I have a dream!

[Colliam7]

I have a dream, of taking an Open Water class from another agency, actually from several other agencies – SEI, NASE, CMAS, and RAID are just some examples that immediately come to mind - to see a) how the approach of other organizations differs from what I know and do, and b) what I might learn from those differences that will help me be a better instructor. I dream of doing it anonymously / incognito – as 'just another student’, NOT an experienced diver or instructor - so I am treated like 'just another student' and there is no Hawthorne effect. (And, I would do my best to be as earnest and attentive a student as possible, not a problem student to make life hard for the instructor.)

I dream of taking UTD Essentials (Recreational and Technical) as an anonymous student. I dream of taking GUE Fundies as an anonymous student. I dream of taking a SDI/TDI Divemaster class as an anonymous student. The list goes on.

Now, for the record: I am PADI, ‘born and bred’. I really (really, truly) value the PADI system, and I think it has helped me produce some good divers, some good Divemasters, some good Instructors. So, I do not dream of these things because I am somehow disappointed in what I do. I love what I do. But, I am sure that I can learn even more from observing, and participating in, the training programs of many other agencies. I am sure that each agency has some good ideas and techniques, and I want to learn those and apply them. I do not hold the exclusive rights to good teaching techniques. As an Instructor, I also should be an eternal student.

I also dream of having the money to pay for all of this, and that may be the biggest, and least attainable, dream of all. Oh, well, time to head to the convenience store for a lottery ticket.

 

[The Chairman]

I've audited a number of OW classes and it is eye opening. It's hard to bite my tongue sometimes. At times I get an aha. I learn from each and every class. Yes, I would love to hang out with a GUE and UTD OW class as well. Too many people know me to be truly incognito, so I won't go that route.

 

[Bob DBF]

I also dream of having the money to pay for all of this, and that may be the biggest, and least attainable, dream of all. Oh, well, time to head to the convenience store for a lottery ticket.

You could start a GoFundMe page, it seems to be in vogue at the moment. I've been thinking about it so I can visit all the brew pubs in the world, but haven't yet in consideration of my continued good health.


Bob

 

[Colliam7]

You could start a GoFundMe page, it seems to be in vogue at the moment.

LOL! ! That does seem to be in vogue. But, I don't think my personal educational development should be the responsibility of others, even if i found some who were willing.

 

[BoltSnap]

And I thought you were going to tell us about your most recent "wet" dream!

I am planning to do some of what you want/dream about but waiting for the right time when our situation is better in Libya.

 

[tilikum]

That would be fun to take OW classes from multiple agencies.

 

[herman]

Me too.....and supply my own equipment .

 

[TMHeimer]

What a great idea. Let us know if you're dream materializes.

 

[Afishianado]

Let me know if you need a buddy. I have thought about this same activity myself.

 

[boulderjohn]

IIRC, it was in 1970 that John Goodlad decided to compare the effectiveness of different academic programs in different schools. He decided to look beyond the achievement results and see what it actually looked like in the classroom. What he discovered made him realize that there was no way he could compare the effectiveness of the different programs. Even though the teachers had all been trained to teach the specific program they were supposedly implementing, once they were in the classroom, most of them did whatever they wanted.

My niece was certified by a major agency (not PADI) after a two hour pool session and one OW dive to 10 feet. A local instructor for that same agency teaches OW classes without going in the water--he just sits in a chair at the edge of the pool and tells the students what to do. I suspect that if you went to other instructors in that agency, you would have a different experience.

When I started tech diving, the instructor said he did not like the standards for that agency, so he was using another agency's standards instead. We were never told what those standards were, but after quite a bit of instruction without certifications, I checked and saw that we had gone far, far past the standards for the agency through which we were being certified. Pissed, I contacted the agency and discovered they had no problem with that. They were, in fact, quite proud of the fact that their standards allowed the instructor to require pretty much whatever he wanted, as long as the minimum agency standards were covered. When I later switched to a different instructor with the same agency, I had a very different experience.

If you had visited me teaching a PADI OW pool sessions and then come back the next weekend to see another instructor from the same shop teach a PADI pool session, you would have seen two very different looking classes.

So, I suspect that visiting instructors from all those different agencies would not tell you a whole lot about those agencies.