Certain people should not be certified?

[roxy271]

What do you think?
I work in a Dive shop and recently went diving with my store manager/ instructor on one of his open water dives with his class.
I was staying off to the side watching him deal with a person in four feet of water he tried to get her to do the regulator exchange as they did in the pool.
They tried about seven times but each time she just stood up out of the water without ever completing the exercise he had three other students in his class.
He finally told her that he would leave his divemaster with her to practice while he took the rest of the class down to deeper waters.
The woman was mad because she didn't get to go and complained to the store about the instructor.
I think he made the right decission not to let her go she can't just get to the surface everytime something scares her.
I would not want her to be my dive buddy EVER.

 

[java]

No question the instructor was right. Sounds like he went out of his way to accomodate her by leaving her with the divemaster.

Can you imagin her failing the exchange at depth? i can just imagine her dropping her weights and flying to the surface (with the BC fully inflated)

 

[JDostal]

Some people just are not meant to dive...I had a guy in my OW class that was a perfect example of this. In the pool and during the first two OW checkout dives, he NEVER got his buoyance even close. I mean, I was bad at my buoyancy...but he either floated at the top and had to be drug down by the instructor, or he plummeted to the bottom like a rock. During regulator exchange, I had to go down with him to practice it. I signalled out of air, took my reg out of my mouth and he tried shoving HIS primary into my mouth. I'm signalling at him "no" but he didn't get the hint. I know I need air, and I can get air without a problem but he was trying to kill me! He could never get his BC on, he could never descend without help, it took him at least a dozen times to do even the simplest skills.....

During one of our OW checkout dives he was sitting on the edge of the quarry in a few feet of water getting his fins on (well, trying to) and his reg was just flailing around him free flowing while he was oblivous...

I know that diving is strange and confusing to someone just starting, heck, it hasn't been that long for me - but it is not *that* difficult.

I guess some people either just need a lot more practice (who knows, this guy may end up to be just fine after awhile) or maybe they just can't do it...I just know that the way he was last time I saw him, I hope I never have to dive with him.

 

[Burke]

Some people shouldn't even be allowed to go through with open water training. If you haven't read King Neptunes post about his favorite open water student, you should really give it a read.
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=280&highlight=zodiac
It is in there somewhere.

 

[devilfish]

Originally posted by roxy271
What do you think?

They tried about seven times but each time she just stood up out of the water without ever completing the exercise he had three other students in his class.
He finally told her

Yeah, the Instructor should never been certified. What was he doing taking her to open water? It may not been the students fault. Someone took the money and didn't teach enough.

 

[roxy271]

The instructor did just fine she had completed her skills in the pool just when it came to the open water she couldn't do it and that is where it counts.

 

[roxy271]

Originally posted by devilfish


Yeah, the Instructor should never been certified. What was he doing taking her to open water? It may not been the students fault. Someone took the money and didn't teach enough.

What would you have done in his place?

 

[Walter]

Without having been there, it's impossible to know, but generally these things happen when the student is not ready for open water. Once she was there and it became evident there was a problem, the student should have been taken out of open water, not left with a DM. Direct supervison by the instructor is required in open water. I don't know what agency was involved, but I'd be surprised if leaving this student with the DM didn't violate standards.

All too often the student has not had enough practice time in the pool with enough skills prior to moving to open water.

 

[devilfish]

Originally posted by roxy271


What would you have done in his place?

I would have quit teaching. Just kidding, well not really.
But on the serious side, this Instructor knew that this student is not ready, why else whould he start doing skills just with her in shallow water while the other students were waiting. He knew before he took this lady out. He never should have taken her. And, what if she managed to do the reg skill once out of seven trials as they tried in shallow water. Would she been allowed to join the rest of the class on the dive? If she had a major problem with the reg skill, what other problems might she had, such as mask etc. The way I see it, this Instructor was risking her safety in a major way by taking her out at ll. Evidently she needed more pool work. Or maybe she was never able to be certified. Then he leaves her with a DM at open water. That's a breach of standards by any agency.
Is it all this Instructors fault? Not all. Sombody mady him and Instructor. Sad, isn't it? The industry is paying for the short commings, and so are the Instructors by increased insurance rate.

 

[roxy271]

Originally posted by Walter
Without having been there, it's impossible to know, but generally these things happen when the student is not ready for open water. Once she was there and it became evident there was a problem, the student should have been taken out of open water, not left with a DM. Direct supervison by the instructor is required in open water. I don't know what agency was involved, but I'd be surprised if leaving this student with the DM didn't violate standards.

All too often the student has not had enough practice time in the pool with enough skills prior to moving to open water.

The DM she was left with was also an instructor she was in three feet of water and no danger of something happening to her.
She now is inrolled in another class and is starting from the top maybe she will make it this time.
But i don't know of to many schools that have unlimited time to spend with one student while there are three other people in the class.
:wave: