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should swimming in gym class be banned?


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Wouldn't go in because of her hair? Pfft. School is not a fashion parade and swimming is a basic life skill.

 

While the girl shouldn't have been forced in to the pool, she should have received some type of penalty for not participating. Detention or an F grade.

 

I fully support swimming in gym class.

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GunslingerRoland

So do American schools really have pools in them? That's crazy... I always thought it was just for TV.

 

 

Here it's an optional thing that the parents can opt their students out of, held offsite at a public pool. I think that's a better way to do it.

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So do American schools really have pools in them? That's crazy... I always thought it was just for TV.

Yep - many do, although they are usually only in High Schools and are open to the public when not being used by the students.

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WaitingForBardot

The HS my kids attended had a pool, but the swimming units were entirely voluntary. Other options were always available, and no, not just dodgeball... ..lol..

 

Personally, I agree with basil67 that swimming is a basic life (-saving potentially) skill and will go a step further to say that passing of some rudimentary swimming skills test is definitely in a child's best interest.

 

So no, it should not be banned.

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We had swimming in PE the first and last quarter of school 7th-9th grade. It was awful!!! If you had PE early in the day you spent the next few hours with wet hair, when you were on your period you could run a mile instead of swimming and then sit on the bleachers and watch. You spent most of your time standing in line on the pool deck because there was one teacher for 30 teens. Pointless!!!! Plus living in a warm state where there are pools everywhere...we all knew how to swim already! I can't imagine a non-swimmer actually learning how to swim from PE class. Hated it!

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A good teacher and peer pressure should be able to get a reluctant student into the pool. And everyone should know how to swim. If a student has a big issue, they probably need to see a counselor and get to the bottom of it.

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P.S. I can only imagine what many less fortunate children around the world think if they read this thread and saw people complaining about the hardships of having a swimming pool and swim class in school. Just sayin'

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I've never been associated with a school district (either as a student, or as a parent) where swimming is required in schools. So no, I don't think it should be mandatory.

 

If it purpose is to teach swimming as a skill, I could see it being mandatory for kindergarten-5th grade. Ironically, I've never heard of it required at that age. As a sport, having it available is great, but there are so many other sports available for PE class that do not require wearing a swimsuit.

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GunslingerRoland
A good teacher and peer pressure should be able to get a reluctant student into the pool. And everyone should know how to swim. If a student has a big issue, they probably need to see a counselor and get to the bottom of it.

 

I think the number of people who don't know how to swim varies greatly depending on where people live, not to mention the economy of the place.

 

 

Living in the Canadian prairies there are many people where I live who never learn how to swim and there lives aren't greatly affected by that. However if you grow up somewhere warm, especially with oceans/lakes around it is a critical skill.

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I did swimming lessons in school, it was the best skill I ever learnt.

 

I don't believe anyone should be forced to do what they don't want to. Instead, encourage + support.

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My school had a pool, and it was mandatory, for one term of the year, from 5th to 12th grades.

 

Can't say it was my favourite, but I appreciate it for what it was and I'm glad I had it. I would sit it out a lot, though. It's amazing how many times a month a girl can have a period and not be questioned about it by a male teacher! LOL

 

I obviously don't think it should be banned, but I also don't think anyone can FORCE another person into the pool. If their reason for not wanting to go in isn't valid/good, then give them a penalty of some kind, which will reflect on the grade. BUt don't force them in.

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When I was in school we took swimming lessons in elementary, about the ages of 8 - 11 yrs. It involved getting on a school bus and going to a pool where we were taught by swimming instructors. I have no idea if it was mandatory or not. After grade 6, swimming was optional. I loved swimming and am glad that I learned young so I don't think it should be banned but I also don't think it should be forced on anyone. Definitely no student should be getting physically thrown into a pool.

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I've never been associated with a school district (either as a student, or as a parent) where swimming is required in schools. So no, I don't think it should be mandatory.

 

If it purpose is to teach swimming as a skill, I could see it being mandatory for kindergarten-5th grade. Ironically, I've never heard of it required at that age. As a sport, having it available is great, but there are so many other sports available for PE class that do not require wearing a swimsuit.

 

Swimming was mandatory in the school district where I went. Personally I think it is a good life skill to learn. Also it is a good gym activity to do during the winter, when kids get sick of indoor sports.

 

But that being said teachers have to be sensitive to students. My aunt never learned how to swim. She almost drowned as a child. She is terrified of water. The teacher made he jump into the deep end. She said I don't know how to swim. The teacher thought she was lying because she didn't want to get her hair wet. Well my aunt jumped in and almost drowned. The teacher had to go in after her.

 

But I can see where teachers get sick of hearing no I won't do it. I remember a lot of girls trying to get out of gym so they wouldn't ruin their hair/makeup. Not just swimming but regular gym as well.

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I seriously worry about this word! How will our kids be able to cope with anything when they are so wrapped in cotton wool!

 

Everyone should be able to swim.

 

We need to remember our kids are lucky that they have awesome facilities to learn to swim in.

 

I believe it should be compulsory.

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  • 2 weeks later...
So do American schools really have pools in them? That's crazy... I always thought it was just for TV.

 

 

Here it's an optional thing that the parents can opt their students out of, held offsite at a public pool. I think that's a better way to do it.

In my general area swimming is only offered in the suburbs or city, where the districts have more money. None of the rural schools have pools. I don't know anyone who has taken swimming as part of gym class.

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In my general area swimming is only offered in the suburbs or city, where the districts have more money. None of the rural schools have pools. I don't know anyone who has taken swimming as part of gym class.

 

Since I live in the Great Lakes State, the inner city, suburban, and rural schools have pools. Other than the lakes you can see from space, we have a ton of smaller lakes and ponds dotted all over the place. We also have many beaches, docks, piers, etc. It's only warm enough for about 3 months of the year to actually swim outside, but being near some body of water or another pretty much anywhere in the state you live means that it's not unrealistic to think swimming is a life saving skill all must learn for their own safety.

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Since I live in the Great Lakes State, the inner city, suburban, and rural schools have pools. Other than the lakes you can see from space, we have a ton of smaller lakes and ponds dotted all over the place. We also have many beaches, docks, piers, etc. It's only warm enough for about 3 months of the year to actually swim outside, but being near some body of water or another pretty much anywhere in the state you live means that it's not unrealistic to think swimming is a life saving skill all must learn for their own safety.

Ok...I'm not exactly sure why you quoted me? I understand swimming is a life-saving skill but my state is broke, many schools are cutting gym out altogether. We don't have pools at schools until you get into the bigger school districts. A pool would be useless if there's no gym class to learn from.

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I was one who was 'forced' to take swimming as part of PE. Two years of it.

 

Yes, I learned some life saving skills. For example, they threw us into the deep end of the pool, fully clothed (in jeans). We had to tread water, undress, tie the ends of the jeans off, and blow them up to make flotation devices. You can't make this stuff up.

 

I passed four semesters, with Ds. Only because I didn't drown, I suppose.

 

The pisser is that it entered into my GPA. I graduated 5th in my class. I don't know where I'd have landed if I'd had the As I did in everything else, and I wasn't granted the automatic scholarships the top three were.

 

I don't regret having the skills; my best stroke is still the dog paddle. I just don't think it should enter into a GPA.

 

And yes, if you were on your period, everyone knew it. It was coed.

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Ok...I'm not exactly sure why you quoted me? I understand swimming is a life-saving skill but my state is broke, many schools are cutting gym out altogether. We don't have pools at schools until you get into the bigger school districts. A pool would be useless if there's no gym class to learn from.

 

I mentioned it because our state is also broke. We're closing down schools left and right. Heck, my district alone closed 4 elementary and 1 Jr High in the past 2 years due to not having the funds to maintain the building. They're closing a high school after this semester. Yet we still make phys ed and swimming a requirement for obvious reasons.

 

Just curious, do you have charter schools in your area? When our district went broke, they also cut gym and added cutting music, art, etc. for good measure. What ended up happening was a mass exodus to charter schools.

 

After the first year, the district realized that, in order to survive, they had to seduce people back. So, they chose to close some buildings down and concentrate on the ones with the most amenities. They brought back music, gym, art, and some sports in hopes of getting butts in seats.

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I was one who was 'forced' to take swimming as part of PE. Two years of it.

 

Yes, I learned some life saving skills. For example, they threw us into the deep end of the pool, fully clothed (in jeans). We had to tread water, undress, tie the ends of the jeans off, and blow them up to make flotation devices. You can't make this stuff up.

 

I passed four semesters, with Ds. Only because I didn't drown, I suppose.

 

The pisser is that it entered into my GPA. I graduated 5th in my class. I don't know where I'd have landed if I'd had the As I did in everything else, and I wasn't granted the automatic scholarships the top three were.

 

I don't regret having the skills; my best stroke is still the dog paddle. I just don't think it should enter into a GPA.

 

And yes, if you were on your period, everyone knew it. It was coed.

 

Phys ed is a requirement for graduation in this state. So, the class being part of the overall GPA is something we really can't escape. Besides, most gym teachers here were cool enough to give you a C for showing up and dressing for the class, a B if you tried, and an A if you really, really, tried.

 

How the heck could everyone know a girl was on her period in a coed swim class?!?!? Maybe we're from different generations, but when we did swim and it was that time of the month, we just used tampons for swim class.

 

The only way the guys knew is if some blabbermouth said something. And that blabbermouth would shortly have a Come to Jesus moment in the locker room after class. :mad:

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