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Ok, here's the thing...
As you know, skills like mask re & re and reg recovery are introduced in shallow water so the student who has a sudden panic attack or loses control can just stand up. With the student on the bottom & the Instructor not within easy reach of the student, if there is a problem (e.g. the student cannot locate h/h reg during the reg recovery) then what are you going to do about it from so far away? Esp if you need to replace the student's reg for them or give them your octo.
IOW, my concern is with the safety of the student, not whether or not the Instructor is "modeling good trim and buoyancy control". If your student is on the bottom, then you should be on the bottom; if you're in mid water, then the student needs to be there too.
While this is off topic and a pm or post in I2I would have been a more appropriate place to discuss this, the thread isn't going anywhere, so.....
You have indicated it is unsafe for an instructor to be in the column while a student is on the bottom. As a professional, you have an ethical obligation to report such dangers. In order to expedite that process, my name is David Herbert and my SSI OWI# is 24940.
As to your concern regarding separation..... It takes less than a second to gain control over the student. On reg retrievals, it's fairly obvious when there is an issue. If a student is fumbling, I reach out and hand him his reg or my secondary and the drill is terminated. If the skill runs longer than 10 seconds, it is terminated in the same manner.
Does the student in the video look like they are having issues? As this would be at least the 7th time through the skills (3 times shallow, 3 times deep and at least once in the column) by this time, they are quite comfortable with the skills. Were that not the case, they would still be doing them in the shallow end of the pool.
In the unlikely event that a student should bolt, there are definite warning signs as well as specific skills that are more prone to result in bolting if the student is not prepared. This point is usually during the mask removal and replace and I'll position myself slightly higher in the column in preparation to intercept. I usually know they'll bolt before they do and the drill is terminated. I've had one student bolt in the last three years and it's not because I'm lucky or only instruct gifted students.
Being neutral and in trim as much as possible is also safer than being nailed to the bottom, IMO. While the student performing skills is the priority, there are other students in the pool who need to be monitored. How do you react to a situation 30' away when you're nailed to the bottom?
At what point, if ever, do you feel confident enough in your student's skills that you don't need to be 2" away? If we don't have confidence in our product, are we doing our job? I don't think so.
BTW, I sent a link to the vid, along with your concerns to SSI. Though the TD believed posting video was a potential for disaster in terms of liability for me, there was no breech of standards. Still, were I you and I seriously believed there was a safety issue in this practice, I'd report it.... I'd have to.
In any case, I'll put you down as opposed to instructors holding trim and solid buoyancy control. Thanks for your reply.
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