From: peterson@hpl.hp.com (Chris Peterson)
Subject: Re: Article in Current _SCUBA Times_
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 20:49:50 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Palo Alto, California

In article <1992Aug27.065131.16394@news.Hawaii.Edu> 
teshima@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (A. Lani Teshima) writes:
>
>... Understanding that scuba certifications are not "regulated,"
>what do you do about irresponsible instructors who allow their newly
>certified divers to do things way beyond their capacity? My friend's
>boyfriend just got certified 2 weeks ago (4-day cert course), and the
>instructor was immediately inviting him to dive the _Mahi_, a 95' shipwreck
>dive on Oahu. After that, it was going to be a night dive one night, a thing
>another dive, so on and so on. I mean, come on! One of the students in the
>class was not doing anything correctly, but the instructor passed her ("If
she doesn't get certified from me, she'll get certified from someone else."
>--sheesh! Sounds like a lawyer [okay, it's a stereotype--no flames from
>attorneys, please!]). Now the boyfriend has all these horrible habits
>and thinks he's Mister Supergills, even though he has no inkling of
>dive physiology, etc. I mean, what can you do?

	The practices you describe unfortunately reflect badly on all
	instructors.  The bad attitude concerns me even more than the
	deep diving and night diving (supervised night dives and deep
	dives *can* be a safe and enjoyable part of an OW2 course
	given immediately following OW1).  Furthermore, a 4-day course
	is pretty short and fast for most people [note exceptions
	discussed in previous threads about "vacation certifications"].
	
	This instructor may have created an attitude problem that you
	and your friend have inherited.  Scuba diving is *not* a 
	competitive sport (the ocean *always* wins :-).  There is no
	place for "macho" divers -- men or women (although it shows up
	more often in men).  Your only choice may be to avoid diving 
	with your friend's boyfriend, and hope that he gains some wisdom
	through non-fatal experience.
	
	This instructor may have created a problem for himself as well.
	If, for example, this diver hurts himself or his buddy, the
	instructor may be held liable for teaching (or not correcting)
	bad habits.  Instructor liability usually extends about 5 years,
	but may apply for the lifetime of the student!  

	Although some agencies differ, the instructor should never be
	required to certify a diver if that diver has just "jumped 
	through all the hoops" (meet minimal requirements).  I have
	chosen not to certify a very few divers whose bad attitude
	alone might have led to accidents.  NAUI, for example, 
	requires that, in order to certify a diver, an instructor
	must answer "yes" to the question, "Would I allow this person
	to dive with my loved ones?" (i.e., trust their lives to him).

	The instructor should not necessarily forfeit the student's fees
	either.  There should have been no "guarantee" of certification.
	The student should be paying for instruction; he has to earn
	certification.
-- 
Chris Peterson                                     Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
                                                    Research Computing Services
                                                              Palo Alto, CA USA 
                                                            peterson@hpl.hp.com
Newsgroups: rec.scuba