Should SB be required reading in OW classes?

[drrich2]

If I understand correctly, in the U.S., the majority of OW courses are done at or in affiliation with LDS using PADI or SSI agencies. Such courses are often taught to or near minimum standards (if that) and are high volume, low margin operations which help lead to more lucrative gear sales, but the LDS is still a beleaguered entity that in many cases barely scrapes by. Hence the joke that the best way to make $1 million with a dive shop is to start with $1 million.

If I also understand correctly, many on the forum are strongly critical of PADI, SSI and perhaps some other agencies basic OW courses, consider them inadequate to consistently produce safe, competent divers of the majority of students, and tend to regard their graduates as dangerous (to self, buddies and reefs) accidents waiting to happen, who will likely be frightened right out of the hobby when subjected to actual real world diving in the face of their incompetence.

ScubaBoard is also a fine place to learn about alternative gear brands and models that your LDS doesn't sell, large and reputable online vendors many members use (e.g.: ScubaToys, LeisurePro) and some smaller ones, too, that have strong reputations on the forum. Also a fine place to learn about dive trips being organized by agents other than your LDS.

I think ScubaBoard can do a lot to maintain interest in the diving hobby by giving us without year-round good local access an outlet for our scuba urges. Which is why I'm here a lot. And a place to share experiences, enjoy vicariously, etc...

It is easier to manage students who've only been shaped by your worldview of the matter at hand. While some teachers have the breadth of knowledge and experience to gladly embrace students who are more independent thinkers and bring in outside views, ideas, questions, etc..., on the whole it's easier to handle people who only hear your views.

I don't think most LDS and basic OW instructors are going to push ScubaBoard.

Richard.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

One thing I notice with new students or fresh OW divers coming to this board is they always say "Damn!! I sure wished I knew about this board before I just got raped by my LDS, I could have saved hundreds", or "I wish I'd known about BP/W before I spent all that money on whatever big expensive BCD unit, now I have to buy it again.
They also read that hey, people CAN indeed learn to work on their own stuff in time when they are around a bit and integrate into the scene, and despite what their LDS says, no they're not going to die if they peer into a regulator and god forbid actually get the nerve up to service one.
And 20 year old regs are just as good as a brand new reg and sometimes better.

Any student who finds SB is doomed (In the eyes of the establishment. What they're really afraid of is that they are the ones doomed, a slow painful death).
Once the student discovers there is a whole parallel universe in diving the gig is up. No wonder the sales person at the counter is digging their finger nails into the wood and bitting their lip to where is bleeds when SB is mentioned.
Just the mear fact that they (the student) peeked behind the curtain means that they will be changed forever. Once you read your first post that's it, you're hooked. You can never go back.



And don't get me started with those Vintage and Minimalist freaks!
OMG, tender ears and corruption!!
There are evil things on this board!

 

[divingpyrate]

No absolutely not. This forum is like all forums. A fair amount of what is on here is opinion. As it should be. A curriculum using a forum as required reading. No not even close


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[RJP]

Should SB be required reading in OW classes?

What do you even mean by that? Which parts should people be required to read? All of it? Just the smart stuff? The idiotic stuff? How would an OW student discriminate between the two? Which group does this thread fall into? What about my response?

 

[lowviz]

...//... (the student) peeked behind the curtain means that they will be changed forever. ...//...

-AKA the harshest of both expert and peer reviews. Stuff that *generally* works and preserves life will rise to the top while the wild-ass cowboy stuff and the just plain "spend your money stuff" tends to sink.

 

[scubastingray]

I think a smart student who wants to get heavily involved in the sport probably does. What threads would be added? Why couldn't those topics and viewpoints just be added to the PADI manual? If the viewpoints on SB counter the paid practices, why would they suggest it?

 

[rhwestfall]

funny thing is (as I have recently experienced), the technical stuff (should you go further), when taught by a different instructor from the same place, sometimes contradicts what you were taught. I find this down right hysterical!!!!!!!

 

[seattlepaul1975]

During my OW I used SB as well as the local dive board to read and try to get information. The section on SB that I found to be the most of my time spent just doing reading in was the accident/mishaps section. I felt that was a good way to see what issues or incidents other people have had or seen. I think overall SB and other diveboards are great resource and as with anything on the net should always be seen as a point of view and not the final word.

 

[Mantra]

What should be required reading?

I found my way here right after OW and credit SB with instilling in me respect for the sport and a desire to better my skills. After OW, I couldn't have asked for a better teacher. And I don't find this site as oppositional and cranky as some people seem to. At the end of the day I know of no better place to come for advice. And I think the culture here is defined by a focus on safety and skills.

My first stop here was to read the accidents and incidents section top to tail to get an idea of what could go wrong and what the best responses to crisis were. I was pretty conscientious to get my skills to an adequate standard after that. When my wife and I had just 40 or so dives under our belt people thought we were much more seasoned than we were because we had been so diligent with buoyancy, trim and propulsion - things I only really knew to focus on because of my time here.

I'm a big fan.

 

[DanLW]

PADI would probably prefer that their students not visit ScubaBoard so that they don't learn that PADI is not the only game in town.

I found ScubaBoard before I even took my first OW class. Since then, I have only logged 13 dives, but I really think ScubaBoard has helped. It has pushed me to want to be a better diver. I've since purchased my own gear, minus a tank. And yes, my gear centers around a basic DiveRite BP/W. And I dive a 5' long hose primary with a necklace reg. I certified AOW in this rig, and am working on my rescue diver (which I'm sure will garner criticizm form some here since I only have 13 dives)

Because I read/post ScubaBoard, I have taken the time to get my buoyancy right. In the waters I'm currently diving in, which require no exposure suit, I only need 2lbs of weight, and I never have to add air to my wing from the time I descend to the time I surface. Whereas most divers with my number of dives are probably still overweight, in a diving sense. 11 of my 13 dives have been around reefs, and I have yet to touch the reef either accidentally or purpousely. I'm also aware of and working on frog kicks, and am working on trying to get the backward frog kick down. (very limited success when I have tried it) I have also taken the time to do 3 extra pool dives on my own (while the instructors were running classes) so that I could familiarize myself with my gear and get better at some of the basics.

And I was horrified when I saw a video of myself and noticed my EMT shears came out of place and were dangling. :fail: That video didnt' make YouTube.