The score on 2 years of giving beginners instruction: - 10 nice, playful, enthousiastic students - 5 people who refuse to practice anything - An autistic girl who wants to paddle whitewater - A guy with a kind of brain damage that "shuts down" his brain every once in a while, leaving him unconcious for a minute or so - A guy with fragile bones. He can't walk, and will probably break several bones in a flat water capsise - A girl that just wants to learn to roll, but has a phobia for fish - Some people for whom practicing a capsize is out of the question - A guy that lost his sense of balance in a car accident. He can't ride a bicycle any more, but is confident he can learn to paddle - A lady that refuses to use her paddle. She seems to think the boat should move by itself. To some of these people I've been nice and helpful. To some I've suggested additional safety gear. To some I've been blunt or rude, just to get them to leave my group. One of them I've actually refused. I hated to do that, it kept spinning around in my mind for a couple of days. I refuse people when paddling is a direct danger to their lives. Although I grant everybody the right to die, I do not want them to die during my instruction sessions: It would ruin my day. There must be other instructors around, struggling with the same problem: Not only dangerous students, but also people that don't seem to want to learn, or that you just dislike. I'd like to hear how other people handle that. Does anybody use a medical check? A questionary? A practical test? Ever told anybody "Do yourself a favor, join a chess club"? Niels. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Niels, I think you should get a prize for having had some of the weirdest students. Steve Holtzman Southern CA ----- Original Message ----- From: Niels Blaauw The score on 2 years of giving beginners instruction: - 10 nice, playful, enthousiastic students - 5 people who refuse to practice anything - An autistic girl who wants to paddle whitewater - A guy with a kind of brain damage that "shuts down" his brain every once in a while, leaving him unconcious for a minute or so - A guy with fragile bones. He can't walk, and will probably break several bones in a flat water capsise - A girl that just wants to learn to roll, but has a phobia for fish - Some people for whom practicing a capsize is out of the question - A guy that lost his sense of balance in a car accident. He can't ride a bicycle any more, but is confident he can learn to paddle - A lady that refuses to use her paddle. She seems to think the boat should move by itself. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Niels Blaauw wrote about some dandy students: > There must be other instructors around, struggling with the same > problem: Not only dangerous students, but also people that don't seem to > want to learn, or that you just dislike. I'd like to hear how other > people handle that. Does anybody use a medical check? A questionary? A > practical test? Ever told anybody "Do yourself a favor, join a chess > club"? With my club ww canoeing program I remember a woman who wanted to get into ww open canoeing, but who couldn't put her head underwater to swim under a line of canoes moored across a pool. After several tries she got out of the pool and went home. GaryJ -- +--------------------------------+ | /"\ | | \ / | | X ASCII RIBBON CAMPAIGN | | / \ AGAINST HTML MAIL & NEWS | +--------------------------------+ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> - 5 people who refuse to practice anything Niels, interesting info. I feel for ya! My situation is that I took a few classes from the local outfitter a couple years ago, and would love to practice, but it's overly challenging to do assisted rescues solo. Nobody else ever wanted to get together outside of class to practice! And, I still haven't found anyone to practice with. I occasionally practice paddle float rescues in my in-laws pool, but not out in open water. Without a spotter, it's not practice... it really is a self rescue. Seems like an unnecessary risk unless you have a partner who can help you if you get into trouble. And, needless to say, ain't no way I'm practicing a self rescue in rough, real life, conditions without a spotter. So tell me, what good will it ever do me to be able to self rescue in a pool :-( It's like people think that if they took the class, and successfully did "it" (whatever the "it" happened to be), then they're set and no longer need to practice. Rick *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Rick, To Rick: Sorry about the blank email. I hit the wrong button. DUH. I have the same problem that you have in finding training partners. I joined a kayak club in Augusta, GA, to learn about sea kayaking. My background was in white water and mostly in canoes. Well, at the first safety get-together the club had, I found out after I arrived at the lake, that I was the in-the-water instructor. The new guy in the club! Some of those paddlers had been paddling sea kayaks for 4 or more years and had never done a wet exit. After a day of practice I thought that it was going to be great, everyone had a great time and were able to get back into their kayaks. But then, no one is willing to do any practice, except at the annual club safety get-together. So I dropped the club and am still looking for a partner. One thing I do is find a location on the lake where the wind is blowing towards the shore, with some waves and practice self rescues alone. I am careful though and rolling practice would be a lot better with a partner. Paddle like this is your last day, Ronnie *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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