I'm not sure either (kidding
)
There is a big difference in promotion of neutral buoyant/trim and an agency banning teaching on the knees all together.
Yes and no. My understanding (could be wrong as I wasn't around back then), is that courses were MUCH longer in the past (necessary due to teaching on the knees), but also included non relevant stuff (like harassment). Prior to BCDs, they had to weight properly. That discipline got lost. Also, the kinds of people who learned to dive tended to be more athletic and willing to be in a longer course. Fast forward today (hope to not start an argument with anyone), and people who can barely swim, are in poor shape, can learn to dive in a weekend. So in that aspect, I give it a no. Teaching NB/T (which is the exception, not the rule) is a big improvement. In that respect, yes, and I'd like to see that change much faster. The first of my blog posts on teaching this way has been published. Hope for the second to be posted by SDI soon. But the real meat is in the third and final blog post. Too many instructors don't know how to teach this way. I didn't learn it in my IDC. I had to figure it out with the help of others.
TL;DR: I'm for teaching NB/T (on the knees is not allowed), properly weighted, etc.. Good results can be achieved in just 4 dives if CW is done properly. Though I'd like to see 2 more OW dives / 1 day for dive planning and having students put things together under the observation of a dive pro. I'd like to ban resort style diving as that doesn't give students time to absorb/learn the skills. I'd like to see all new instructors to be required to teach/demonstrate NB/T and all existing instructors to have to recertify to continue teaching
rofl3: like that will happen). Oh, and I'd love for all CDs/ITs to be required to have tech pass skills for GUE fundies or similar (that would likely result in carnage
).
TL;DR of my TL;DR: I realize I'd have to be absolutely insane to think that anything above is going to happen.