PADI IDC - Two days in…
The first two days of my PADI IDC are now a thing of the past, and I have to say they’ve been pretty pleasing so far. There is a lot to learn, and the quality level required is very high, but it’s been challenging rather than overwhelming. Who knows what the next 11 days will bring, but I’m hoping they will be as successful as these first two.
Yesterday was an introduction to the IDC and the PADI system. A lot of it was general PADI marketing stuff, but it’s things that we’ll need to know if we’re going to be successful in the dive industry. Being a skilled instructor is one thing, but if nobody comes to you and you can’t sell your courses, then you’re not going to be a successful one. These first few days have got me thinking about the kind of company that I’d like to join. The one great thing about the military diving shops in Okinawa is that they (and their instructors) don’t overly push their continuing education courses onto the dive students. I’ve never worked in sales and don’t fancy the prospect of doing it too much, but I’m probably going to have to if I want to maximise the chances of being employed. Not sure if Thailand is the place for me though. It seems a nice place, the food is good and the prices are cheap, but there’s something about it that I can’t put my finger on. Maybe when I get out diving in some better conditions my opinion will change, or maybe it’s just that I feel such a strong connection to Okinawa and life there… But that’s all a long way ahead of me; I’ve got presentations, demonstrations and exams to pass before I can think about getting employed as a dive instructor.
Today I had my first knowledge development presentation and first confined water presentation. They went pretty well, with my getting 4.8 out of 5 on both presentations. I’m always the perfectionist though and was kicking myself over the points I’d missed, as they were simple things and could have got me full marks. But I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much. I’ve got 2 more presentations tomorrow (knowledge development - Decompression Sickness; confined water - Alternate Air Source - Stationary), and I’m not going to be satisfied with less than full marks. My knowledge development presentation today was on Comfortable Descents, and I really enjoyed it. I was nervous beforehand, but once I was stood up, it felt like I was back at Koyo giving a class to my kids. I felt like I was in charge of the classroom; I used visual aids and references to real-life events and places; and I covered all of the information I needed to. The only thing I missed out was not stating the key points in my summary exactly how they were stated on the lesson slides. It was a silly mistake and one I shouldn’t be making. But it was my only significant mistake so I was relatively satisfied.
My skill for this afternoon was a mask partial-flood and clear. I was a little nervous about this one, as I’m not a huge fan of the mask flooding skills. The briefing of the skill went well, as did the demonstration on the surface. When I did the skill demo underwater I didn’t fill my mask with enough water though, which could have had me marked down severely. A very silly mistake on my part, but now it’s a mistake that I will make sure I don’t repeat. The mistake that I was marked down on was during my evaluation of the other students. My presentation was last, and in all of the previous presentations the first student evaluated had been given a problem. Therefore I was expecting a problem that I’d have to notice and correct. Guess what - no problem with the first student. I spent almost a minute looking at this guy, racking my brain trying to work out what he’d done wrong, before I gave him the OK. My Course Director saw this and rightly marked me down. But this is what the IDC is about - making your mistakes so that you can learn for them and so that the IE can be perfect, or as close as you can make it.
The other guys in the course had a relatively good day too. The guy who I get on really well with is doing well with his presentations and seems on the ball with things. He does have very strong views about another student though, which I reckon he should calm down a little. This other guy is doing his IDC and IE for the second time, after failing the first. But to be honest he doesn’t seem to be putting too much effort into his presentations and skills. He’s only coming to the workshops that he needs to come to, and seems to be having major problemsbut not having the motivation to sort them out. I don’t know about him, but if I failed my IE, then I would make sure there was no way I’d get anything less than perfect marks the second time around. I’d be the first to arrive and the last to leave, but he seems to be doing the polar opposite. Our Course Director gave him a bit of a lecture after his disasterous confined water presentation and I really hope that he takes it on board and turns up tomorrow with an attitude that he’s going to do the best possible. I want everyone on the IDC to pass their instructor exams and think everyone has the ability to do so.
So tomorrow I’ve got presentations on Decompression Sickness and Alternate Air Source use. I’ve finished preparing the DCS one and just have to practise it tonight. Then I’ve got to do work on the AAS presentation. So I’ll be heading off and will thank you for reading this entry. Take care and dive safely.
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