“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” - Helen Keller
It was an emotional roller coaster ride throughout the entire extended edition of Gen & Leo's SSI Instructor Training Course but it was worth it in the end as they are now SSI Open Water Dive Instructors! SSI Instructor Certifier Chris Lee headed the 2 day examinations to ensure that despite their nervousness, these two can move forward in becoming certified Super Safe Instructors! Celebrations were short lived as they had to fly out back to Manila on the same night, but they will return to further expand their training repertoire by taking Specialty Instructor levels on a myriad of other courses for the benefit of future students.
The 2 day evaluation starts with an orientation from Instructor Examiner Chris Lee where candidates pick from a stack of assignments to find out which academic presentations and skills they will need to demonstrate. This gives them enough time for the following day's Academic and Open Water Presentations to cross all t's and dot all i's for smooth presentations (provided stress and anxiety don't get in the way). A written exam is then administered where the candidates are expected to know the standards and basic topics from all the courses they will eventually teach (Enriched Air, Perfect Buoyancy, Stress & Rescue, Dive Guide, Teaching Techniques) followed by the Pool/Confined water presentations where they are evaluated on their demonstrations, their ability to catch any mistakes and safety. A perfect evaluation but with a score in the red box for safety is an automatic fail as SSI wants Super Safe Instructors who will adhere to our tenet of producing safe and autonomous divers.
Part of the evaluation is how comprehensive the candidates present the assigned topics with points for accuracy and safe diving practices among other things. The photo on the right shows Instructor Trainer Analynne Sison teaching candidates on day 1 how to teach proper organization of equipment before assembly as part of their skills evaluation.
Another part of the Instructor Evaluation is how the candidates can handle students in an actual open water (ocean) scenario. During this time, we had a slight current which provided our candidates some extra challenges in terms of positioning to maintain "student" safety. They are also evaluated on how quick they can catch assigned student mistakes and how they can organize the class and use their assistant.
At the end of the day, they achieved their goal through blood (non-injury related), sweat (from anxiety) and tears (of joy) to become SSI Open Water Instructors! Thanks to the efforts of: (from left to right) - SSI Instructor Certifier Chris Lee, SSI Assistant Instructor Trainer Reginald Reyes, Candidate Leo, Candidate Gen, and SSI Instructor Trainer Analynne Sison.
Plus the excellent staff who provided them food, lots of water and a shoulder to cry on.
From left to right: Fe (F&B Shift Supervisor), Fernan (Bar), and Thong (SSI Instructor/Dive Shop Manager)
If you're interested in taking the Instructor Training Course, please contact us at srdr.fo@gmail.com or send us a message through Facebook Messenger to see what our schedule is or we can arrange a schedule for you at your convenience.
