So many good nuggest in this dicussion thread.
THIS is what a good Internet discussion is all about (IMHO). But I digress . . .
Can anyone with more knowledge than me comment on the reading materials?
First, my prejudice is that I'm a NAUI instructor. However, when our store was open, we had predominantly PADI instructors working for us and we were both a NAUI and PADI affiliate.
That being said, I think both the NAUI and PADI materials are quite good. As many have said, it's what an instructor does with the information that mkes a difference. (In fact, before NAUI came out with an "Advanced Class" text, I used to use the PADI book for my NAUI classes.)
It's also important to understand where both programs came from to and how they expect their materials to be used.
NAUI was originally developed as a way for university-based instructors to teach. These were people who were already used to putting together lesson plans, cirriculums, etc. In other words, they already knew how to teach. NAUI provided the standards and rough course outline, but the instructors were left to do much on their own. (In fact, when I first got certified in 1978, NAUI didn't even have it's "own" textbook. We used
New Science of Skin & Scuba Diving.)
PADI was created after NAUI and was aimed at people, many ex-military, who wanted to teach scuba diving and had excellent water skills but weren't used to teaching in a classroom setting. For that reason, the PADI materials have always been recipe-driven (my term, not theirs). In other words, they laid everything out step-by-step for the instructor to go from A to B to C because these were people who may not have been used to teaching or even speaking to small groups so PADI materials provided much more support/direction/guidance in those areas.
These two philosophies still exist today. That's why you'll find more quizzes in the PADI books as a requirement, and NAUI only has a workbook whose quizzes are optional.
The danger of the PADI system is that you can have an instructor who simply has you read the book, watch the DVD (or in the old days the VHS), says "Any questions?" and you move on. The danger of the NAUI system is that you have someone who's not a good instructor and doesn't present material well, you somehow muddle through anyhow, pass the final exam (neither the PADI or NAUI standard versions are very challenging IMHO) and you're certified.
Both systems have their plusses and minues and neither is anywhere near perfect and both are open to abuse. As many posters have said, the quality of the instructor, regardless of agency affiliation, makes a huge difference.
But also don't lose sight of the fact that this is a small industry and that a lot of the material is being wirtten by the same people. One of my favorites was in the late 80s or early 90s when I had a newly-minted instructor telling me about how superior the PADI material was to the NAUI material.
"Really?" I said. "Look inside the PADI book and tell me who the author is." He looked and the answer came back, "Dennis Graver."
"Now look inside the NAUI book," I said, " and tell me wrote who wrote that." His face fell a bit as he opened the page, looked up, and said, "Oh . . . Dennis Graver."
So don't get too hung up on where the info comes from or how it's decorated. As I like to say at times: A NAUI embolism is just as bad as a PADI embolism.
- Ken