another scuba site

I just discovered another site geared toward scuba diving.

Check Mikey out at www.scubapro25.blogspot.com for a look at day-to-day recreational diving as it transitions into the wonderful world of tech.

Well written, very informative and some really good pictures.

Thanks, Mikey.

celebration time

All three of my candidates sailed through the IE with flying colors.

Not a big surprise because they came to class well prepared and motivated.

What was surprising is that not only do they all have job offers already, one of them was offered a job at a school with three candidates of their own. None of those candidates have offers.

Very interesting.

Am now looking forward to an EFR Instructor class which will also be fun and interesting.

It's funny how people have no problem performing cpr on an adult mannekin but they almost always get nervous around Baby Anne although she , too, is a mannekin. Or babykin.

Fun times.

down to the wire

Tomorrow is the orientation for the Instructor Exam. Candidates usually begin to get a little worried at this point.

Today is pool work so they can feel the difference between salt water and fresh water.

Fine tuning water skills and presentation skills.

Fun for me but this is about the time the candidates start to doubt themselves. All of a sudden they decide that maybe they aren't that ready after all. Now is when they "need" to do everything over again. And again. And again.

Stress levels reach maximum intensity for two days, they pass the exam, and the warm fuzzy feeling of being a scuba instructor begins to sink in.

As soon as the hangover goes away.

Fortunately for them PADI fully understands this phenomenon and makes adjustments for high stress environments.

But I try not to let on. It's too much fun watching them dance.

picking up speed

Things are starting to pick up again on the teaching front.

I now have two candidates for the IDC (Instructor Development Course) and four people waiting for an EFR (emergency first response) Instructor class. Plus whatever instructor level specialty courses they want to take.

This is called con. ed. (continuing education) and is highly prized among the denizens of the PADI community.

Although I'm allowed to teach eight candidates at a time I really do prefer small classes.
Less stress and more fun for them as well as me. A lot of extra time for practice and remediation.

This makes for comfortable candidates at the Instructor Examination. Having fun at an IE is not exactly a common experience but it's certainly possible when you take your time and do everything right during the IDC.

Plus I can always use some of the newer instructors to help play student during the water work segments. They make mistakes gleefully and (I suspect) with just a touch of devilishness.
They also act as advocates when I tell the candidates they are ready for the IE. The general reaction is "What!? It can't be that easy!" They tend to trust my judgement more when I can introduce them to some of my former students who've been through the whole thing.

Mentoring is a good thing.

The current candidates are already certified Assistant Instructors so they've already been through the
"how to teach the PADI way" portion of the course. This makes it a lot easier and gives you more latitude for fun. They're not quite as stressed out as a total newbie would be.

Anyway...Let the games begin!

memorial day

To all those who have served, are serving, and will serve.

Thank you.

water work

Today I'm looking very forward to being in the water with some instructor level students.

This is what I live for.

Although teaching entry level scuba classes definitely has it's own quite significant rewards, watching the light come on in instructor candidates takes it to a new level.

This is the point when they fully realize that, not only is diving a business, it's a responsibility.

Teaching people to function safely in AND appreciate what is essentially a hostile environment is something that most divers don't fully absorb (sorry about the sponge joke) until they reach this level of training.

It's fun to watch them step up to this level of expertise and awareness. Most of them take their duty of care to their students very seriously. The ones who don't find themselves back in the "real world" pretty fast.

Today we're working on control and delivery problems. This means the instructor not only has to respond to student problems quickly and effectively, he/she has to be able to communicate to the student what was done incorrectly and also how to complete the performance objective comfortably and in a reasonably fluid and repeatable manner. Underwater.

You see some pretty creative sign language during these dives.

You also see a lot of team building and mutual support systems at work. They usually realize they're working toward a common goal (becoming a PADI Instructor) against a common enemy (me).

The only thing I really have be pissy about is reminding them that it's ok to have fun.

the empire crumbles

Deadwood's Empire continues to rapidly decay and is , in fact, picking up speed.

Apparently the promises he's made (and never intended to keep) are catching up to him.

Certain favored employees (girlfriends) are being paid bonuses for doing nothing and actual skill set employees are being pressured more and more to conduct extracurricular programs for free.

In all fairness the Barbies are not exactly doing nothing. They are taking an active part in the destruction of the realm through backbiting, infighting, and generally spreading mayhem and madness wherever they go.

They could certainly teach the Iraqi insurgents a thing or two about effective undermining of reason and rational thinking.

Actual talented staff are jumping off of this cliff like lemmings.

It's a joy to behold.

In a truly Herculean effort to strike back at these recent setbacks Emperor Deadwood has unilaterally declared his facility the only "official" Whaleshark and Oceanic Research Center in the entire universe.

Nevermind the fact that neither he nor his staff are even remotely qualified or trained for this kind of work.
"Don't confuse me with facts; my mind is made up!" is the battlecry of the day.

At least the Light Brigade had honor and nobility on their side.