I don't have a problem with it really. It actually has a huge benefit in that it gives people practice in doing air shares, so when a real problem arises, they should be less anxious.
In fact, when I started teaching my kids to scuba (at 8 yrs old), I would give them a 30 cu-ft tank, no BC and would keep them under my arm a bunch and let them suck off my 5 ft hose to extend the dive.
Uh-oh... Now you went and whacked that bee's nest with a stick.
I set up my 10 year-old twin girls with an old AT-pak laced with a Hogarthian harness (well, without the crotch strap anyway), no BC, and a pair of 2 pound weights (not ditchable, FWIW). An SPG, a first and second stage on a 22" hose, a 13 cuft bottle, and all they needed was a mask and they were having a ball in the pool (5' deep).
I gave each of them about an hour of training and supervision, and at that weight, each of them was about 1 pound bouyant in the rig. They were also able to stand on the bottom.
In all, I believe that the benefits outweighed the risks... They learned confidence in the water, how to control their bouyancy with their lungs, mask clearing, why you spit in your mask, and mostly... Personal responsibility for yourself and your things. They learned very quickly about how their actions had direct, immediate and uncompromising results. For example, 0 psi meant 0 psi. Period. Their well-being required some personal responsibility. Share. Dad (actually sorta "stepdad," but a similar role) can take things away as easily as give if you have the wrong attitude.
Mostly, though, they learned confidence in the water, which translates to confidence in life. It translates to personal accountability. These children are less likely to blame others for their situation (good or bad) as they grow older and are more familiar with their own capabilities and what they can do to affect their surroundings.
It's my belief that this translates to a more empowered adolescent, and thus happier. I hope that this makes their teenage years easier... And much more enjoyable than they would be otherwise.
The Serenity Prayer goes something like, "Lord, help me to accept the things I can not change, change those things that I can, and grant me the wisdom to know the difference." I'm sure that someone else knows the exact wording... But I believe that from the twins' experience with things like the "mini-rig" I built for them... Especially at such a young age... Ideals like the Serenity Prayer can be a reality, and they're less likely to feel unempowered by their surroundings and less likely to slough personal accountability and responsibility for what they do and say.
...Which I believe is a huge problem in society today... A lack of personal responsibility and accountability.
The examples in this thread of divers being taught wrong - whatever the example is - are clearly not the divers' fault if that's how they were taught. If, for example, a diver was taught to inflate or deflate their BC to rise or fall in the water column respectively (a common misconception known as "riding the elevator"), they can not be blamed for that practice. The fault of incorrect or shoddy practices sits firmly on the shoulders of the teacher... Be it an online source, personal interaction with an instructor, or a certifying agency's teachings. However, ultimately, each individual diver is clearly responsibile for their own life. It would be rational for them to verify what they are taught with practice and research into supporting articles and teachings. When there is a concensus between practice and/or multiple sources of information, a diver can increase his confidence in his learning.
When I finished my PADI Advanced Open Water certification years ago and first became interested in the teachings of GUE (which agreed with what I'd been taught so far, only with additional intensity and importance relative to certain topics like planning the dive, bouyancy techniques, consistency in dive practices, proper trim, and the importance of a buddy), my instructor (who was not GUE certified, nor supportive) told me, "Well, that's great... Your PADI AOW certification is actually not a means to the end of your study on how to dive... It's the beginning. Think of it as a license to learn how to dive, not a license to dive in and of itself."
What he was saying is true for every level of certification... Your C-card (whatever level) is really a license to learn, not a diploma.
...So if a diver's been taught something screwed up, then it's not their fault. But if they continue to dive screwed up despite evidence to the contrary, then yes, that IS their fault.
Personal accountability lacks in today's liabel-centric society. Ultimately, that's what keeps a diver alive. That's what helps them to navigate an academic minefield of misteachings from either individual instructors or poor examples or even entire agencies.
...And therein lies the solution to this thread.
