Does instructor's age matter?

[diver 85]

Don't take it personally ... my comment wasn't about your son in particular, but based on your previous info it sounded like he had done all his diving in only one place.

I know people locally who have more dives than I do, but have only ever dived here. That doesn't make them knowledgeable about diving ... only about diving in local conditions.

FWIW -at 40 I knew nothing about diving. I didn't even get certified until I was 49.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

So think what he'll know when he gets old like you, with 30k dives to his credit------absolutely nuttin' I guess......


EDIT: this kid(& others) @ age 24 probably knew more about diving than you'll know when you're laying in your deadman's box-----btw, he'll still be diving & learning @ that time....

 

[DCBC]

EDIT: this kid(& others) @ age 24 probably knew more about diving than you'll know when you're laying in your deadman's box-----btw, he'll still be diving & learning @ that time....

I think your out-of-line Diver 85. No one can say that if your son does have the experience, that he hasn't missed the meaning. It's a complex issue.

I probably have more underwater time than your son will ever accumulate in his lifetime. My job necessitates me to be underwater 24 hours a day for almost a month at a time. One dive. That does not mean that NWGratefulDiver doesn't know more, or is not a better Instructor than I am. There is much more at stake here than simply the number of dives an Instructor has.

 

[The Kraken]

"Does instructor's age matter?"

I sure as heck hope not !!!

the K-antankerous Old Man

 

[Rocketmahn]

My latest instructor was first certified in 1958.

He is 70 and is the best instructor that I've had so far!

Some people prefer not to use him because they consider him "anal" about making sure that you learn to do things properly and he will take the time to ask you questions to make sure that you understand what is taught.

I don't think that he is anal - I think that many of that new instructors/dive shop owners are in such a damm rush to get students through the coursework, get you wet, and hand over the c-card. You know - "time is money" and we don't charge much for the classes!

 

[vkalia]

But this is a result of the exact same standards you're promoting ... standards that allow people who can barely dive themselves to become instructors!

I think you and I are saying the same thing, but we are using the word "standards" to imply different things

It's impossible to teach skills you don't have, or explain things you've never experienced.

No disagreements here.

On a slightly different tack, I am curious about one thing. There is one other element that no one seems to consider, viz, student/diver volume to which a dive professional is exposed. Years teaching is not always the same thing.

There some people who have been teaching for 20 years at their LBS, and doing maybe a handful of students a month. There is someone else who has been working/teaching in a nice Caribbean location, but handling a lot more students a month. Betcha the latter is a lot more efficient instructor (which is not the same thing as being a better instructor for sure, but it certainly gives him the tools and experience base to be a better instructor).

Take a place like Koh Tao in Thailand - full of dive factories which do the very thing that Bob and I abhor: check off a list of skills and issue a card. However, funnily enough, the instructors there are some of the best instructors that I have seen... given them a work environment where they have more time to teach more thoroughly and most of them (the non-burned out ones, anyways) do a fantastic and amazing efficient job. I have done over 800 certs by now, but even now, if I ever watch one of these guys teaching, I always learn something new that helps me improve the way I teach OW.

Something else to ponder over, eh?

Basically, it boils down to this - you cannot really predict anything about an instructor from age, etc. I agree with Rob: go with the instructor with whom you feel most comfortable.

Vandit

 

[LastManOut]

Great thread, and great post vkalia! I personally was one of those dive-factory instructors for a while, and somehow managed to certify over 180 students in a 12 month period. I left the company at age 23. That's some food for thought.

This is a question that has been bandied about many times in my diving circles. To be honest I believe there are so pros and cons to the different age groups. But are we talking age or experience? (Sorry if I missed the answer to this, I'm short on time and skimming a little). This is a pretty tough answer to give in a short space, but anyway... I'm going to postulate a few attributes that may be given to the Old vs Young argument, looking basically

OLDER - More life experience - and this counts for a lot,
- Still in it because they know they will teach students well,
- More serious/conscientious/careful, sometimes a little pedantic
- More likely to feel to the student like "the wow old-school big daddy instructor", ergo more knowledgeable and someone to pay attention to,
- May associate with more mature divers better(?)
- If possessing multiple certs as an Instructor, tends to teach blends of courses
- Possibly better teaching ability if more experience, better at reading people.
- Health issues (?) - eyesight, back, heart, fitness, purely as a result of age

YOUNGER - Possibly less experienced, obviously less life experience
- Possibly in it because it's a cool job, in it more for the fun and the "status symbol" of being a dive instructor... the feeling of people looking up to you can be a big deal if you're not used to it
- They may find it more easy to talk to younger generation (?), which may aid in teaching that age group, but may find trouble having authority, which may also be a problem with...
- Older students: may find it harder to learn from a young Instructor
- Possibility of gravitating to egotistical quickly, short attention span, less attention to detail, etc
- Less likely to be frustrated with the ins and outs of the industry (being jaded)
- More likely to break the rules, be a cowboy, be less professional

Hmm... it's really hard to say. Look, I'll go with one of my car analogies. Instructing is something like driving really - you can drive all your life and be a really crap driver, or you can drive for two years and be amazing. It depends on you.

I still dont feel I've said what I want to say, but the brain-mouth thing fails me.

-- Nemo