It’s All About Focus
Well it seems like it was only yesterday we were celebrating the certification of new instructors, but the cycle has begun again. Actually, it began on Tuesday, just two weeks after the IE party. And while the curriculum and schedule for each IDC – Instructor Development Course – is the same, each IDC is unique thanks to the people in it.
Each time the instructor-training cycle begins anew, we at Aquanauts take some lesson or meaning away from it. That’s good, as it means even the Course Directors and Master Instructors are continuing to learn and build experience then use what they’ve learned to improve the next IDC. The fact is, we’re already turning out instructors that score at the nose-bleed level on the IE, but we’re still pushing to do even better.
The theme of this IDC may be “focus,” or, put more simply, “getting serious.” Despite the cynical comments you can read out here in the Bloigosphere or on message boards such as Scubaboard – a real haven for anonymous and unjustified PADI bashers – the PADI system has proven itself over 25 years and is the world’s safest, most-credible and overall demanding set of diving standards. Just yesterday a couple of non-PADI (YMCA and Los Angeles Country-certified) instructors were having a good yuk-it-up on Scubaboard about the PADI IDC and IE process and the standards you must meet to pass them. Of course, they’ve never actually done one. Had they, they’d know it’s tough.
The IDC (and the IE) requires not only skill and knowledge, but focus. If you come into it thinking, “I’ve done six months of diving and read the books, so I just gotta show up.” You’re dead wrong. The IDC is in many ways an intense preview of what your real diving career will be like. For example, if you show up and then do the wrong presentation in class, it just shows you haven’t paid attention to the details. Ignore the detailed stuff at 30-40 meters with a student and you could be in for real trouble.
The PADI system is built upon the premise that learning to dive should be fun. While there are spots in any IDC where humor breaks out, it’s not designed to be a fun and jovial 10 days. You don’t say to the Course Director that the reason you might need to do so-and-so skill is when you have a fish in your mouth. The IDC is about coming to class on-time, prepared with the correct lessons, following the slates, hitting all the points and making sure you’ve crossed all the t’s and dotted all the I’s. Any less and it shows you’re not serious about being a safe and quality instructor.
The flip side to this is that it’s possible to take the IDC too seriously. Day 3 of the IDC (today) is the traditional low spot when it comes to moral and self-esteem. It seems to happen every IDC that the darkest hour comes after the second day in the pool. The marks are often very low and interns are staring tomorrow in the face. Tomorrow is the last day of the Assistant Instructor potion of the IDC and if you don’t’ make passing marks in the AI, you don’t go on.
Today was no different with many interns coming face-to-face with their demons. But what can happen is that you can focus too much on the few failing marks and forget the fact you scored reams of 4s and 5s elsewhere. As instructor trainers, we know they’ll get better and get better quickly. Some of them don’t. The trick is not to focus too much on the negative. Acknowledge it, yes. Consider it constructive criticism and fix it. But don’t let it distract you so much you botch the things you normally do well.
It’s all about having the correct focus.