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the joys of teaching
Posted by Jimbeau
the joys of teaching
Jimbeau - 12/12/2008 6:34 PM
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Category: Personal
Comments: 0


I can’t help but laugh as i think about my dive computer beeping at me like an angry wife. I was at the semi-local dive training spot, a spring in santa rosa nm., blue hole. I was there to do the open water portion of my Rescue Diver certification. I had also been invited by my dive shop to come down and "assist" one of the instructors with the open water students. I am signed up for the Divemaster course next month, but until this experience I was never sure if i would be interested in instructing students. I know i love diving and would love being able to make a living doing it. So here we are at the dive sight, two instructors, one divemaster, twenty students, and me the "dip" ( divemaster in process) as they so lovingly labeled me. I have been diving with these instructors quite a few times and i suppose i must have satisfied them with my diving abilities because the instructor decided to allow me to deal with some of the issues the students were having, which brings me back to my beeping computer. I try to listen to my computer and to follow diving guidelines, but here was my computer beeping away at me for ascending too quickly as i am clingin to this student trying to slow him down as he is shooting towards the surface, all ended well as the student got his bouyancy under control about ten foot below the surface. This type of situation happened a couple times alont with many other small issues such as weight belts, masks, and closed tank valves, but nothing bad happened and by the fourth dive they were all doing much better. The occurence that pleased me the most involed a young man who was very nervous and unsure, he didi allright with most things, but got somewhat panicky tiwth the mask flood, so i discussed it with him at the surface, he then completed his maks flood and clear. I knew i was hooked on teaching when this same young man approached me later on and wanted to talk to me and get advice on the mask removal and replacement. We talked about it for a little while, but when the group went down for thier final dive and skills this student and I were still at the surface. While we were waiting at the surface the young man impressed me by submerging himself slightly and practicing his mask removal and replacement. The instructor came up and retrieved the student and took him down to complete his checkout dive while i tended to the students he brought up. I later on asked the instructor how the young man had done and to my pleasure I was told they young man had done well and in fact after doing it the first time the instructor demonstrated how to deal with his hair, which was trapped in his mask, and the young man actually did a second mask removal and replacement without a problem. I am looking forward to my next opportunity to help with students and eventually be capable and comfortable enough to teach those interested in diving everything they need to know to safely visit that alien world that we as divers all love.