Mr 100 Dive Wonder Instructor

[divemaster_jim]

Wow! That is both extremely funny and very sad at the same time.

I couldn't agree more with you, Very sad inded,

Hey Azza, I'm glad you didn't bail on your students, I am a DM, and have had the misfortune of working with a couple of instructors like that, as TomP said it could have gone sour real quick, but that's a judgement call you have to make, FWIW I'd have done the same thing.
Keep fighting and keep posting,

 

[Diver0001]

Azza - Loved the story but with all due respect I think you may have let yourself off a little too easy. That said, I'm not a DM and can't say for sure what I’d have done under the same circumstances but here’s my view.

Three things seemed clear to me from your post:

First, Mr. 100DWI believed he was acting appropriately - as frightening as that may seem.

Second, you were convinced that he was incompetent and as such putting the students lives at risk.

Third, that despite the warning signs and specific policy violations you made a conscious decision to continue anyway. And, that that decision was based primarily on not jeopardizing your own Instructor aspirations and possibly the reputation of the dive shop.

Perhaps you should have called the dive on the shore. All’s well that ends well but suppose that something had gone horribly wrong? A jury might see you as a would be hero, or maybe just an accomplice.

I'm not sure that he thought so much that student's lives were at risk but that students were being taught things that were inconsistent with them becoming good divers.

That's exactly the moral tug-of-war that many CA's find themselves in. Ultimately the instructor is running the show and regardless of how sloppy you think they are, you have made a commitment to assist them and you will, out of sense of professionalism/responsibility, feel more pressure to stay the course than to disrupt it based on your feeling that it could all be done better.....

And that's the crux. If the instructor was really putting students at risk and breaking standards as opposed to making stupid beginner's mistakes, then you would stop it....but was that what was *really* happening here? And don't forget that Az needed to make that judgement call in real time--not sitting behind a keyboard thinking it through 10 times before responding....

In the real world, these things are much more dynamic than you may think when you read them on an internet forum. Personally, I find such situations very difficult to resolve satisfactorily.

R..

 

[TomP]

And that's the crux. If the instructor was really putting students at risk and breaking standards as opposed to making stupid beginner's mistakes, then you would stop it....but was that what was *really* happening here? And don't forget that Az needed to make that judgement call in real time--not sitting behind a keyboard thinking it through 10 times before responding....

In the real world, these things are much more dynamic than you may think when you read them on an internet forum. Personally, I find such situations very difficult to resolve satisfactorily.

R..

I have no doubt that these situations are difficult and likely more frequent than any of us would like. I also agree it was a judgement call, but it seemed pretty clear - to me at least - that Az's judgement told him to walk away [which i assume would mean the dive had to be called]. It also seemed, based on what he wrote, like a considered decision.

 

[fire_diver]

This can be very frustrating as instructor, because the students arent putting forth the effort to learn, or even to pay attention half the time. Even when you make it apparent that paying attention and home study is a huge part of the learning process for the course. So when you tell students that you will not train them because they did not do there reading, they get mad and often ask for there money back and usually go to some other shop for a quicker/easier solution(in my experiences).

This can put a great deal of pressure on instructors (from shop owners, bosses, etc.) to make them pass anyways. Not to mention it has put great pressures on agencies to make it easier to pass scuba courses, which is why we get low standards. You can see were the disgusting cycle comes in.

But this is where the LDS has to make a stand. If the student is told to read the books and have the lesson reviews ready before class, then that should be inforced. If the student isn't ready, send them home and tell them they can come back for the next class on XX date. If they want their money back, too bad. Sounds like a voluntary drop-out to me. I don't think the shop owes money back because of that.

FD

 

[Charlie59]

I understand where you are coming from Charlie.

I'm not so sure. Your speaking up about a poor instructor is to be commended, however, I am not sure that lack of dives was his problem. That he took a short cut to instructorhood not as much a problem as his maturity and ability to follow instruction. There are rules and the standards speak to these rules. When someone adheres to these rules they can be an adequate teacher. If they make it up as they go (what organization teaches "plant the students") problems occur.

Again, this was an individual with a weakness that may have had little to do with his experience as a diver and more to do with thinking he could now do what he wanted since he had his certification. Don't we all know divers like that?

 

[Scotty g]

... this was an individual with a weakness that may have had little to do with his experience as a diver and more to do with thinking he could now do what he wanted since he had his certification. Don't we all know divers like that?

It took me 8 pages to realise that it was this that i wanted to write!

Scotty

 

[Tigerman]

Lucky me.. I had an instructor that actually weighed us right and did his job properly. He even listened to both the DM and his students.. Guess I was in luck and didnt realize how bad some instructors can be when I took my OW class. Guess im better off sticking to the same instructor when im taking more certifications. Used the same instructor for my AOWD cert and have been diving with both him and the DM we had for our classes outside of the classes as well.

 

[Skeeter1097]

I think that this Pearson may need more work on his method of teaching. I do thing that there are some instructors out there with 100 or so dives that know how to work with people and do a grate job.
I think that a DM with 500 dives or more that feels he or she can do it better. Then do it better and be a instructor. get certified and do it.
As for this incident, Good job but there is a line not to cross as a DM.

 

[dbombtek]

This is the reason you should have a license like a drivers license that can be removed for stupidity. Not enough checks and ballances in the system considering the cost of failure and the price of the class.

 

[bwerb]

I witnessed a class yesterday which strongly resembled those described here.

One instructor (I counted 6 students). We came around a corner and upon a huge silt/sand cloud. We could indistinctly make-out what I can only describe as a "Tasmanian Devil" vortex of fins, tanks, masks and bubbles.

The last two divers were on about an 80 degree angle walking forward on their knees while finning. The next two were in the process of trying to stand and walk across the bottom. The instructor was helping one student and the next one was doing the funky chicken looking like he had fire ants under his wetsuit.

This was the second dive of the day for the group...and definitely not their first day of classes.

I just don't get how any instructor can have a group of students who think that it's acceptable to TRY to stand on the bottom or to walk on your knees...hmm couldn't have had anything to do with the massive weightbelts...nah...that's just crazy talk.

Oh...this was about three feet away from a reef on a sandy bottom...let's hope that they get some direction before they try to swim over the reef.