I know I was taught very emphatically that you do not let anything dangle whiile in the water. (BTW a PADI course) As for the INS not teaching it all I have to say is SHAME!! SHAME !!! SHAME!!! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!!!
this is so wrong on many levels;
1. I would hope you would want to preserve what is still left of our diminishng coral reefs! What fun is diving if there is nothing to see?
2. Diver safety (ya know the other guy you hit with your dangleing gear or when you get snagged on a rock/coral/kelp/wreck ect) and streamlining are issues new divers need to learn. It is just safer and makes diving easier
3. You are giving up a chance to earn your students respect and trust if you show them alternate ways of doing things and give them more than just what is required it generates a deeper trusting relationship of student-teacher. You are giving up a chance to be a positve role model for future divers and have the chance to help preserve our sport by preserving the UW environment. Students who respect their teachers learn more from them and then talk and rave about them later on, so why not try to preserve you job by having allot of word of mouth referrals. Students remember good teachers, they NEVER forget the bad ones!!
4. YOU are giving up a GOLDEN oppertunity to make a few $$ for your shop. If you require that each diver must have secured gear BEFORE you do OW cert then you can get a few extra sales for your shop. Clips and asst gear holders are NOT a big expense when you consider how much we pay for the rest of our gear $2, $3 or even $5 is not SOO expensive that students will complain about the added expense. The shop I did my OW required ALLOT more than a few clips before you could OW certify (aside from you mask,fin, snorkel gear you had to have a hood, gloves, boots, compass and a dive knife, and no-one complained or dropped out cuz of it)
5. This stuff is SOOOO cheap and in many cases FREEE there is NO reason to use cost as a reason not to cover this material. You can tuck stuff under straps, or belts! Done right you can store in BC pockets, You can use snorkel holders to hold you octo (loop 1 side into the other through a d-ring and the open hole goes around the octo mouthpeice) You can Pony tail holders, An old clip key ring will do as a temp. Regular rubber bands The list of thigs to use goes on and on. Make it an assignmet for your class to come up with new ways to tidy your gear.