No idea about ACA as I am in Europe. In my experience, getting out with other good paddlers is better than any courses, but then I did learn the basics quite a while back. Most instructors in the UK seem to want a (teaching) qualification to prove they were good. Most good paddlers didn't need a qualification.
http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?148
No idea about ACA as I am in Europe. In my experience, getting out with other good paddlers is better than any courses, but then I did learn the basics quite a while back. Most instructors in the UK seem to want a (teaching) qualification to prove they were good. Most good paddlers didn't need a qualification.