What I Like about ABC Agency

[cowboyneal]

...A Summer of Love Cert card! (OK, it is actually a year after that, but who is really counting at that point?). That is just great! I understand the history Doc, but I was just making a general point, but thanks for pointing that out - I really should not have left out the earlier history in my desire to remain pithy.

We had similar experiences in that I got my first PADI card because I was going to a place in Australia and that is what they took there! Its funny now that I think about it, maybe they took some other card as well, but in those days, you called for 30 seconds to ask over the wobbly phone lines (and because there was no internet, as Al Gore had not invented it yet) and when I made my arrangements over one of those 30 second calls (that cost a fortune), they said -PADI- so I went with that.

CN

 

[Walter]

what I like about PADI is the structure of their OWD instruction... you know what the standards are

So much for leaving it a positive thread. No, you can't tell the standards from taking the course or reading the book. I see PADI Instructors debating exactly what the standards say. I've done quite a bit of research into standards of different agencies. PADI's are written in by far the most cryptic manner of them all. Even if you had a copy of the standards, it would take quite a bit of study to figure out exactly what they mean. I suspect this is by design rather than accident.

I agree completely that quality is mostly determined by the particular instructor -- by far.

Merely a myth designed to move blame from agencies to instructors. If agencies publish higher standards, the quality of their courses will go up. Cut standards, the quality goes down. Agencies need to start taking responsibility and we need to stop making it easy for then to pass the buck.

 

[Marek K]

So much for leaving it a positive thread.

Yeah, I somehow suspected you'd rise to that bait, Walter! Weren't you just worrying about a downward spiral?

Hey, I'm just talkin' as a layperson, on the receiving end of the training. You're absolutely right, students shouldn't be worried about "passing the test"... but students do. And with PADI at least you know pretty well whether you're grasping the theoretical knowledge, at least enough for the test. Not so with SSI, as far as I could tell.

Practical, applied diving skills? Well, that's a different matter altogether.

--Marek

 

[Walter]

Weren't you just worrying about a downward spiral?

It was way down that spiral long before I refuted the things being posted.

 

[Diver0001]

So much for leaving it a positive thread. .

Well...You *did* have a choice.....

I don't think we need to turn yet another thread into a diatribe of loathing and cynicism against PADI. Please at least *try* to not to contribute to a negative tone.

If you can't then I hope you choose to opt out of this thread so the people who *do* feel good about their training/agency get at least one chance to express themselves in peace.

R..

 

[Gary D.]

Not to sound as if I'm bashing PADI, but I don't consider it a real pioneer. It is a great marketing organization however.

The pioneer, and the agency I feel best about, is the Los Angeles County Underwater Unit. I was first certified by them 36 1/2 years ago (after 8 years of sporadic and uncertified fresh water diving). Their training was thorough and gave me much of what one has to take BOW, AOW and Rescue to receive today. Their standards are still among the highest (the ADP program is great).

PADI was started by divers who first went through the LAC program, as was NAUI. Too bad LAC is only a local agency... it was hard getting many international dive shop instructors to recognize my LAC c-card.

Well put and very true.

I'm sure you remember how high the fail rate was back then. Training was a lot tougher and covered a lot more. But with a high fail rate the shops didn't make much on gear sales. So lets gear the sport towards sales and dumb it down.

I think my class was like $25.00 which was a lot of money. Yea, gas was $.25 a gallon and a new car was under 2K unless it was a sports car.

Gary D.

 

[Bottom Scratcher]

Well put and very true.

I'm sure you remember how high the fail rate was back then. Training was a lot tougher and covered a lot more. But with a high fail rate the shops didn't make much on gear sales. So lets gear the sport towards sales and dumb it down.
Gary D.

Also, your LAC or NAUI certification could be pulled by an instructor or other agency rep as stated on the back of the older cards. The fail rate of students was high and when you passed you were expected to maintain high standards.

 

[Gary D.]

Also, your LAC or NAUI certification could be pulled by an instructor or other agency rep as stated on the back of the older cards.

I don't remember that but I was just a snotty nosed kid in 62. It was just get me my card so I can get wet! There was stuff on the back of the card?

Gary D.

 

[Walter]

Well...You *did* have a choice.....

Nope, it was turned before I responded to the misinformation.

I don't think we need to turn yet another thread into a diatribe of loathing and cynicism against PADI. Please at least *try* to not to contribute to a negative tone.

I agree, but scubaaaronh wouldn't let it stay positive, then Marek K jumped in with the usual misinformation that has nothing to do with expressing good feelings about agencies, but merely saying agencies have no responsibility for quality training. That's blatently false.

If you can't then I hope you choose to opt out of this thread so the people who *do* feel good about their training/agency get at least one chance to express themselves in peace.

R..

Even when I've disagreed with those who've expressed their happy thoughts, I've let it go (heck, I didn't even respond to the PADI being a pioneer comment), but when you leave that topic and open the door to another, the door swings both ways.

 

[daniel f aleman]

It's simply ignorant to bash PADI - without PADI the need for this board never would have existed.