When I ask people what motivates them as educators, I normally hear how they enjoy "lighting a fire within" or "changing a life." But not me. Don't get me wrong; I, too, find it highly rewarding when I witness a light going on in a student's mind, or when one tells me how much being in my class has meant to them. Yet this never seemed enough to explain why I became, and remain, an Instructor. Then, last night, the rather simple answer came to me: Few things are more important and enjoyable to me than learning, and teaching is the way that I learn.

Fortunately, I picked the absolute best subject in the world to teach. For example, had I become a golf instructor, I'd have taught nothing but golf. But scuba diving is very different, as many of my students have remarked. One of the most consistent comments I hear from students is that "they never imagined they'd learn so much about so many different subjects." Of course, they enter the class eager to learn a new sport, and assume they'll be taught how to assemble the intricate equipment and acquire the skills needed to survive underwater. Yet, by the end of the course, they discover they've learned a great deal more than just how to dive.

In becoming competent divers they explored subjects that under many circumstances would have sent them running from the classroom; topics such as physics, physiology and oceanography. Moreover, if they remain a diver and travel to different countries and experience new cultures, they'll continue that educational journey into the realms of geography, anthropology and history. Clearly, a scuba course, and the life of a diver, is much more than most people initially think it's going to be.

This opportunity to learn such an amazing array of subjects is exactly why I teach, and is why I can say it's never been boring. Too often people assume that learning is something that ends with a graduation ceremony. In reality, it continues until the day you die. But only a lucky few ever come to truly understand and embrace the idea that learning is a lifelong process, one in which the reward is the journey rather than the destination.

And there's no better way of realizing what that journey has to offer than becoming a diver.

And you thought you were only earning a C-card.

That is so great that you feel like that about what you do... It is rare to see people who enjoy what they do on a daily basis...

Lucky man

Inspiring pieve of writing. If I had the cash, I would continue with my diving and try and become an instructor too, but alas, no job = no money.

One day, when I have money, I will devote all holidays to diving.

I have my final open water this saturday, I passed my theory exam last week sat Im so exited