Pace of Classes

[MXGratefulDiver]

MOST shops around here schedule 12 hours of pool time. One shop I no longer teach for jams 10 hours into 2 weekend afternoons. I hope that 4-6 is not really the norm where you are.
I would love to observe an "instructor" teaching a 4-6 hour course. I'd even enroll in one if I could!
N

Neil, I realize there are lots of folks in here who entertain themselves by bashing anything anyone says ... but please don't misrepresent me like that.

I didn't say the course was 4-6 hours ... I said most shops around here offer that much pool time.

Our OW course is 12 hours class, 6 hours pool, and 5 OW dives. And we'd be happy to have you sit in sometime. I'd only ask you to save your criticism for after the class ... we're happy to learn how to do things better, but not at the expense of our class time.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Blowin Da Bubbl]

operative word being pool. I was wondering if you was gonna clear that up.
Cuz if ya didn't I was gonna.lol

B.D.B.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

I noticed that the pace of the practical excersises is somewhat fast and they really jump right into getting you in the water using scuba. However, for people with no prior experience with scuba, it can be somewhat intimidating.

Mention to your instructor that you feel your wife has not "mastered" the skill(s) she is working on. The instructors' responsibility is to ensure she masters the skills & not just do it once ...

 

[SubMariner]

My wife and I are taking the PADI open water class. I have prior experience scuba diving and my wife has none. I noticed that the pace of the practical excersises is somewhat fast and they really jump right into getting you in the water using scuba. However, for people with no prior experience with scuba, it can be somewhat intimidating.

If you and your wife have concerns about the course, why not discuss it with the Instructor?

A good Instructor REGARDLESSS OF AGENCY will look at each student as an individual in order to facilitate a learning process that is both beneficial and fun.

BTW, please remember that your wife needs to learn to scuba dive as an individual, not part of a pair. If she has particular issues, then SHE needs to address them, not you.

Bonne chance,

 

[MikeFerrara]

MOST shops around here schedule 12 hours of pool time. One shop I no longer teach for jams 10 hours into 2 weekend afternoons. I hope that 4-6 is not really the norm where you are.
I would love to observe an "instructor" teaching a 4-6 hour course. I'd even enroll in one if I could!
N

4-6 hours of pool time is the norm around here and most, I can tell you don't go as long as 6. That's how I was taught to teach and that's how I did it in the beginning. In fact the first class I ever taught was a class of six without any assistants and I was balled out for taking 6 hours.

Having decided early on that I couldn't teach for any of those shops I gradually increased the amount of pool time and changed they way I taught until I was satisfied with student performance going to open water. Now our class is a minimum of 15 hours in the pool and that's enough (arguably) for most people but not every one.

I have come accross a very few natrurals who can do it much faster.

 

[GDI]

The bottom line is you are paying your instructor to teach you to dive. Tell the instructor you want a more comfortable pace you don't feel you are ready YOU DECIDE THAT. See if you can do this with out paying additional $pendoles. The instructor could and should work you and your wife into his/her next pool class for that matter. You are paying for a service get the service YOU WANT.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

GDI, that's pretty much the approach we take. If someone feels they need more pool time ... or even if they don't, but we feel they're not up to OW yet ... we schedule them in with the next available class.

Bottom line is that you DON'T want to hit the OW until you're comfortable with the basics. At least around here the OW requires a lot more gear that limits your mobility ... and it's a lot more difficult to do anything in OW than in the pool.

You have to be comfortable in the pool before you attempt doing your basic skills in OW. Any instructor worth the name's going to work with you based on that premise.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

4-6 hours of pool time is the norm around here and most, I can tell you don't go as long as 6. That's how I was taught to teach and that's how I did it in the beginning. In fact the first class I ever taught was a class of six without any assistants and I was balled out for taking 6 hours.

That's quite a load Mike. We keep our class to a max of 6 students, and usually have one DM per buddy team helping out in the pool. Sometimes it's more than that.

One thing we've found really helpful is a "skill circle". After going through all the basic skills, we post an instructor or DM at each corner of the pool and have the students swim from corner to corner. At each corner, the DM or instructor posted there will have the student perform a skill, then move on to the next corner. Deep end skills are attempted while hovering, and shallow end skills are done on their knees.

This gets them some mileage, while having them perform the basic skills repeatedly at different depths. We find it to be an hour well-spent in terms of confidence-building as well as in terms of the skills practice itself.

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, pool time is limited around here by both cost and availability. Scheduling 15 hours of pool would be prohibitively expensive, even if we could manage to reserve that much time ... which simply isn't possible given the local pool schedules.

I'm sure it those issues vary from region to region ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[5615mike]

If you're going to spend the $$ getting her into an extra class, perhaps you should consider looking into a YMCA scuba class instead of PADI. They're typically structured to allow more pool time (since they don't have to pay for the pool ... it's already there), and spend a lot of time focusing on getting students comfortable in the water doing skin diving and snorkeling skills as well as the regular scuba exercises.

Most dive shop OW classes run 4 to 6 hours of pool time ... most YMCA OW classes run 12-16 hours of pool time.

Besides, it might be beneficial just to see how differently they present what amounts to the same information ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Good idea.......agreed

 

[neil]

Neil, I realize there are lots of folks in here who entertain themselves by bashing anything anyone says ... but please don't misrepresent me like that.
I didn't say the course was 4-6 hours ... I said most shops around here offer that much pool time.
Our OW course is 12 hours class, 6 hours pool, and 5 OW dives. And we'd be happy to have you sit in sometime. I'd only ask you to save your criticism for after the class ... we're happy to learn how to do things better, but not at the expense of our class time.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

NW,
Don't have a cow, big guy. As BDB points out, I said "pool". I meant "pool". I never misrepresent; snide comments (oops, sorry, that's UP ) and sound advice only. :>) It was not my goal to impugn your character or actions.
I have no doubt that with a limited number of students you can, and possibly do, teach effectively with 6 hours of pool time. We have to discuss "effectively", of course. I've done it, but with 2 or 3 at a time, and THEY have to be particularly adept. With a full class, say 8 students, there is no way that "I" can give adequate instruction in 6 hours, unless these people are especially talented or suited to diving in some way, and frankly, that's never happened. My opinion. My experience.
Neil