Sunday 4 March 2012

Robert

Oooh today has been a good day. I've been teaching. Originally I thought I was teaching a rather large chap on a course called 'Peak Performance Buoyancy'. PPB is all about being streamlined in the water - getting your weighting correct and being able to control your position in the blue by using just your lungs. If you can get your buoyancy right...you will never damage coral...use less air per dive..and just be a better diver. It's a great course. Sadly Fatboy didn't turn up...but Robert did. Let me tell you about Robert. Robert is 24 years old - but Robert has learning difficulties and has a learning age of 10. He struggles to read and write. He can get agitated if things don't go right first time. Frustration can get the better of him. But I like Robert. He's kind and gentle, respectful, has lovely manners, and a great sunny disposition. I taught Robert on his dry suit course just before Christmas and apparently he likes and trusts me.

He asked for me specially when he booked (with his Dad's help) his PPB course. He is an absolute pleasure to teach. He wants to learn and he wants to please. The academic parts of the course take a little longer...and I have to explain every question to him in simpler language than is written in the manual...but he understands...and he's always done his study before he comes to the dive centre (I wish all the students did that).

Today's dives went well - Robert is good in the water - and the look of sheer joy when we finished the dive and I told him he had passed the course was the very reason I started doing this job.

Robert is an un-complicated young man. He wants to dive. He wants to dive well. And it was absolutely my honour and pleasure to teach him today.

That is why I love what I do.

1 comment:

  1. Yes! This is exactly what teaching means to me as well- helping someone to overcome difficulties and lead them to learn. Google reader hasn't been updating, stupidly; so glad I came to check today whether you'd written anything new! x

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