PADI vs SDI

[Festus]

It s all the instructor. I did PADI and than SDI, My goal is to be a safe rec diver. I feel cheated because I can read the book. And goggled beyond (like this site) and found that they where far behind the current curriculum. I really like my LDS but they could evolve. But they don't realize they are behind.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

First of all, online forums are rarely "free speech" zones. When you join the forum, you acknowledge that your postings must follow the guidelines as set forth in the terms of use. Scubaboard is a privately owned entity, and the board owner/management are free to delete or edit posts as they see fit. If you don't like it, don't post.

Which is why I am saying that an honest answer to the OPs question is not possible on this forum.

 

[Pyramid65]

I'm with Sinbad, which is why I'm not going to post my interpretation of what I found, there's a fine line between criticism and bashing and I don't know where it lies. I will say this, I get the "it's up to the instructor" thing to a certain extent but the instructors are bound by their respective agencies which are bound by their respective philosophies

 

[tursiops]

I'm with Sinbad, which is why I'm not going to post my interpretation of what I found, there's a fine line between criticism and bashing and I don't know where it lies. I will say this, I get the "it's up to the instructor" thing to a certain extent but the instructors are bound by their respective agencies which are bound by their respective philosophies

If your "research" was based on available information from the agencies, then how could your repetition of it be either criticism or bashing? If your "research" was getting some opinions and innuendo, then it was not research, it was at most googling, groping and guessing, and very likely could be viewed as bashing.

 

[decompression]

I'm with Sinbad, which is why I'm not going to post my interpretation of what I found, there's a fine line between criticism and bashing and I don't know where it lies. I will say this, I get the "it's up to the instructor" thing to a certain extent but the instructors are bound by their respective agencies which are bound by their respective philosophies

Pm me, I wanna know what you found.


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[boulderjohn]

We live in a free speech society. You can bash the Church and no one has any problems. You can bash the President and no one has any problem. You can bash organized religion and no one has any problems. Yet criticism against a certifying agency will be labelled as "agency bashing" and will be deleted from scubaboard. As long as certifying agencies are treated as "holy" or "sacred," a correct answer to the OPs question is impossible.

Which is why I am saying that an honest answer to the OPs question is not possible on this forum.

You can criticize an agency in this forum. All you need to do is provide factual information about the agency and make appropriate comments. Such statements do not constitute agency bashing.

Agency bashing occurs when mindless people make mindless rants with nothing factual, just mindless repetition of mindless opinions. It goes like this:

The XXX agency sucks! They are just in it for the money! Typical Agency XXX crap! The XXX Agency has ruined diving! Allt he divers in the world were borderline perfect until Agency XXX came along, and now everyone sucks!

Did I mention that such statements are typically mindless?

 

[RJP]

If your "research" was based on available information from the agencies, then how could your repetition of it be either criticism or bashing?

He mentioned he was refraining from sharing his INTERPRETATION of what he found.

---------- Post added February 10th, 2015 at 11:00 AM ----------

Now I want to know their philosophies.......share.


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The PADI philosophy is right there in your IM and Guide To Teaching, no? Not sure where to find SDI's, but I doubt it's shrouded in secrecy.

 

[Steve_C]

I have taken a number of courses from SDI, PADI, SSI. A large number were with an instructor (LI) who could teach both SDI and PADI. Agencies philosophies only set minimum standards. A good insrtuctor goes beyond minimum. For several courses such as rescue and DM I read both the PADI and SDI materials and met both requirements. I could have gotten either card in each case. For all the courses prior to rescue/DM/solo I found the course materials very basic and easily learned. The real meat of the courses were the added experience of LI, the more challenging questions LI posed to me, and in depth answers LI gave to my questions.

In all cases the material was similar (I do not know about PADI self-reliant). I did like the SDI rescue material more than the PADI rescue. Found it meatier.

Sllightly off topic but elearning is good for learning basic information. But I am convinced I learned more and became a better diver by only taking elearning for Nitrox.

 

[tursiops]

The PADI philosophy is right there in your IM and Guide To Teaching, no? Not sure where to find SDI's, but I doubt it's shrouded in secrecy.

The only mention of "philosophy" in the SDI materials that I can find is this, from the S&P, Part 1, Vers 15.0, page 5: "SDI was created with the philosophy that past practices should be re-evaluated in the light of new technology and that recreational scuba instruction should reflect the actual needs of open water divers."

I'm really curious what the OP found that allowed him to make an unreportable interpretation.

 

[Steve_C]

The only mention of "philosophy" in the SDI materials that I can find is this, from the S&P, Part 1, Vers 15.0, page 5: "SDI was created with the philosophy that past practices should be re-evaluated in the light of new technology and that recreational scuba instruction should reflect the actual needs of open water divers.".

Correct me if I am wrong but I believe that SDI was first with solo diver, first with an emphasis on computer diving vs tables, and some other firsts. Think they were one of the first with an emphasis on elearning. In each case PADI followed up with the same thing.

Not a bash. Just my observation. Larger organizations are often less nimble than smaller ones.