Mandatory swim instruction . . . effective, fair?

My college also used to have a swim test but got rid of it during the 50's. I can't verify this for sure, but the commonly cited reason is that the Americans with Disabilities Act made it illegal. Obviously that can't be completely true since some schools still have it, but most people note the swim test's demise as due to a combination of the ADA and liability concerns. I personally have no objection to mandating a swim test, as a matter of fact I think I would be a good requirement ideally, but it may not be a practical or easy thing for colleges to implement.

I don't have any stats on the subject, but I would not think that drowning among college age + adults is that major of an issue. Most people who are adults (and can't swim) will stay away from water or only go in shallow water that they can stand in. I know there are cases (such as rip tides, boat sinking's,) that happen and can lead to drowning - but are they all that common?

I know there are cases (such as rip tides, boat sinking's,) that happen and can lead to drowning - but are they all that common? How common do they need to be? Swimming instruction saves lives. Case closed in my book.

I think requiring beginners to jump in the pool and swim fully clothed is a fantastic idea. It is in fact required by John Lennon in his weekend SOAP workshops for fearful adults. After learning basic relaxation techniques, etc., it is necessary to find out what it is like to be in the water clothed--it is harder to swim and might induce panic more readily than when wearing only a swim suit. I mean, how likely is it to find yourself unexpectedly in water over your head while clad only in a swimsuit? Think about capsizing boats, falling off piers, driving into rivers, and the like. The aim should be to make everybody water-safe. Besides, it does seem like a darn lot of fun to me. As for the idea that an adult doesn't need to know how to swim, Melon Dash disposes of that in her book. You may never intend to go near the water, but how can you be sure that in the future you could find yourself in a situation where swimming skills would be critical? At any rate, you could argue both ways whether mandatory swim tests/lessons are a good thing. Still, it seems certain that many adults do not have enough water confidence for safety, especially while engagaing in aquatic activities. What a wonderful way to introduce sedentary adults to a fun new fitness-promoting activity! We do need to promote swim instruction more to black people, whose whole cultural experience seems to promote a disinclination to be in the water. I do not believe in the ridiculous idea held by some that black people are less genetically capable than others of learning to swim. There is no evidence for this belief. The human nervous system and general anatomy are no different regarding swimming in people of African ancestry than in any other group of humans, so far as I can see. But efforts should still be made to get all people, regardless of race, to be safer in the water. Perhaps the key here is to realize that, revolutionary as it may seem, virtually all human beings (except maybe the seriously disabled) can learn to swim comfortably in deep water. Melon Dash strongly maintains that. I mean, it could be purely a matter of culture. You hear of whole tribes in the South Pacific all of whose members can swim like a fish. It is extremely hard, though, for some people to learn basic swimming skills. I am not sure of all of the reasons for that. For a few individuals, jumping into deep water and swimming four lengths without stopping, using various strokes, as required at MIT, would be a monumental achievement. I myself could not do that after ten years of taking lessons. Too often, it seems we think that making people go through a course in swimming will, by itself, make someone water-safe for life. It may, or it may not. Maybe it depends on whether the person learns to like swimming, and will continue to practice it in his after-high school or college life. You can't just assume that going through such a course will make a person always and forever into some kind of water rat or Mark Spitz-type or something. Or that he'll always not to have to worry about drowning, etc. , even though he'll likely never, or seldom, get in the water again. Maybe we should make swimming instruction voluntary, at least for older teenagers or adults--that way those who choose it would at least be strongly motivated. But, then, if not compelled ,some people would undoubtedly not learn to swim and then never be safe around water. Swiiming should certainly be taught more effectively, I think, and in accord with the principles I mentioned in my earlier posting. On this most fascinating topic I would welcome more comment.

... Maybe we should make swimming instruction voluntary, at least for older teenagers or adults--that way those who choose it would at least be strongly motivated. But, then, if not compelled ,some people would undoubtedly not learn to swim and then never be safe around water... You keep coming back to this concept (first mandatory, now voluntary) of instructing teens and adults. I cannot see how anyone would disagree that this would be wonderful. There are a few issues that need to be overcome: Facilities - Whether pools or open bodies of water, one must be able to locate facilities appropriate to the purpose. Zero barrier entry is best for beginners and handicapped students, although some facilities overcome this through ladders, steps or lifts. Location/Scheduling - Relatively close access and availability (scheduling time) for facilities to people who may not have ready access to transportation and must rely on public transit schedules or shared transport. Trained, Capable Instructors - Just having lifeguards will not cut it! These folks will need excellent personal skills, tremendous patience, and appropriate training in adult swim techniques and psychology. Also, teaching/guarding skills vary between open bodies of water and pools. Funding - Many of the people who may want to learn, do not have the means to afford it. If we are relying on social programming dollars, get in line! Desire - Whether voluntary or mandatory, it's up to the individual to have the desire to learn to swim. No matter how good the instructor, or how bad the circumstance, desire is key. Just a few random thoughts on challenges, regardless of the scope/size of the program.

The college that I attended back in the 1980's, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia had a swim requirement. The high school and middle school that I attended also had a pool, and we were required to take swimming in PE class. I don't seem to see a problem with making it mandatory. I don't know why some colleges eliminated the requirement. I think students should choose a different college if they don't like the requirement. It was more that just passing a test. We practiced skills and even got to play water polo. Since I was on the swim team growing up until I was 12, the requirement wasn't a problem for me. However, I remember some of my friends complaining about the requirement.

Concerning reasons why colleges dropped the swimming requirement for graduation, a little research yielded the following: As recently as 1977, 42 per cent of institutions had a swimming requirement of some kind, according to Larry Hensley of the University of Northern Iowa. Mr. Hensley has studied the history of physical education. By 1982 that figure had dropped to 8 per cent. Surveys since no longer bothered to ask about the swimming requirement. The causes can be traced to changes in society and in the world of education over the last fifty years. At one time swimming was a popular option when there were no health clubs, yoga or aerobics, and colleges believed swimming was a skill adults should master--both for safety and for social reasons. Swimming has lost its importance in physical education due to the fadiing of the idea of education as finishing school and to the appearance of many other fitness options. Melon Dash, a former college swimming instructor, believes that the elimination of the swimming requirement was due to the lack of a successful swimming program for afraid students. Many students were not succeeding in required swimming classes. Requiring swimming competence was a well-intentioned idea, but there was no program in place to back up these requirements for beginning students to succeed. Usually there wasn't, and students didn't receive the benefit of the requirement. Witness the unpopularity of required swimming tests among college students. With colleges now requiring so many different things for students to achieve, e.g. diversity, experiental education, being able to apply what you have learned, focusing on the single skill of swimming just didn't fit.

Many schools opt out of PE & swimming to take Life skills classes. So they fall in the water & drown with a PHD???

Orca1946: You must be referring to the last sentence of my posting. Except for the comment by Melon Dash, all the statements I gave were near-verbatim quotes from an AP story appearing in my local newspaper, dated May 5, 2006, by the AP Education Writer Justin Pope: "Most colleges drown swim test requirement for graduation". The article reported that some opposed dropping the requirement. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where the swimming requirement was dropped recently, long-time swim instructor Meg Pomerantz, who teaches swim classes for students who need them to pass the test, lobbied unsuccessfully against dropping the requirement. She was quoted as saying that, in her 16 years at UNC she never had a student who said anything other than "I'm really glad I learned how to do this". The article began by saying that, of those students who were waiting to take the final swim test to be required at UNC, for some, it ws a minor inconvenience, while for others it was a moment of pride in conquering their fear of water. At the university, said Meg Pomerantz, the faculty "looked at all the different things they wanted students to achieve--diversity, expierential education, being able to apply what you learn." Focusing on the the single skill of swimming just didn't fit, though she feels that it's still worthwhile. I feel that the larger social/educational issues I mentioned in my last post were probably the deciding factor. Only about eight schools still have the requirement, plus the service academies. The holdouts include Columbia, Cornell, MIT, and Notre Dame. We muist also consider Melon Dash's views on the matter