It is horrible -- and way too common. There have been at least 2 drownings of kids in NY this summer that made the news. There are a lot of reasons why city and minority kids don't learn to swim but they all add up to potential tragedy. Kids who learn to swim early also learn to respect their limits, I think. That's why these stories (like the 12 year old girl on a school trip caught in a rip current off of long beach this June) are almost always kids who can't swim at all.
I have been involved with a few drowning and near drowning cases (way too many for me) and every story like this always hurts.
Here's another story about someone trying to make a difference
cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/.../
It is horrible -- and way too common. There have been at least 2 drownings of kids in NY this summer that made the news. There are a lot of reasons why city and minority kids don't learn to swim but they all add up to potential tragedy. Kids who learn to swim early also learn to respect their limits, I think. That's why these stories (like the 12 year old girl on a school trip caught in a rip current off of long beach this June) are almost always kids who can't swim at all.
I have been involved with a few drowning and near drowning cases (way too many for me) and every story like this always hurts.
Here's another story about someone trying to make a difference
cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/.../
