The Philosophy of Diver Training

[DCBC]

An interesting question would be - how many life-long scuba participants are snuffed out by poor training or do these types persevere long enough to find proper guidance?

Great question. Also how many of the recipients of poor training have accidents, are killed, or injured (near misses?) while they are waiting to finish training that has been so modularized to be effective at the onset.

 

[Kingpatzer]

I've been teaching since 1972. This is not a claim, it's been verified by SB.

I didn't intend to suggest you were not being honest. I apologize for coming across that way.

Some choose PADI, while others choose a different organization. Being an instructor with another organization is not a passive action. We know who the big boy is on the block. even so, we choose not to run with him.

I'm suggesting that being an instructor for another agency in an area where there are already instructors for that agency isn't doing much to address the problem. And it really isn't an issue of the individual instructors. Though those who are in a position to try to operate a business are more open to this criticism.

It is a problem with the agencies. When are these agencies going into the major areas that they don't serve and tried to recruit instructors in anyway that makes them accessible to the potential candidates? And if they are doing that, they're not being very effective at it.

We have a major non-agency specific dive show coming up locally (which has proven to be a great source of new students). No agencies has booths. The local shops had booths, of course, but that doesn't do much to change the status quo around here as most people are going to choose their instructor based on convenience and cost.

 

[Crush]

But how do you know there are not instructors for other agencies? Have you checked? Did you contact NAUI, SEI, BSAC, CMAS Americas, SSI, SDI, etc to see if there are any independent instructors available? Just because they may not be listed in the phone book which by the way os one of the MOST expensive ways to advertise does not mean they are not around. Unfortunately that cost is what forces many to use word of mouth, message boards, and our own websites.

Here is another anecdote - my LDS is 150 km away and is a NAUI shop. The owner/operator is swamped with running a scuba and outdoor rec store and instructing in scuba, kayaking, etc.. She would like very much to hire some scuba instructors, but there are few NAUI-certified instructors in her area. There is, however, a glut of PADI-trained instructors who wanted to live the dream but were unable to find meaningful employment as instructors due to the oversupply. She is now considering turning her shop into a NAUI and PADI shop so that she can employ the underemployed PADI instructors.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

An interesting question would be - how many life-long scuba participants are snuffed out by poor training or do these types persevere long enough to find proper guidance?

My observation would be that the majority of people who quit diving within a year of certification do so for one of two reasons ...

1. They found out how expensive it is ... or ...
2. They learned just enough to scare the crap outta themselves

Better dive instruction would have little to no effect on the cost of scuba diving, but it can and does reduce the dropout rate in the second category.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[DCBC]

It is a problem with the agencies. When are these agencies going into the major areas that they don't serve and tried to recruit instructors in anyway that makes them accessible to the potential candidates? And if they are doing that, they're not being very effective at it.

PADI's marketing of their product has been brilliant. They took a normal diving program and split it into several pieces causing the public to believe they were getting the same level of training cheaper and faster. They weren't.

People's greed is really something. Thus the success of companies like PADI, WalMart, Ikea and McDonald's. Primarily they get a product cheaply at the expense of a lower level of education, quality, workmanship, or the use of child labor.

It's interesting that people that frequent these establishments sometimes will really believe that they're buying quality. They want to believe that they are getting a deal! The funny thing is however, that you usually get what you pay for.

All things being equal, a 15 hour training course teaches you 33% of what you should be able to learn in a program three times as long. You might like to think otherwise, but those are the facts. It may not necessarily depend upon what type affiliation the instructor has. More time equates to greater knowledge, skill familiarity and competence. PADI has successfully limited what there instructors can teach and when. Everything is focused on profit at the expense of diver education and in some cases safety.

 

[Scott L]

My observation would be that the majority of people who quit diving within a year of certification do so for one of two reasons ...

1. They found out how expensive it is ... or ...
2. They learned just enough to scare the crap outta themselves

Better dive instruction would have little to no effect on the cost of scuba diving, but it can and does reduce the dropout rate in the second category.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Yeah, I agree with this assessment. Speaking for myself I was fortunate that my OW instuctor was a very gung-ho type who regularily organized guided dives for his flock. Luckily, I experienced my early pucker moments not too far from his presence who quickly came to my aid. I have to admire him as he generated much of his advanced teaching activity simply by keeping in touch with his OW pupils. Of course year-round diving in SE Florida helps a great deal.

 

[Kingpatzer]

She is now considering turning her shop into a NAUI and PADI shop so that she can employ the underemployed PADI instructors.

Has she considered running a no to low cost cross-over training program so that those PADI instructors can work for her without her changing to PADI?

This is an example of what I'm talking about. (to be clear I don't intend to disparage this lady, there are potentially a zillion reasons at play here that I'm not aware of. I'm taking it as a generic, not a specific, example).

 

[Thalassamania]

...
Philosophy without accompanying action is known as hypocrisy.

Actually hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing something different, sorta like saying that divers have mastered all the skills that they need to dive under the conditions that they were trained and then turning them loose without adequate buoyancy or rescue skills because those are separately priced products. Now, that's hypocrisy.

My observation would be that the majority of people who quit diving within a year of certification do so for one of two reasons ...

1. They found out how expensive it is ... or ...
2. They learned just enough to scare the crap outta themselves

Better dive instruction would have little to no effect on the cost of scuba diving, but it can and does reduce the dropout rate in the second category.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Better instruction can lower the cost also, with better instruction there is not the tendency to buy useless crap that you need to replace to dive comfortably, and there is also a tendency to buy at lower prices to begin with.

As far as opening a shop up, why is one's willingness to do something that foolish (especially in this economy; and when the paradigm is shifting away from shops) a measure of their commitment (to anything but the Funny Farm)?

 

[Kingpatzer]

My observation would be that the majority of people who quit diving within a year of certification do so for one of two reasons ...

1. They found out how expensive it is ... or ...
2. They learned just enough to scare the crap outta themselves

The largest group of students we see fall into one category:

The want to dive on their warm water vacation and they're not interested in diving in cold lakes. They won't do another warm water trip in their life, but they either wanted the bragging rights of being scuba divers, or they don't know that they might have other options such as PADI Discover Scuba or Scuba Diver (not classes we normally schedule though, since even when we tell people about them, they choose the OW route "just in case.")

 

[Kingpatzer]

As far as opening a shop up, why is one's willingness to do something that foolish (especially in this economy; and when the paradigm is shifting away from shops) a measure of their commitment (to anything but the Funny Farm)?

I grant that there are compelling financial reasons for individuals to not necessarily take such major action.

But the agencies are a different matter. Where are the professional level cross-over course offerings in areas where they have little to no presence? Where are the booths at local dive shows in major metropolitan areas? Where are the jointly sponsored ads and educational articles? Where is the major recruiting efforts for PADI shops and instructors?

There are plenty of low cost things they can be doing. But they are not. Educating the public and penetrating markets doesn't seem to be much of a priority for them. If the agencies are happy enough with the status quo to not even bother with minor marketing drives, let alone working to train and recruit instructors, why shouldn't we also be?