Written by : lisa boucher
at : 22/04/2023
'If we taught reading like we teach swimming at school, it would take years to learn to read' - Denis Westrich, coordinator of the French Swimming Federation.
There are a good dozen reasons why school swimming sessions are ineffective. Children's basic swimming ability is obviously not the only factor slowing their progress. The context in which these sessions are offered is also a factor. Here are some explanations:
For swimming lessons taught to kindergarten and primary school children, half the class is taught by the lifeguard and the other half by the teacher. School teachers are therefore asked to do the work of a lifeguard, who himself or herself has undergone a year's training in this profession. Whereas they are entitled to minimal training in regulations and safety, and sometimes even no practical training at all
However, to help them prepare learning modules and run sessions, pedagogical projects should be drawn up and made available to them. Unfortunately, these are often non-existent or poor.
In the best of cases, the teacher will have good teaching aids available to prepare the sessions in advance, and discuss safety rules with the children in class, as well as the workshops that will be offered at the pool. They can even create a little follow-up booklet, so they can see their progress over time, by ticking off or coloring their achievements. Unfortunately, I've often noticed that teachers are often stressed by this teaching mission, even sometimes helpless and unable to manage the group effectively.
France has a shortage of lifeguards, and depending on the region, there's also a lack of facilities to offer children suitable introductions. Having experienced it first-hand, there's a huge turnover in lifeguard teams. Replacements are always hard to find, so teams are often understaffed. As a result, classes start the swimming term with one lifeguard and finish with another. As a result, progress is poorly monitored from one session to the next, and trust between the children and the lifeguard is ineffective.
What's more, the number of supervisors is too low, while the groups in some classes are very large. According to regulations, a class with fewer than 20 pupils must be accompanied by at least two approved supervisors, including the teacher. For classes of 20 to 30 pupils, three supervisors are required. For kindergarten classes with more than 30 pupils, a fourth supervisor is required
Knowing that approved supervisors are mostly parents, who are even less trained than teachers, your child has just as much chance of learning to swim with an untrained teacher and a parent, as with a lifeguard managing 9 kindergarten pupils alone at the same time.
The MINIMUM volume of compulsory education is only 30 hours before middle school.That's very little!And what's more, for schools that follow the statutory minimum, these 30 hours are far too scattered to allow for proper progression. Classes have 10 sessions in CP, another 10 in CE2 and another 10 in CM2
If only the children practiced for the whole hour of each session..... But in reality, they only spend 40 minutes on the workshops.When you add it all up, the actual time in the water is only 7 hours out of 10 per swimming term. So 21 hours out of the mandatory 30
Well, 21 hours of swimming is not bad. But for some exercises, while one child is practicing, the others are waiting. Even if lifeguards are trained to adapt workshops to encourage effective practice time, remember that teachers are not. And educational projects aren't always very helpful. I might as well tell you that children don't swim for 40 minutes every session.
Right from the start, the sessions often take place in the deep end of the pool. This means cold water and great depths, which makes the children tense, apprehensive and very cold.This doesn't help them to feel at ease and progress smoothly.For some, pool sessions become a source of anxiety and stress, creating blockages at the slightest incident. So it's often difficult to instill confidence in all the children in the youngest group, or to manage unruly children at the same time as those with serious fears of the water.Sometimes we waste an inordinate amount of time disciplining rather than learning, and dealing with the cries of those who are cold.
Swimming sessions can be hell, both for the children and for the lifeguards or teachers.
Obviously, these points are not all valid in all places. The number of children per class, the quality of the pedagogical project and the personal commitment of teachers and lifeguards are all things that, as parents, you can't influence to improve the quality of your child's swimming sessions. You can, however, prepare your child for his or her first school swimming sessions!You can make sure he's already familiar with the place by taking him with you to the pool.This will already reassure him.You can also teach him to familiarize himself with the aquatic environment by accompanying him regularly, just as you did when you taught him to ride a bike.Why not teach your child to swim yourself?
