jaredy
Registered
I recently had a jarring experience during a TDI technical diving internship. I observed the instructor demonstrating numerous dubious behaviors, which persisted over several weeks. For instance, he would repeatedly raise his voice at students when not required (ie when filling out unrelated paperwork). He would belittle trivial student mistakes. He would 'name and shame' students in their absence (repeatedly name students and reiterate the mistake they made weeks ago). He would humiliate student's by pantomiming their efforts at a 'skill' then ask "why did you even bother trying?" He would swear at his students underwater and I heard of other prior students crying. It progressed to a point where some learners in my group were fearful of asking questions.
But what I found even stranger was the response of my classmates. Although, this behavior met the textbook definition of bullying, they normalized it. One even said to me "I have seen other technical instructors act this way, it's normal in Technical Diving".
So now I am left with some serious questions.
For instance:
What does professionalism in tech instruction look like?
Should I be looking for another tech instructor, or is this actually the norm?
But what I found even stranger was the response of my classmates. Although, this behavior met the textbook definition of bullying, they normalized it. One even said to me "I have seen other technical instructors act this way, it's normal in Technical Diving".
So now I am left with some serious questions.
For instance:
What does professionalism in tech instruction look like?
Should I be looking for another tech instructor, or is this actually the norm?