Friday Fun Dive: The Importance of Purpose

When I teach an Open Water SCUBA class, my purpose is to create a safe diver who had fun and will continue to dive. When I teach an Advanced Open Water SCUBA class, my purpose is to further educate my divers in a controlled environment while showing them some of the many options for types of diving available. When I teach Rescue Diver, my purpose is to make my students hate me because I drive them hard, but at the end of the certification, they appreciate the lessons learned.

For every class we teach, we have a greater purpose than just issuing a certification. The teaching methods may change slightly, the types of language (verbal and non-verbal) may change and the overall tone is different.

Below is a fun example combining the opening music from Baywatch with clips from Lost (an addiction of mine). For those who haven’t seen, Lost is a serious show with a lot of mystery. Baywatch is…well, Baywatch. When we take just the music from the cheesy “fun” show and apply it creatively to a mysterious, serious show, everything changes.

Before you teach your next SCUBA class, consider what message you’re trying to convey. Are you doing it?

By not understanding the purpose of your classes, you could be training your students inadequately for the tasks at hand. Realizing the subtle changes can impact the quality of your divers will help you train more effectively. Teach in a way that reflects the purpose of your classes.

Photo via hawaii