Short Open Water course

[Guba]

Unfortunately, OW classes like this are the norm.

They are? WHERE? I know virtually every instructor within 75 miles of my home town, and NO ONE offers anything that even remotely resembles the one in the OP. The only place I've even heard of something like this is on the internet, and usually they refer to cruise certs. Evidently, I live in some sort of bubble.

As for the parent present issue...I know of several instructors who allow parents to be present, but they almost all require about a hundred feet of clearance (parents restricted to a particular area from which they can observe but not participate). This actually makes sense in a lot of ways. The instructor is kept safe from charges of improper conduct with a minor, for example, and parents can share in the experience in a limited way. I know of NO instructor who wants the parents in the water with the child or even pacing the side of the pool.

I was a BSA scout leader for many years. It was common for the adults involved to teach skills to the boys. However, when in a small group setting, we had one unofficial rule--Dads did not teach their own sons. Instead, we taught each other's kids. This prevented a whole lot of problems, including discipline, fairness, favoritism, whining, and attention to the task at hand.

 

[Web Monkey]

I was amazed! He was telling me that a 10-yr old would probably require about 3-5 hours for the "book learning" and then about 3 hrs in one long session in the pool. After that it was off to the boat for 4 certification dives on some later day!

By the end of the first day, we've setup the students with a non-leaking non-fogging mask, a properly adjusted snorkel, booties and fins, and shown a controlled seated entry, mask and snorkel clearing. If all goes well, they'll usually get to snorkel in the shallow end.

In order to get though a whole course in one day, this guy obviously must be some sort of super-genius. I can't believe you didn't sign up!

Terry

 

[MichiganScott]

Wow! My daughter recently finished her OW certification thru SSI. Although I did not sit thru any of the class room sessions I did attend every pool session, and did tag along on the dives. Was I in the way? Yup, I'm sure I was. I tried to do the best I could to stay out of the way, but I'm sure I was less than helpful from time to time. But he encouraged me to be there none the less.

A couple of times the instructor got pretty heavily onto her case about something, and afterword she was very angry with me and upset I didn't say something. But I explained, the instructor had a lot more experience than I did, and he was responsible for training her to be a safe diver. His word was the law as far as I was concerned.

After she finished all of her dives we spoke about it on the way home, and I explained that the instructor was right to get on her, that he was the one who was tasked with her training, and I asked her to think about the responsibility that rested on his shoulders; because if you don't get it right in class, what happens when you get out in the real world and something happens? How would that instructor feel if an accident occurred to one of his former students because he wasn't tough enough to say what needed to be said?

 

[Azza]

It's been a while since I taught a kid, and without checking the manual my memory was that 10-12 year old divers must have their parents present during training and diving? I certainly would want the parents around if I was teaching a child.

 

[ppo2_diver]

Unfortunately, OW classes like this are the norm.

They are? WHERE? I know virtually every instructor within 75 miles of my home town, and NO ONE offers anything that even remotely resembles the one in the OP. The only place I've even heard of something like this is on the internet, and usually they refer to cruise certs. Evidently, I live in some sort of bubble.

Come to Chicago. Almost every dive store schedules the 4 day OW class. There are variations (2-3 hours here, 2-3 hours there), but the hours add up to being 4 full days.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I took this rather poor video of a dive my son and I did this weekend. I make him dive with a pony bottle, a snorkel, a smb and a little light on every dive. (He chooses to wear his freedive fins).

YouTube - Blue Geron Bridge nov 08

 

[NudeDiver]

Today I called a local dive shop to inquire about the details of geting my 10-yr old son certified (since I've not been an active instructor for a long time). I was told that the complete course was $450 and that since he was so young that it was the executive course (which I think was equivalent to a private class).

Wow....so much wrong with this situation, it's hard to know where to begin. I'll skip over the "is it a good idea at all?" and move on to what you said.

The gentlemen indicated that the training would take a long time, probably almost an entire day, something like 6-8 hours.

It is a well known fact that small children do not have an attention span that is conducive to this type of intensive study and learning (playing video games is a different matter). Even an adult is hard-pressed to focus on learning something for 6-8 hours at a time. Bottom line: this is a bad move. Child would get much more benefit from smaller, more focused sessions. So would an adult for that matter.

I was amazed! He was telling me that a 10-yr old would probably require about 3-5 hours for the "book learning" and then about 3 hrs in one long session in the pool. After that it was off to the boat for 4 certification dives on some later day!

Ridiculous. See comment above. Additionally, the time itself seems inadequate. I remember my OW class, which was not that long ago, and we spent a lot more than 3 hours in the pool.

I asked if I could attend the class and the answer was "no" unless I paid the full $450 fee

Huge red flag. Under no circumstances would I pay him/her for anything. Run away!!! No instructor worth a squat would mind having a quiet observer who kept his mouth shut (except in case of dire emergency or something). There were some parents in my OW class watching their students - I know it's not any kind of PADI thing. The parent should be told that he/she can watch - from that chair over there - but if he/she interacts with the child in any way, he/she will have to leave or the child's participation in the class will end - and then stick to that standard.

I think he and I will just continue to dive and slowly review an old dive manual and forget about certification. I didn't think the cost was too high for a private class, but there is no way in my mind that a few hours in a pool is going to cut it for anyone other than an exceptional student or someone who already knows how to dive.

You just need to find a different instructor. As far as I know, none of our local dive shops will teach a class like this.

 

[bfw]

However, it seems that PADI must be getting even EASIER than I could believe.

I long ago stopped being surprised. At any given requirement for time, effort, and commitment, there are still potentially billions of dollars being left on the table, and that's all you need to know.

 

[bfw]

As said time and again,PADI is not getting any easier,but that instructor was.
For a standard OW,we take atleast 7-8weeks.academics and pooltraining.
2-4 day's of checkout dives

And you, as one of the stronger links, do not characterize the chain. The clown described by the OP does. At the end of the day, if QA hasn't pulled his credentials, he's within the standard, and the worst the standard allows is the defining factor.

 

[bfw]

It's not PADI. Four checkout dives in one day is a standards violation.

"on some later day" was clearly a figure of speach.