Mandatory swim instruction . . . effective, fair?

I believe that Melon Dash, founder of the Miracle Swimming Institute and creator of a revolutionary new method of instruction for fearful nonswimmers, defined it best in her book, Conquer Your Fear of Water (AuthorHouse, 2006). She maintains that swimming is not merely learning mechanics but being in control. Swimming, she says, is not learning strokes even done with fear, nor is it getting from point to point in the water while being unable stop in the middle. It is, rather, learning to be in control, to not panic in water, shallow or deep. That is what I mean by saying that the definition of swimming is to be or move in water, especially deep water, with confidence and ease. That is the essential ingredient one must have before learning swimming mechanics. If you don't have that, you cannot learn to swim. If you do you have it, you cannot fail to learn, she says. According to polling data, 46 percent of adult Americans are afraid of deep water in pools, 64 percent are afraid of deep open water, and 39 per cent are afraid to put their heads under water. Recently, it has been reported that many people overestimate their actual swimming ability. They think they are safer than they really are. Since many or most adults have had swimming instruction in the past, I feel there is something clearly wrong with our method of swimming instruction. Those people who already have a sense of control in water learn to swim. Those who don't have it won't. The object of swimming instruction should be to prevent panic in all situations. I do not believe mandatory swimming classes necessarily teach this. Millions of adults say they've had swimming instruction but are still afraid of water. Please check out the websites I have cited in my initial posting if you have not already done so and see if the adult swimming students you see can swim by the definition I have given above. You can get through a forced learning situation like that, believe that you have acquired basic swimming skills needed to pass a test, and yet know deep down that you are not safe in the water. Can a student, for example, who has never been near the water before, get through a swim class, receive a passing grade, never gets in the water again, does not learn to like swimming, and thus never reinforces the skills he has learned, be considered water-safe? When you think about it, all this makes a lot of sense. It seems to me to be intuitively true. I also think that more must be done to prevent the approximately 3500 drowning deaths and the 20,000 to 30,000 incidents of near-drowning that occur each year in the US, most of which are preventable. That even more such incidents do not occur could be because so many people are simply too afraid to get near the water, and so avoid being in it. Could doing what I have said above be a part of the solution? That is really the bottom line, so far as I am concerned. What do you think?

I believe that Melon Dash, founder of the Miracle Swimming Institute and creator of a revolutionary new method of instruction for fearful nonswimmers, defined it best in her book, Conquer Your Fear of Water (AuthorHouse, 2006). She maintains that swimming is not merely learning mechanics but being in control. Swimming, she says, is not learning strokes even done with fear, nor is it getting from point to point in the water while being unable stop in the middle. It is, rather, learning to be in control, to not panic in water, shallow or deep. That is what I mean by saying that the definition of swimming is to be or move in water, especially deep water, with confidence and ease. That is the essential ingredient one must have before learning swimming mechanics. If you don't have that, you cannot learn to swim. If you do you have it, you cannot fail to learn, she says. According to polling data, 46 percent of adult Americans are afraid of deep water in pools, 64 percent are afraid of deep open water, and 39 per cent are afraid to put their heads under water. Recently, it has been reported that many people overestimate their actual swimming ability. They think they are safer than they really are. Since many or most adults have had swimming instruction in the past, I feel there is something clearly wrong with our method of swimming instruction. Those people who already have a sense of control in water learn to swim. Those who don't have it won't. The object of swimming instruction should be to prevent panic in all situations. I do not believe mandatory swimming classes necessarily teach this. Millions of adults say they've had swimming instruction but are still afraid of water. Please check out the websites I have cited in my initial posting if you have not already done so and see if the adult swimming students you see can swim by the definition I have given above. You can get through a forced learning situation like that, believe that you have acquired basic swimming skills needed to pass a test, and yet know deep down that you are not safe in the water. Can a student, for example, who has never been near the water before, get through a swim class, receive a passing grade, never gets in the water again, does not learn to like swimming, and thus never reinforces the skills he has learned, be considered water-safe? When you think about it, all this makes a lot of sense. It seems to me to be intuitively true. I also think that more must be done to prevent the approximately 3500 drowning deaths and the 20,000 to 30,000 incidents of near-drowning that occur each year in the US, most of which are preventable. That even more such incidents do not occur could be because so many people are simply too afraid to get near the water, and so avoid being in it. Could doing what I have said above be a part of the solution? That is really the bottom line, so far as I am concerned. What do you think?