Should swimming instruction be mandatory as part of physical education/gym classes in public schools?
The idea for this question arose from a comment made by someone else last week in another thread that had gone off topic, and was reinforced for me personally this past weekend when the 9-year old nephew (non-swimmer) of a close friend of mine nearly drowned (but for his observant and fast acting uncle) and again this morning with tragic news reported in a local newspaper of the drowning of a child in a neighbor’s back yard pool.
I believe there was a time when swimming instruction was fairly common in PE in public schools. Although there was no swimming instruction as part of gym classes when I was in school, we had a free swim (recreation, but no instruction) as part of gym class in Jr. High (a generation ago). Moreover, the university I attended required all students regardless of major to pass a very basic swimming test in order to get their bachelor's degree. That requirement went the way of the dinosaurs about the time I graduated. (I read somewhere that Harvard imposed the requirement (now abandoned, I believe) after one of its students (Widener, for whom the library is named) drowned when the Titanic sank). I am not aware of any colleges that require this today, and I haven’t heard of any local school districts (at least in the metropolitan Boston area) that require students to learn to swim. (I think a few of the more affluent Massachusetts towns that have pools may offer swimming, but as an elective only).
So, what do you think? Does your school district offer or require swimming instruction today? Should it be required? (The utopian/libertarian side of me recoils at the thought of mandating anything, but the pragmatic/utilitarian side often prevails). I imagine the cost of constructing pools would be the major issue, but with all the money that gets wasted on everything else it would not be out of the realm of possibilities if the will were there.
Thinking back on of all time wasted on the marginally useful activities they had us do in PE/gym class in school, the idea seems even more attractive. Teaching swimming would be an opportunity to teach something really, really useful--not only something that could be life-saving, but that could also provide a life time of healthy activity. (I'm reminded of Paul Simon's lyrics (dating myself): "When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can even think at all.").
Parents
Former Member
I've long been thinking about this topic. I don't know whether I favor mandatory swimming classes in high school. All three comprehensive high schools in my city in Wisconsin require learning to swim. Students have to receive a passing grade in at least one swimming unit in PE in order to graduate. I believe many other high schools in Wisconsin, at least in the larger towns, require it as well, a situation probably comparable to that in prevailing in other states also. The state doesn't require it, leaving it up to the local districts to decide.
School districts are hard-pressed financially and some have eliminated swimming entirely from the curriculum. Swimming instruction in school is free and taking a required swim class in high school might be the last time a student will ever have a chance to learn to swim.
People should at least acquire enough aquatic skill to be safe in the water. Taking a swimming class need not be required to graduate but passing a mandatory swim test might be.
I worry that an aquaphobic student might be traumatized for life in a high school swim class and never like the water or learn to swim. Non-swimming children are already in the minority by the time they reach their teens, and forcing them to participate in a swimming class in front their peers could be humiliating and would add greatly to their anxiety.
The biggest problem encountered by physical educators is dealing with the great range of athletic abilities found among students. Some young people have superior aquatic ability and could qualify to be on the swim team. Most have average aquatic skills. A few have no swimming skills whatsoever and may never have been in the water. For these young people, acquiring the most basic skills can be extremely difficult. They pose special difficulties for PE teachers who may not know how to work with this population. As an aquaphobe myself who has struggled with this for years, I know how hard this can really be.
I've heard that in a local high school non-swimming students are taken from the rest of the class and taught basic swimming skills apart from the other students, although in the same pool. They learn to swim perfectly well by the end of the unit. Very fearful students can get a doctor's excuse to get out of taking the class, but I believe, in practice, few actually do.
If learning to swim is to be required, then why not offer special instruction one-on-one after school or on weekends where the student can move at his own pace with few others present and is not conscious of the scrutiny of his peers? Why not offer swimming instruction off school grounds in other facilities in the community or even in backyard pools, where students could get free lessons from an instructor certified to teach anxious students in a calm and relaxed setting? Students might be allowed several years to gain the required level of skill, if that's what it takes. After completing instruction, students could then successfully pass the swimming test required to graduate.
I'm no expert, but that's my take on it, for what it's worth.
I've long been thinking about this topic. I don't know whether I favor mandatory swimming classes in high school. All three comprehensive high schools in my city in Wisconsin require learning to swim. Students have to receive a passing grade in at least one swimming unit in PE in order to graduate. I believe many other high schools in Wisconsin, at least in the larger towns, require it as well, a situation probably comparable to that in prevailing in other states also. The state doesn't require it, leaving it up to the local districts to decide.
School districts are hard-pressed financially and some have eliminated swimming entirely from the curriculum. Swimming instruction in school is free and taking a required swim class in high school might be the last time a student will ever have a chance to learn to swim.
People should at least acquire enough aquatic skill to be safe in the water. Taking a swimming class need not be required to graduate but passing a mandatory swim test might be.
I worry that an aquaphobic student might be traumatized for life in a high school swim class and never like the water or learn to swim. Non-swimming children are already in the minority by the time they reach their teens, and forcing them to participate in a swimming class in front their peers could be humiliating and would add greatly to their anxiety.
The biggest problem encountered by physical educators is dealing with the great range of athletic abilities found among students. Some young people have superior aquatic ability and could qualify to be on the swim team. Most have average aquatic skills. A few have no swimming skills whatsoever and may never have been in the water. For these young people, acquiring the most basic skills can be extremely difficult. They pose special difficulties for PE teachers who may not know how to work with this population. As an aquaphobe myself who has struggled with this for years, I know how hard this can really be.
I've heard that in a local high school non-swimming students are taken from the rest of the class and taught basic swimming skills apart from the other students, although in the same pool. They learn to swim perfectly well by the end of the unit. Very fearful students can get a doctor's excuse to get out of taking the class, but I believe, in practice, few actually do.
If learning to swim is to be required, then why not offer special instruction one-on-one after school or on weekends where the student can move at his own pace with few others present and is not conscious of the scrutiny of his peers? Why not offer swimming instruction off school grounds in other facilities in the community or even in backyard pools, where students could get free lessons from an instructor certified to teach anxious students in a calm and relaxed setting? Students might be allowed several years to gain the required level of skill, if that's what it takes. After completing instruction, students could then successfully pass the swimming test required to graduate.
I'm no expert, but that's my take on it, for what it's worth.
