recently saw a fairly well known florida tec instructor berate a 12 year old in one of their ow classes. behaviors like that can turn people off diving forever. it really blew my mind to see the father just standing there and watching
Unacceptable Instructor Behaviors...
- Thread starter The Chairman
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OP
Adam Grose
Contributor
Definitely NOT!!! There is no excuse for belittling ANYONE.... especially a 12 year old.
OP
As a former Cub Master and Scout Master, I know that yelling is almost always counterproductive with kids. They will lose respect for you if/when you blow up. There are far better ways to correct poor behavior that won't traumatize the kid.
Adam Grose
Contributor
I am just surprise that the father let him get away with it....
Interesting, I never would have thought that those two factors would be related. Convincing someone that they can go out and scare the crap out of themselves is the best way to drive customers away from the sport and any chance of selling more classes. Short term thinking never works out well.
OP
I'm really not, especially if the dad is in awe of the instructor.
I've seen this, even with agencies as well as parents. I won't teach a kid younger than 14. I can't tell you how many parents think that "Junior" is so special and blah blah blah, he'll get it, blah blah blah, cuz he's so special. Just because an agency has lowered their age limit to 12 or even 10 doesn't mean I have to teach them that young. Just because they might decide to limit classes to 47 doesn't mean I have to teach 47 at a time either. My optimal class is two and I'm willing to go to 4 for a family, but that's pretty much it.
But back to the point, all too often instructors share their tales of daring do. You know, "there was that one dive where I dove down to 467 feet, fought off Neptune hisself, and brought up 43 tons of gold". What student doesn't want to dive like their instructor? I often share tales of "daring don'ts"! I share with my students how I screwed up and how they can avoid that. I want them to know that everyone is fallible.
That is the essence of diver training. I have admired this quote so long that I can't even remember where it came from or how it evolved.
"The great majority of the cumulative knowledge presented in diving classes at all levels resulted from accidents that scared the hell out of, injured, or killed someone. Thanks to all the pioneers the preceded me, living or not."
Scary stories get people's attention and are rarely forgotten. They always worked for me to answer the "why do I need to know this" question. My Navy dive instructors were masters at using the technique... but they really sucked at the "diving is fun" concept.
This is so true it is worth quoting again. Diving should be fun but remember where the lessons/skills came from and why they are important.That is the essence of diver training. I have admired this quote so long that I can't even remember where it came from or how it evolved.
"The great majority of the cumulative knowledge presented in diving classes at all levels resulted from accidents that scared the hell out of, injured, or killed someone. Thanks to all the pioneers the preceded me, living or not."
Scary stories get people's attention and are rarely forgotten. They always worked for me to answer the "why do I need to know this" question. My Navy dive instructors were masters at using the technique... but they really sucked at the "diving is fun" concept.
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