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Tracey made a very interesting post comparing skydiving and technical diving, which I won't reproduce here in the interst of saving bandwidth. The issue of competition among training agencies leading to reduced substance in courses is one of the main issues that prompted me to write my "personal responsibility" post. One of the points I made that seems to have been overlooked is that there should be a reduction in emphasis on "certification" and plastic cards and what not, and an increase in emphasis on *teaching*. The *most* important practical aspect of the philosophy I'm trying to promote (in my opinion, anyway) in the training environment is the shift of burden of responsibility from the instructor to teach, over to the student to learn. By reducing the significance of badges (=certifications), and emphazizing the importance of *learning*, then a diver faced with the decision of a 2-day $99 course vs. a 12-day $1000 course is more likely to realize that he or she will be getting what he or she pays for. If both courses offer the same "badge", then the temptation to opt for the cheaper course is more liekly to lead to over-confidence, and an accident waiting to happen. Don't get me wrong...I'm not opposed to IANTD's "tiered" approach to training...I think it's a good one. However, I would probably do it differently and eliminate the plethora of clearly-defined certification levels (I don't have time now to explain all the details of how I would do it differently). The point is, the agencies shouldn't say "Here's what you have to do to earn this badge", but rather "If you pay us for our time and expenses, we will provide you with knowledge and training. What you do with that knowledge and training is entirely up to you". It's more complicated than that, but I've gotta go right now so I can't elaborate further. Aloha, Rich ******************************************************************* Richard Pyle deepreef@bi*.bi*.ha*.or* "WHATEVER happens to you when you willingly go underwater is COMPLETELY and ENTIRELY your own responsibility! If you cannot accept this responsibility, stay out of the water!" *******************************************************************
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