class, she is an exceptional swimmer but had zero scuba experience.

Why choose GUE Rec-1?

 

[CptTightPants21]

This was not your failure, but the failure of your instructor. I have posted this link before detailing my daughters Rec 1 class, she is an exceptional swimmer but had zero scuba experience.

Why choose GUE Rec-1?

Personality issues with the instructor aside, that is just not accurate. There are plenty of times a class does not have the current skill level to progress through the whole class. What is the point of having them attempt to do full OOA gas sharing when they still can't ascend correctly without any task loading? The time is better time spent improving skills they are marginal at rather than making a student learn and attempt things they have no hope of doing successfully. You don't tell a person to lift a 100lb weight when they are struggling with 60lb, you give them hope by allowing them to improve with the 60lb and show them that, with time, they will lift more weight.

 

[Hartattack]

This was not your failure, but the failure of your instructor. I have posted this link before detailing my daughters Rec 1 class, she is an exceptional swimmer but had zero scuba experience.

Why choose GUE Rec-1?

I would have to disagree with this opinion. Having a GUE Instructor be honest about their ability is what the agency is all about. Their courses' QA and safety standards are extremely high, if not the highest, in the industry. They would not say this if they did not mean it.

 

[jadairiii]

...Having a GUE Instructor be honest about their ability is what the agency is all about. ....

Its not an issue of honesty. I have been in and around GUE since it inception, I have been trained at different levels by 5 GUE instructors and had the opportunity to dive with a few more.

With that, I have seen quite a few GUE instructors that had the passion but really could not teach entry level divers, they could not translate their excellent skills to the student.

As with any type of learning environment, just because someone is a teacher doesn't mean they know how to teach.

 

[Hartattack]

Its not an issue of honesty. I have been in and around GUE since it inception, I have been trained at different levels by 5 GUE instructors and had the opportunity to dive with a few more.

With that, I have seen quite a few GUE instructors that had the passion but really could not teach entry level divers, they could not translate their excellent skills to the student.

As with any type of learning environment, just because someone is a teacher doesn't mean they know how to teach.

Wouldn't it be a bit better to say this ^ than say "it is a failure on the Instructor" considering you do not know the QA process or team dynamics this particular class had? E.g. you were not there, so how would you know?

 

[CptTightPants21]

Its not an issue of honesty. I have been in and around GUE since it inception, I have been trained at different levels by 5 GUE instructors and had the opportunity to dive with a few more.

With that, I have seen quite a few GUE instructors that had the passion but really could not teach entry level divers, they could not translate their excellent skills to the student.

As with any type of learning environment, just because someone is a teacher doesn't mean they know how to teach.

This point is completely valid and it covers more than just GUE, but it has nothing to do with the previous point you made above. The greatest educator of any subject in the history of the world can't guarantee a person will complete a course in a set amount of time if the person's baseline skill or knowledge level is sufficiently below where it needs to be for the subject matter. Unless you have MAGIC grits, some things just take time.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

This point is completely valid and it covers more than just GUE, but it has nothing to do with the previous point you made above. The greatest educator of any subject in the history of the world can't guarantee a person will complete a course in a set amount of time if the person's baseline skill or knowledge level is sufficiently below where it needs to be for the subject matter. Unless you have MAGIC grits, some things just take time.

My brother went to UC Berkeley. His worst professor won the Nobel prize in physics.

 

[Manatee Diver]

My brother went to UC Berkeley. His worst professor won the Nobel prize in physics.

What is obvious to a pro isn't always obvious to a beginner.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

What is obvious to a pro isn't always obvious to a beginner.

There's also the personality/style match. Two different students could have different outcomes for the same class from the same instructor.