Should SB be required reading in OW classes?

[Lorenzoid]

And that raises the question that should instructors without the teaching skills to handle class discussion or the knowledge base to answer appropriate dive related questions be certified as instructors? Should students be penalized by not giving them additional resources just because the instructor may be incapable of dealing with the consequences?

That sure ties in to many other threads that have questioned the quality and thoroughness of the major agencies' OW courses. Can you say "can of worms"? It would be great if all instructors were like those who participate here on SB or who otherwise teach beyond what the major agencies require (and who charge accordingly for their time, etc.), but that's not the model that the major agencies are using. As PADI promotes it, "Go Pro"! You, too, could be an OW scuba instructor in just a few short weeks.

 

[lowviz]

...//... As PADI promotes it, "Go Pro"! You, too, could be an OW scuba instructor in just a few short weeks.

-so I can't find a four word search in Google (starting with "find good scuba instructor") that gives even one ScubaBoard hit on the first page.

Only one verifiable conclusion: Global collective intelligence confirms that we have absolutely nothing to do with reality.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Ha, maybe it should be instructors that are required to read SB.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Being instructors, they must have attained minimum standards. So the knee-jerk answer is "shop around", easy to say but very hard for the non-diver to either "grade" an OW instructor or instruction.

But a non-diver looking for answers on how to shop around for a quality class can easily find it on ScubaBoard ... it's a sticky at the top of the New Divers forum ...

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ng/287780-how-find-excellent-scuba-class.html

Maybe they should lurk on SB for a month or two before committing...

You'd be amazed at how many SB lurkers have contacted me asking for a class over the years. One of my earliest AOW students came to me all the way from Minnesota because he read about my class on ScubaBoard ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Soakedlontra]

After reading several posts about how few divers read or even know about Scubaboard it got me thinking. I know that I have learned a great deal and have become a much better diver by reading SB. So, should it be required reading for new divers or at least discussed in OW classes?

As a former OW student and a member of SB I don't think it would be very practical to require students to read SB, as some have already pointed out, because it may make students more confused. However as a student I did find it useful to read comments about gear when I decided to buy my own scuba equipment. As for those topics that deal with diving SB became a useful tool after I got certified and dived for a while. In those days sometime it was very time consuming to find comments that were relevant for my particular situation and actually helped me to learn something. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Like many others, I got stung on SB for the simple reason that I wanted to engage members in a civil conversation about a supposedly "controversial" topic. It was hard not to take it personally and I like to think that now my skin is thicker. As far as I remember, I got fed up with SB, retreated for a while and waited for the heat to cool off and did not interact for a while. So for all those students out there reading this thread SB, like other on line social platforms, is not immune to harsh and opinionated discourse, to put it mildly. Don't get discouraged by the first signs of "verbal earthquakes".

Happy SB browsing!

 

[The Kraken]

Why, OF COURSE IT SHOULD!!!!

the K

 

[lowviz]

Where you been??? So much wisdom left unoffered, so many pots left unstirred...

 

[The Kraken]

Here and there!!!

Whenever I take on a student/students, one of the first things I do is point him, her or them to ScubaBoard.

I feel by doing so the student can garner a massive amount of information from the experiences of others.

In addition, I think my students can compare my performace against some of the best instructors in the world by reading their posts of how they do things or what they would do in a given situation.

I think the Board makes the primary benchmark for the dissemination of infromation in the US, if not the world, diving community.

Safe dives, safer ascents . . .

the K

 

[flots am]

4.) That console computer you got? You'd have liked a wrist unit better.

Don't forget that if you buy a wrist unit, someone will pop up and complain that they're unreliable because the transmitter cuts out.

12.) If you didn't solidly MASTER, rather than just manage to eventually perform, every skill, you're not competent yet, you shouldn't have a C-card and you ought to report your instructor to your agency's quality control department.

I actually believe that one (not the "reporting" part). There aren't actually a lot of skills in OW, and actually being really solid with them is a huge help.

A diver that can easily maintain buoyancy, switch and clear regs, and do the other ~20 skills without much effort or thought will have much more fun in the water, and have a much lower stress and safer dive.

I'm not saying that everybody needs to be able to hold a 15' stop within 6 inches, but that they should be skilled enough that a calm, shallow dive where nothing unexpected is happening, should be a complete snooze, and not be filled with the terror of "I hope I don't get any water in my mask".

flots.

 

[jaycanwk]

1. all three of the LDS that I have spoken with were not very thrilled when I mentioned SB. Things like "I don't know if I would believe what I read on there". (I don't believe it all. I hope I have figured out when someone is flaming or trolling or giving actual prudent advice.)

I've always felt that the purpose of an education of any sort, was to develop critical thinking skills. What better way to develop those thinking skills than to ask a question on Scubaboard, get some answers, then try to figure out which of those answers are fact or just opinions.