The most rewarding journeys start with a single step. For husband and wife resort owners from Anilao, Leo and Gen, their SSI Instructor Training Course has proven to be their Mt. Everest as they experienced exactly the inspirational boost they both needed to step out of their comfort zone.
The course conducted by Silver Reef Dive Resort's resident Instructor Trainer Analynne Sison, teaches them how to maximize the SSI system and provides them with all the materials needed to conduct safe and comprehensive programs for their future students. Skills videos, Presentation Enhancement Guides (available in PDF and Powerpoint), Instructor Manuals for courses they will be allowed to teach and other teaching aides, all help in producing safe and autonomous divers ready to explore the ocean blue!
On the left, Leo and Gen are evaluated on how they teach a subject from the Open Water Manual.
Resort dogs Scoot and Fin, plus our neighbour's dog, Cherry, provide much needed emotional support to our candidates during particularly stressful days in their pursuit of embodying SSI's high standards of teaching
For candidates learning how to teach in the water for the first time, new skills for how to demonstrate in a slow and exaggerated manner are taught in the pool in a stationary position to ensure focus is on the movements. Instructor Trainer Ana is pointing to Gen to where she must be to see the upcoming demonstration.
This extended edition of an otherwise 12 day course was tailor fit for the candidates' needs, goals and expectations in wanting to improve themselves to improve the quality of divers who will pass through their doors. Since they are resort owners, they've seen and felt a need to bring back passion for the sport in their area that is the default diving destination for residents of Metro Manila. With all the things that had to be learned, re-learned and unlearned, Silver Reef's Berry Energy provided just the right boost for all these activities.
The fully digital learning materials were somewhat of a challenge for them, so here is Leo taking a literal screenshot of a page from the online version of his manual while having the mySSI app open on his tablet showing the Recreational Training Standards. Needless to say, we were having fun both teaching and learning the new technology! The mySSI system is continuously being updated with new information, new user interfaces and new multi media based on real time feedback from instructors and students around the world and updates are free as we are focused on giving our digital learning real world diving updates.
With the candidates having to be able to teach courses from: Snorkel Diver, SSI Explorers, Try Scuba, Basic Diver, Open Water Diver, Enriched Air 32, Enriched Air 40, Perfect Buoyancy, Experienced Diver Test, Scuba Skills Update, Dive Guide and Diver Stress and Rescue at the end of the Instructor Training Course, it is indeed an intensive endeavour and the ultimate show of perseverance in order to be able to teach a myriad of people of different ages from all walks of life. They will live the SSI Training Philosophy of comfort through repetition with end goal of producing safe and autonomous divers. So let's give Gen and Leo all our best wishes and we'll see them in the water as SSI Professionals after their Instructor Evaluation!
