Re: Certification

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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board

Re: Certification

Posted By: Lee
Date: Sunday, 10 December 2000, at 11:59 p.m.

In Response To: Re: Certification (Greg Stamer)

I would
: hate to see it as a requirement for instruction, however.
Hi Greg, I could see a school, county park, or any other business requiring the use of certified instructors for some kinds of instruction as their insurance may require it. At the same time paddling clubs are one of the best resources for getting instruction for free from knowlegable paddlers, and the best part about it is that the people that teach well will naturally be refered to by other members. In my opinion certification is about $ and liability AND an indicator of passing a particular curriculum but isn't meant to be a marker of alpha status like winning a race.
I don't
: subscribe to the "do it our way or you don't pass" philosophy.
: While I understand why this is done and believe that it can certainly
: produce competence, I do think that it can stifle excellence and growth by
: not fully embracing suitable personal variation. The strength of an
: organized program is that the roadmap is laid out for you. Without such a
: program, you need to be very critical of your skills and training to
: ensure that you have "covered all the bases". This is a lot of
: work, and sometimes leads to confusion, which may be why many folks choose
: a more defined path of instruction.
I could misunderstanding your intent but if you take a course that says what it takes to pass then you are making an agreement to participate. If the course doesn't have the flexibility to accomodate your "personal variations" then save it for when you are out of that context. I'd be curious to know what you are refering to. As far as the road map metaphor goes, I use maps if I have to get somewhere on time but the terrain is where reality is, I found for teaching that my life skills of exploring solo did not provide for a good foundation in teaching and I would be subjecting paying customers to my learning experience as a teacher without the benefit of learning others experience in teaching.
: With or without certification, learn all that you possibly can. The ocean
: really doesn't care how many "stars" you have been awarded or
: how many documents hang on your wall. When she tests you either you have
: the skills or you don't....
Without a doubt, but doing and teaching are different. An instructor may model a particular technique flawlessly, a do-as-I-do type of teaching which will do well for a student that likes to observe or mimic. But some students might benefit with the kind of feedback whereby the instructor identifies where the student may not be able to "just do this, and uh, this".
I think a person can be an excellent teacher without an organized program of instruction but that seems to me to be a rare person. Most excellent teachers that I've met make use of what has been laid down by others. At the last ICE/ICW there was a fellow that had only basic paddling skills but his experience in teaching other fields made it possible for him to teach basic paddling skills clearly in a fun and engaging manner. He couldn't roll and knew few rescues, but his ability to teach was years beyond me. We got the same level of instruction then, Flatwater Sea Kayaking. Which on one hand was humiliating because I was years beyond him in paddling skill. But the course was about teaching basic skills and my teaching wasn't up to par.