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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It was such a waste.

For kids who already know how to swim, it was worthless.

For kids who don't know how to swim, one week was way to short to teach them.

For non-swimmers, I would rather they give free vouchers to take the Arlington co swim classes so they actually could learn how to swim.[/quote]

honestly- this is how I feel too.  I know some of the kids who don't know how to swim.  I have seen what the school swim class does.  For one child it meant that he has gone from being afraid to put his face in to being willing to put his face in.  That's great and I'm pleased he can do that.  But if he fell into deep water- he'd drown.  Getting them to the class took out a huge amount of instructional time- getting on a bus, etc.

incidentally- a couple years ago Marymount was offering free swim classes to any child who received free lunch.  I'm not sure if they still are or if anyone took them up on it.  Getting to Marymount for the classes is a challenge when you are FARMS.[/quote]

SIGH.  The point is not to teach a child how to swim in one week.  Everyone knows that's impossible.  But it IS possible to teach a child a few basic life safety techniques and very basic familiarity with the water.--and that's what these programs do, and very well I might add.  Since the program's adoption in the 1970s, no APS child has drowned.   Arlington Parks and Rec ALREADY has drastically reduced swim lessons.  Guess what?  There are not a lot of very low income kids there!  There are many, many reasons why a child doesn't have access to swim lessons--lack of parental involvement, lack of transportation, ingrained societal resistance to water.

You people in your UMC bubble--why don't you get that?  I'm sorry your kid has to suffer for a couple of weeks in the pool.  Yeesh.[/quote]

Bubble? Have you ever stopped to think about how this unit would work for a student with a disability? Spoiler alert - not well. [/quote]

Yes, actually, I have.  My neighbor was born with a hereditary muscle dystrophy and cannot jump.  He spoke very eloquently at a school board meeting about how the pool at Washington -Lee was the only exercise he was able to get in gym class and how it helped him cope in school.  So yes, the pools are important for some people with disabilities.  Now, if a child has a disability that prevents them from participating, then no one is going to make a child participate, of course.

And, BTW, my comment was to the person who thought it was oh-so-easy to just bus FARMS kids to Marymount for swimming lessons.  That is living in a bubble.

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the fact that you think you know everything about students with disabilities based on the fact that you have a neighbor with a disability is pretty laughable. APS does not offer enough appropriate support to make this unit safe for students with disabilities. The only choice is to opt out. And that's discriminatory -- because no child should be denied access this unit. But of course you have no problem with this group just being excluded. [/quote]

DP, so now this is about disabilities? Which ones? Surely not all students with disabilities are excluded? Why aren't you pushing for the appropriate supports for those students through SEPTA rather than calling for an end to the program?

P. S. Being afraid of Moobs is not a disability. 
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