Enough Instruction???

[Mario S Caner]

Jim, I sincerly hope that you will reconsider. Please read Walter's post again, I agree 100%. Sometimes it's more difficult to do the right thing. Also please keep in mind that if/when you do contact PADI they keep everything very confidential. They will send out a short questionaire to the other students in that time frame the instructor certified, and find out wether this is an isolated incident (doubtful) or wether this is how this guy does business.

Sadly the industry has bad apples. There is NO room for bad apples because what we do as instructors affects others lives. There's no joking in it. This is [red]DEAD[/red] serious.

Please don't misunderstand we are not upset with you, just :fury: at the lack of care shown by a fellow professional.

 

[jbd]

Jim,
I've got to strongly agree with all who are telling you to report this instructor. With all that you have listed that did not get done, you plainly got ripped off. You did not get your moneys worth and have raised the level of risk you are taking when you dive unnecessarily. Also you are raising the risk level for anyone that dives with you.

The dive agencies have worked hard and long to create a safe recreational activity that doesn't involve governmental oversight to protect people from undue risk. They accomplished this by establishing standards and rules for diving and dive training. This instructor of yours has pretty much ignored all of this. This cannot be acceptable and it is the reason that all the agencies have quality control procedures to weed out unacceptable instructors or retrain them if that is an option.

Please reconsider your decision to not report this.

 

[scubabunny]

Question...was there a time limit on this class? Did you all have to finish in a certain number of days? Or was this the instructor's choice? Just asking.

I agree also that you should let either PADI know...or at least the dive shop. Some things can be "hidden" from the students..like hovering. I never knew that was a requirement until after I was certified. My instructor brought vienna sausages on every dive, and had us feed the fish (I know...not very healthy for the fish..). I thought it was just a fun thing to do, but that is what he was looking for.

But, I know fin pivots are required...and don't take that long! don't know why he left that out!

Never heard of taking off all your gear in deep water, and exiting. I was certified over 2 years ago, and since then PADI has made some things required that were optional before. Is that the same as the CESA (controlled emergency swimming accent)? If so, my instructor did it horizontal..with his hand on my reg to make sure I "hummed" the whole way. But, didn't know you had to take everything off now...and do it for real.

Basically, you should at least let the Diveshop owner know what was missing. The instructor represents the diveshop, and they don't want any "half assed" instructors working for them. Gives them a bad name! Send him an email from a friend's computer if you are worried about ruining relationships. If he has done this to you...he has done it to other people. Ideally, contact PADI and let them know.

Doesn't sound like this guy would be a good dive buddy anyway. And, by ALL means..don't take anymore classes from him!

 

[lildiver]

The pool time should not only be measured in quanity, but also quality. If the skills are properly taught and the OW student feels comfortable doing the skills, does it matter if they spent 6 hours or 12 hours in the pool?

~lildiver

 

[neil]

lildiver,
You are correct, but here we were talking about TWO hours of pool instruction. There's no way you can teach all required skills in that time AND have time for the student to "master" them. There is no substitute for lots of time spent in the pool before open water, honing essential skills.
Neil

 

[GreenDiverDown]

 

[lildiver]

neil, I agree 2 hours of pool work is awfully short, even if it were private instruction.

~lildiver

 

[SubMariner]

"Never heard of taking off all your gear in deep water, and exiting. I was certified over 2 years ago, and since then PADI has made some things required that were optional before."

Bunny, you probably don't remember doing this excercise, but HAS been part of PADI's skill requirements for quite some time.

"Is that the same as the CESA (controlled emergency swimming accent)? If so, my instructor did it horizontal..with his hand on my reg to make sure I "hummed" the whole way. But, didn't know you had to take everything off now...and do it for real. "

This description fits the CONFINED WATER version of a CESA. It is also performed in OPEN WATER, but is done vertically with a line, etc. In both instances ALL the gear is kept on and the reg stays in your mouth.

~SubMariner~

 

[scubabunny]

Ok..I thought that sounded pretty weird..ditching your gear and swimming to the surface (accident waiting to happen). Guess I read the post wrong.

I did do that skill, but I didn't realize what I was doing! I thought it my instructor was being nice by taking my gear and letting me climb out without all that extra "stuff".

 

[Walter]

Bunny,

Actually, ditching all your gear (including mask, snorkel & fins) swimming to the surface while blowing bubbles, swimming back down and putting it all back on is a required skill in some programs (not PADI) it's called Doff and Don. It's an excellent skill to learn under the close supervision of an instructor.

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