Anonymous
03/20/2025 14:28
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.
This is a horrible take. For many kids, this is the time they learn basic water safety. They flag kids who can't swim and help connect their parents with free/cheap swim lessons. It's incredibly valuable because water safter CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.
Anonymous
03/20/2025 13:58
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:I think that's aspirational.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:4000 people drown in the US every year, and more than half of all adults have never taken a swim lesson. I think it is very reasonable to teach students this lifelong skill that can save their lives.
These classes are not teaching kids to swim. It's not close to enough time or exposure. The kids would probably still drown if they tried to swim in the Potomac or even if they fell in a swimming pool and someone wasn't right there.
The classes get weak swimmers to where they won’t drown in most cases, and complete novices on the road to safety at a minimum. It’s five consecutive days of an hour in the pool.
Well, I’m not a swimming instructor, but I am an APS teacher who goes with their students and/or picks them up for each day of swimming each year. I’ve had a lot of conversations with students and have gotten significant parent feedback about the program, but ok.
Anonymous
03/19/2025 17:30
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
I think that's aspirational.Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:4000 people drown in the US every year, and more than half of all adults have never taken a swim lesson. I think it is very reasonable to teach students this lifelong skill that can save their lives.
These classes are not teaching kids to swim. It's not close to enough time or exposure. The kids would probably still drown if they tried to swim in the Potomac or even if they fell in a swimming pool and someone wasn't right there.
The classes get weak swimmers to where they won’t drown in most cases, and complete novices on the road to safety at a minimum. It’s five consecutive days of an hour in the pool.
Anonymous
03/19/2025 16:41
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:4000 people drown in the US every year, and more than half of all adults have never taken a swim lesson. I think it is very reasonable to teach students this lifelong skill that can save their lives.
These classes are not teaching kids to swim. It's not close to enough time or exposure. The kids would probably still drown if they tried to swim in the Potomac or even if they fell in a swimming pool and someone wasn't right there.
The classes get weak swimmers to where they won’t drown in most cases, and complete novices on the road to safety at a minimum. It’s five consecutive days of an hour in the pool.
Anonymous
03/19/2025 16:18
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:4000 people drown in the US every year, and more than half of all adults have never taken a swim lesson. I think it is very reasonable to teach students this lifelong skill that can save their lives.
These classes are not teaching kids to swim. It's not close to enough time or exposure. The kids would probably still drown if they tried to swim in the Potomac or even if they fell in a swimming pool and someone wasn't right there.
Anonymous
03/19/2025 14:37
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
4000 people drown in the US every year, and more than half of all adults have never taken a swim lesson. I think it is very reasonable to teach students this lifelong skill that can save their lives.
Anonymous
03/19/2025 14:28
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.
It’s not swimming lessons like freestyle and backstroke. It’s water safety- like floating, treading water, survival stroke, what to do if someone falls in and is hurt or can’t swim. A lot of families don’t have access to a pool or swim lessons and water safety is important. It’s like 2 days in 3rd grade and 5 days in 4th grade. They leave in a bus right after morning meeting and return before lunch.
Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.
There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.
I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.
Really? I don't. In this area, they are much more at risk from traffic. I'd greatly prefer lessons on traffic safety/pedestrian safety. I routinely see kids put themselves in very dangerous situations and there are traffic accidents that claim the lives of our kids regularly. Where there has not been a drowning death that I know of in decades.
I wonder why…
Because we don't live on a lake or ocean?
Meanwhile, I can think of two recent tragic deaths from DUI just off the top of my head.
We are bordered by rivers, with multiple water parks nearby. People have pools in their backyards. The last place you want a kid to find out swimming is harder than it looks is in the Potomac or in the deep end of his buddy’s pool.
We can also address DUI, but kids already know drinking is illegal and drinking and driving especially so, so I’m not sure what else we need to do here. It’s not like we can teach them how to partake in an illegal activity safely. That’s a parent responsibility.
Anonymous
03/18/2025 17:01
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m fine with it being taught in elementary school, but it’s ridiculous to have it in high school. Adolescents having to get completely naked to change into bathing suits, change back into regular clothes and walk around all day with their hair wet? Not to mention being forced to wear bathing suits that shows their bodies and ways they may not want to or feel comfortable too.
On the last point, they aren’t required to wear bathing suits. They can’t wear super baggy clothing, but they can swim in leggings, long sleeve shirts, etc.
Get real
Anonymous
03/18/2025 16:52
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:I’m fine with it being taught in elementary school, but it’s ridiculous to have it in high school. Adolescents having to get completely naked to change into bathing suits, change back into regular clothes and walk around all day with their hair wet? Not to mention being forced to wear bathing suits that shows their bodies and ways they may not want to or feel comfortable too.
On the last point, they aren’t required to wear bathing suits. They can’t wear super baggy clothing, but they can swim in leggings, long sleeve shirts, etc.
Anonymous
03/18/2025 14:37
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
I’m fine with it being taught in elementary school, but it’s ridiculous to have it in high school. Adolescents having to get completely naked to change into bathing suits, change back into regular clothes and walk around all day with their hair wet? Not to mention being forced to wear bathing suits that shows their bodies and ways they may not want to or feel comfortable too.
Anonymous
03/18/2025 14:36
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.
It’s not swimming lessons like freestyle and backstroke. It’s water safety- like floating, treading water, survival stroke, what to do if someone falls in and is hurt or can’t swim. A lot of families don’t have access to a pool or swim lessons and water safety is important. It’s like 2 days in 3rd grade and 5 days in 4th grade. They leave in a bus right after morning meeting and return before lunch.
Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.
There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.
I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.
Really? I don't. In this area, they are much more at risk from traffic. I'd greatly prefer lessons on traffic safety/pedestrian safety. I routinely see kids put themselves in very dangerous situations and there are traffic accidents that claim the lives of our kids regularly. Where there has not been a drowning death that I know of in decades.
I wonder why…
Because we don't live on a lake or ocean?
Meanwhile, I can think of two recent tragic deaths from DUI just off the top of my head.
Yeah but, APS does lessons on drinking and driving all throughout high school and it’s also covered in drivers Ed and in the mandatory parent/student in person meeting that you have to attend attend before getting your drivers license.
Anonymous
03/18/2025 14:20
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
I can't believe there is debate about this.
Anonymous
03/18/2025 13:21
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.
It’s not swimming lessons like freestyle and backstroke. It’s water safety- like floating, treading water, survival stroke, what to do if someone falls in and is hurt or can’t swim. A lot of families don’t have access to a pool or swim lessons and water safety is important. It’s like 2 days in 3rd grade and 5 days in 4th grade. They leave in a bus right after morning meeting and return before lunch.
Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.
There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.
I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.
Really? I don't. In this area, they are much more at risk from traffic. I'd greatly prefer lessons on traffic safety/pedestrian safety. I routinely see kids put themselves in very dangerous situations and there are traffic accidents that claim the lives of our kids regularly. Where there has not been a drowning death that I know of in decades.
I wonder why…
Because we don't live on a lake or ocean?
Meanwhile, I can think of two recent tragic deaths from DUI just off the top of my head.
Anonymous
03/18/2025 13:18
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.
It’s not swimming lessons like freestyle and backstroke. It’s water safety- like floating, treading water, survival stroke, what to do if someone falls in and is hurt or can’t swim. A lot of families don’t have access to a pool or swim lessons and water safety is important. It’s like 2 days in 3rd grade and 5 days in 4th grade. They leave in a bus right after morning meeting and return before lunch.
+1. I helped chaperone a few times when my kids were in elementary. Day one they get a sense from a test in the shallow end of who needs help and who is clearly a swim team kid. From there they are divided up for the rest of the week. The goal is purely water safety. Poor kids, especially in south Arlington, have very little access to pools. If we can spend a couple of half days giving them basic life-saving skills, it's not like it's going to impact admission to Harvard in 5th grade.
Please don't sit in your 22207 privilege and complain. Your NVSL kid will be fine. APS institutes programs across the school system. The experience probably looks very very different for the 3rd graders at Jamestown or Discovery than it does for the kids at Carlin Springs or Randolph.
Right but those kids at CS and Randolph also have high needs in a lot of other areas. I question whether water safety should really be a priority for a school division like ours. It's not like we're a beachfront community.
Anonymous
03/18/2025 12:42
Subject: Swim class in VA schools
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It's such a waste of instructional time. They should cut it, and it would save a lot of money too.
It’s not swimming lessons like freestyle and backstroke. It’s water safety- like floating, treading water, survival stroke, what to do if someone falls in and is hurt or can’t swim. A lot of families don’t have access to a pool or swim lessons and water safety is important. It’s like 2 days in 3rd grade and 5 days in 4th grade. They leave in a bus right after morning meeting and return before lunch.
Arlington County has swim lessons and they definitely have scholarship money available for people who can’t afford it.
There are a lot of obstacles other than cost to signing up for classes outside of school. Signed, disabled mom who works full time.
I think water safety is about one of the most important things a school system can teach, and I'm not sure how this could possibly be controversial.
Really? I don't. In this area, they are much more at risk from traffic. I'd greatly prefer lessons on traffic safety/pedestrian safety. I routinely see kids put themselves in very dangerous situations and there are traffic accidents that claim the lives of our kids regularly. Where there has not been a drowning death that I know of in decades.
I wonder why…