We start the second day of our CPO class with the homework review. Did somebody say, “Homework? Ugh!” Well, yes, it IS school — AND there is HOMEWORK!–sorry….you’ve got to practice those math problems to do well on the exam–it’s a fact!
After the homework review, we spend some time online showing the students the National Swimming Pool Foundation’s website.
We also introduce our website (this site) and point out the navigation tab above “CPO Corner” and the sub-menu there, called “CPO Class Handouts,”. That page includes many useful resources for the students.
We stress that learning and education should be an ongoing and continual effort and activity. Passing the CPO Certification exam should not be the end of learning about operating and maintaining a swimming pool, but just the beginning. When you pass your driving exam, does that make you a good driver?–NO! You have to practice a lot and continue learning to be a really good driver. The same applies to being a Certified Pool Operator. You may pass the very challenging open book exam, but the learning should never stop! (our thanks for that analogy goes to another CPO Instructor, Rick English!)
Striving to be the best and the expert in your field helps give you credibility and respect, but it always involves staying on top of trends and ongoing education — and that takes genuine effort! So we always encourage our students to use the links in the right panel on our website as a launching pad for further education, discussion and research about aquatic facility operation, maintenance and management. It’s where we will continue to post updates as we learn more ourselves, and we hope you will find it helpful and useful.
In addition to browsing through the two websites, we also introduce the full line of educational opportunities offered by the National Swimming Pool Foundation. The Certified Pool/Spa Operator® (CPO) certification course is their flagship offering, but NSPF offers so much more:
- – Certified Pool Inspector Course
- – Aquatic Energy Audit class
- – Aquatic Management Series of classes
- – Home Essentials Class, geared to homeowners
- – just to name a few.
They also offer a line of Compliance Training Classes for the Department of Transportation and HAZMAT, Electrical Safety Work Practices and Standards (NFPA 70E) and more.
___________________________________________________________
Thank you’s to “Dave-O” and crew at PoolCorp’s San Diego SCP store for your hospitality this past Thursday and Friday, October 27-28, during our CPO class. — We’ll see you again next year in January!