OK, another update...
First off, I haven't named the LDS and instructional staff for a reason. I don't want my OPINION to influence others. Everyone has a different "style" and my previous experience as an instructor can shape how I perceive this training. So, if you know the shop, PLEASE don't name it.
That said, things are progressing. The first night of class (Monday) was the SSI "risk" video which I thought was a good approach to handling this issue. Of course, the girls snoozed through it (12 year olds don't care about risk) but they pretended to pay attention.
The instructor then started to refer to the reading homework from the book and used "fill in the blank" stuff as review. No real discussion about topics, etc. Also, no real "teaching." OK, down to the pool we went and got in MFS to "practice." We were told to swim around a bit because we were supposed to demonstrate our swimming ability" and there was some discussion of free diving technique. 45 minutes later we were done. I ended up showing the girls most of what to do and by the end of class they were doing passable imitations of fish.
The second night (Wednesday), started by the instructor telling us next week's class nights needed to change, so instead of MWF we now will meet MTW with the certification test on Wednesday. This puts a cramp in covering the material because the girls get off the school bus by 4:30, leave for my house immediately, get to my house by 5:15 (rush hour), leave for the dive shop with me by 5:30 and get to the dive shop at 6:00 PM. So, all of our homework for next week needs to be done this weekend.
Again, the classroom "training" was a review of "fill in the blank" answers to questions in the SSI text. No presentation, video, etc. Some of the questions created discussion, but most discussion was sidebar. The topics for this session were equipment and equipment use. Following this we went on a "tour" of the store and were introduced to all of the equipment. To an extent, I had to "herd" in the girls during the tour when they got bored and became a little disruptive. 12 year olds have short attention spans.
After the "tour," the instructor started to pull rental equipment and assemble rigs. I ended up helping by switching hoses on 2 rigs that did not have compatible LP connectors. The assembly process took a good 30 minutes until we finally had everyone standing in front of their equipment. The instructor then demonstrated how to mount the BCDs and regs. Although the instructor demonstrated a good procedure for the BCDs, no detailed procedure was demonstrated for the regs. Predictably, none of the students did it right the first or second times. I helped out the girls by showing the method I used, followed by having them repeat it 3 times. The other students also took note and soon everyone had the hang of it.
Following this, we hit the pool. We did the normal equipment donning routine, buddy checks, etc. We also went over how to operate the BCD and read the SPG. We then were told to submerge and "get used to it." Shortly after, we surfaced and were told to "head to the deep end" and "be careful." That was it, no direction to "keep breathing," no dont hold your breath warning, etc. Also, no mask clearing drills, lost regulator drills, mask off drills or other stuff before going down to 10'.
So, down to the deep end we went. As I thought, the girls took to it immediately, were entirely comfortable and soon were swimming all over. I helped Tyler adjust her buoyancy when we first started, but she soon got the hang of it pretty quickly. The adults in the class had more difficulty but soon everyone was comfortably on the bottom enjoying themselves. We stayed under for about an hour. I forgot how BORING swimming pools can be. The girls, however, had no such disillusionment.
Tonight (Friday) we cover diving physiology. Also, the instructor said we would start underwater "drills" and that the last session was an "intro." On the way home after the last class I asked the girls what they thought of the course. Both said they loved the class and instructor. Natascha even commented she really liked "the laid back style" the instructor was using. When I offered that maybe it was too casual, she replied that the instructor "didn't get up in her grill" like most teachers did and she liked that. Properly chastised by a 12 year old with a recent knowledge of hip-hop lingo, I drove on smiling to myself.
OK, so before I tell you my opinion of this course, what are everyones thoughts on this?
Just curious...
Pictures will follow
