Good discussion and good thread. It raises a whole host of interesting questions and considerations for parents/chidlren getting certified together &/or diving together post-certification. However, I must take strong issue with this statemenet:
Now to the incident: If it was a lung-expansion injury, that is entirely preventable with a good instructor and good class. If you follow the instructors directions in class and in the water, no problems.
This is, at best, a gross over-simplification and at worst, just plain wrong and misleading.
I have been teaching diving since 1978. I've certified thousands of divers. And I will tell you there is
NOTHING scarier to an instructor than to have your student panic and bolt to the surface.
You have a millisecond to react and -
IF you're within arm's reach of said student - you're faced with the choice of holding them down to prevent the embolism . . . and possibly drowning them, or riding them up to the surface hoping to get the regulator back in their mouth or get them exhaling . . . and possibly having them embolise despite your efforts.
While this is all going on, time moves in slow motion and you are thinking to yourself, "Do NOT die!! Breathe!!!! Do NOT die!!! Breathe!!!" And no matter what you do, if it's isn't a 100% successful outcome you will be second-guessed by arm-chair experts and the plantiff's lawyers. Lots of fun.
I don't want to sound like I'm coming down too hard on LeadTurn SD but your statement is just waaaay too cavalier, based on my experience. And if, in your teaching experience, you can turn me on to some new magical panic-prevention cure-all that's been working for you, I will be happy to sit humbly at your feet and listen.
Bad things can happen to good instructors. And no matter how well you think you know your students or how well you think you've planned things out, there is no such thing as the perfect plan.
And the idea that the instructor will simply get hold of the student and magically "fix" everything everytime is simply fiction. I've seen small women drag big macho instructors to the surface like they were twigs. Panic is a powerful thing and the student who has the crappy kick suddenly becomes the Incredible Hulk in fins when panic sets in.
Simply put, panic kills.
Panic is not a rational response. It's an irrational response to a threat ("I'm going to die") that's perceived as very real. So when you start discussing irrational processes in a rational manner, there's already a logical disconnect with the proposed solution.
So to simply state that "it's entirely preventable" just over-simpliefies things IMHO. The unexpected happens. As instructors (and divers too), we have to be preapred to deal with it as best we can. But we can't just wish it away.
JTPWILS, the best advice I can give you is to monitor your comfort level. If there's a skill you're unsure of, get in some more practice time. Be very honest with your instructor. Don't be afraid to be afraid.
Probably the best thing to remember, especially with mask clearing, is that as long as you can breathe, anything is solveable. I always have my students spend a decent amount of time breathing off the reg with their mask totally off to get them used to the idea that if the reg's in your mouth and functioning, problems can be solved.
Again specific to mask clearing, if you're worried about water up your nose, exhale through your nose throughout the exercise. Slow down. Take your time.
LeadTurn SD does touch one one area I agree with when he says "with a good class". It points out that a lot of the level of safety comes from YOU, the student. No one is more directly responsible for your safety in the water than you are. If you're not comfortable with something, "No, I'll do it later" is always a better choice than "I hope I don't kill myself doing this."
- Ken
