Does any of the following sound appropriate for an Open Water class, or as to how anyone should be treated in general?
Firstly, I want to be able to differentiate between opinions and facts.
Secondly, I want to be able to differentiate between customer service, teaching skills.... and safety issues. It is important to make those differentiations.
He yelled at students in the ocean as they were puking from sea sickness and left them there with their inexperienced dive buddy as he moved forward while calling them "pussy", he was sexist and made the females feel uncomfortable,
I've seen some instructors who use very authoritative leadership styles when teaching... especially in bad conditions where close control is needed to keep a group safe. In bad weather conditions, it is sometimes necessary to raise your voice and
direct students.
I've also seen some instructors who chose to motivate students by 'pushing' them. Others choose to 'coax' them. It's a matter of style. The wisest instructors learn to recognise which style is most appropriate for the individual student.
I am not saying that this was the case in the instance of the OP's course... but it is worth examining. Could be just a clash of personalities and/or the employment of the wrong teaching style for the personalities concerned.
he gave conflicting info regarding many important things, the students were afraid to ask questions because he yelled so often, he was very impatient and often got questions by students mixed up so he would yell at them when he completely was misunderstanding the question, everyone was intimidated by him and just wanted to finish the course,
It's unusual to here of an instructor 'yelling' during theory class. I wonder what could have made him so frustrated??
Likewise, it is rare to here of a newly qualified/student diver who would notice that his instructor didn't have a grasp on the theory. The theory is pretty darn easy - and most instructors (even the dumb ones) teach the same stuff so often that they have it pretty much down to routine.
Perhaps he was a newly qualified instructor? Teaching in a foreign language? Perhaps he was not even a qualified instructor? Perhaps the students were frustrating him?
Can you give specific examples of where he was contradicting himself with conflicting info please?
he did not pay attention at times during the dives and his assistants who only had their open water certifications had to take over and assist the students...
This seems very subjective...and is the only potential safety issue that I see raised thus far. How do you define 'not paying attention'? When I teach, I like to encourage my students to become independant...and not to be reliant on an instructor/divemaster. As the course progresses, I give the
illusion of distancing myself from them (in terms of supervision, not physical distance). However, I am actually still watching them like a hawk and ready to react if they have a problem.. I just don't want them to know (and rely upon) that.
Are you sure he was using OW divers as assistants? They weren't rescue divers?
..please enlighten us..
I see some customer service issues here. Badly constructed motivational techniques. Perhaps an awry sense of humor? Personality clash?
I see some disagreement about theory teaching methods. Looks like obvious frustration on behalf of the instructor. Bad to show that frustration to the customers. What caused it remains to be seen.
As far as safety goes... I am concerned if he broke standards by using OW divers as assistants. This is a clear violation of standards for
most (all?) agencies.
Injuries are important. I'd like to know about those. It'd give a clear indication of the level of supervision...and how he dealt with them.
Please forgive the appearance of cynicism in my post... I do believe that the onus is on the OP to clearly spell out the issues. I've seen cases of 'customer angst' before... and on many occasions it was due to misunderstanding. I am normally the first to jump on any cases of unprofessionalism, poor safety and sloppy teaching in the dive industry... but I've not seen 'proof' of that yet.
Perhaps the instructor concerned was just trying to train capable,
independant divers and got frustrated by a high level of dependancy?