Im not sure why we have an expectation in SCUBA that extra class time shouldnt cost more.
In professional education courses, you pay to take a class. Lets say you are taking College Algebra. If you fail, the college will charge you to re-take the class. I have a relative that failed that class 4 times in a row and he paid for it each and every time.
I think in SCUBA you are really paying for a rough amount of instructor time. Lets say classroom time two days at 4 hours per day, pool time two sessions of 3 hours, plus two days of diving at 6 hours per day means a class is buying 26 hours of instruction. Lets say the instructor is a nice guy who understands some students take more time, so he pads every session with an extra hour of time which he expects to use half of the time, so he has a maximum of 29 hours, of which he only expects to use 27.5 on average.
In other words, I think it is expected that some students will take up a little extra time and that shouldnt be charged. However, if a student requires an extra weekend, or an extra day, or an extra trip, they should be charged for that time.
That is how all of my classes have workedthe instructor just charged a reasonable fee for his or her time for later classwork if needed. Fortunately, Im cheap, so I learned fast enough to not need the extra time J
Now, the instructor sold the same amount of time regardless of what rate he charged. So, Groupon or not, is just like having a big class or not. If the instructor has 2 students, he sold them the same amount of time as if he had 4 students, even though hes getting less dollars per hour.
And, if the entire class failed, then I would agree, the teacher did a bad job. In those College Algebra courses, the teacher often applied statistical curves, within reason, to understand how the class did. Unfortunately, SCUBA is a different story. If you cant find X, you probably wont die, but if you cant get to the surface again safely, you will so SCUBA instructors cant apply a curve the same way.
I guess what an instructor has to do is calculate the proper amount of time that a class takes to learn, then charge appropriately. For example, maybe one instructor is really good and can get the classroom done in 3.5 hours per day, pool sessions done in 2 hours, and the diving is closer to shore and the students are really good so those trips only take 4 hours. Then, there is a new instructor who takes 5 hours per class, 4 hours per pool session, and the first day in the water takes 7 hours. Either they charge different rates, or the newer instructor has to realize that hell be putting in more time at the same class rate.
It is also important for teachers to get feedback constantly from students and know exactly where the students stand in terms of learning. Waiting until the last day to say the students arent ready is unacceptable. The teacher should give every student feedback after every encounter to help them learn their strong and weak points. If anyone failed the written portion after I taught them, I would be very distressed about my own ability to teach! In a small class like that even one failure means a 10% or greater failure rate, which is incredibly high. It means I didnt see that a student was lost, or I didnt cover the material well, or that I accepted someone into the class who isnt ready.
Definitely talk to the shop and consider finishing your class at another shop. However, dont find a shop that sells certification cards. If you really arent ready, then you really arent ready. We do want instructors who wont give cards until someone is ready, but we also want instructors who make people ready in a reasonable amount of time for a reasonable amount of money.
In professional education courses, you pay to take a class. Lets say you are taking College Algebra. If you fail, the college will charge you to re-take the class. I have a relative that failed that class 4 times in a row and he paid for it each and every time.
I think in SCUBA you are really paying for a rough amount of instructor time. Lets say classroom time two days at 4 hours per day, pool time two sessions of 3 hours, plus two days of diving at 6 hours per day means a class is buying 26 hours of instruction. Lets say the instructor is a nice guy who understands some students take more time, so he pads every session with an extra hour of time which he expects to use half of the time, so he has a maximum of 29 hours, of which he only expects to use 27.5 on average.
In other words, I think it is expected that some students will take up a little extra time and that shouldnt be charged. However, if a student requires an extra weekend, or an extra day, or an extra trip, they should be charged for that time.
That is how all of my classes have workedthe instructor just charged a reasonable fee for his or her time for later classwork if needed. Fortunately, Im cheap, so I learned fast enough to not need the extra time J
Now, the instructor sold the same amount of time regardless of what rate he charged. So, Groupon or not, is just like having a big class or not. If the instructor has 2 students, he sold them the same amount of time as if he had 4 students, even though hes getting less dollars per hour.
And, if the entire class failed, then I would agree, the teacher did a bad job. In those College Algebra courses, the teacher often applied statistical curves, within reason, to understand how the class did. Unfortunately, SCUBA is a different story. If you cant find X, you probably wont die, but if you cant get to the surface again safely, you will so SCUBA instructors cant apply a curve the same way.
I guess what an instructor has to do is calculate the proper amount of time that a class takes to learn, then charge appropriately. For example, maybe one instructor is really good and can get the classroom done in 3.5 hours per day, pool sessions done in 2 hours, and the diving is closer to shore and the students are really good so those trips only take 4 hours. Then, there is a new instructor who takes 5 hours per class, 4 hours per pool session, and the first day in the water takes 7 hours. Either they charge different rates, or the newer instructor has to realize that hell be putting in more time at the same class rate.
It is also important for teachers to get feedback constantly from students and know exactly where the students stand in terms of learning. Waiting until the last day to say the students arent ready is unacceptable. The teacher should give every student feedback after every encounter to help them learn their strong and weak points. If anyone failed the written portion after I taught them, I would be very distressed about my own ability to teach! In a small class like that even one failure means a 10% or greater failure rate, which is incredibly high. It means I didnt see that a student was lost, or I didnt cover the material well, or that I accepted someone into the class who isnt ready.
Definitely talk to the shop and consider finishing your class at another shop. However, dont find a shop that sells certification cards. If you really arent ready, then you really arent ready. We do want instructors who wont give cards until someone is ready, but we also want instructors who make people ready in a reasonable amount of time for a reasonable amount of money.
