Parents want their children to be independent, competent, confident and safe in the water. It’s one of the sorts of thing we all want for our kids. That way they can ‘participate’, have fun and keep fit.

However, for most, success will be any method of travel through the water, confident and unaided – a survival front paddle!

Every successful teacher starts with the idea that they are “teaching children how to swim” and not “teaching swimming to children”.

They are sensitive and intuitive with children – child orientated , have high levels of training, qualification and experience, are always learning and coming up with variations and new ideas.
They recognise first and foremost that every single child will progress at their own rate and respond to different activities in various ways.

Children are different to adolescents and adults - and all children are different to each other. Their prior experiences and expectations are different, ability, body shape and composition are different. Pools and class sizes vary, parents and carers are different…and so on.

So as a Teacher have you addressed the following?

Parental education

• Do you encourage parents to watch the lesson ?
• Do you make sure that you communicate your teaching philosophy to them?
  They need to know why you include certain activities in your lessons. The question, voiced or unvoiced,; “When are you going to stop playing games and start teaching them real swimming?” will not be an issue if parents understand that fun and learning through play is a vital part of the teaching process.
  Instead they will feel reassured and will almost certainly be a stronger supporter of your programme.

Equipment

• Do you favour one piece of equipment over another?
• Do you experiment with different buoyancy aids …children with different physiques / confidence levels will respond differently if you vary the equipment used. Discs, Woggles, Back floats, Fins are all really useful teaching aids - if used appropriately.
  A child who is reluctant to move out of discs can shoot across the pool in a pair of fins - building and developing the confidence they need to go solo. Another child may prefer to gently “wean” themselves off discs until they are swimming with only one. You can still replace them as new and more demanding activities are taught.
• Explain to parents that it is better to perform an activity well with support & confidence, than to struggle, even fail and become frightened in the process!

Do you always go back to ’Fundamentals!’?

A good understanding of what happens to all sizes and shapes of objects in water and what happens when they try to move through it, is central to everything we plan to do.

If we want a child to get “Out of Armbands” …

• We must ‘habitually’ observe the body position of the swimmer,
• We must fully understand what is happening above and below the water line.
• We must get faces in the water
  ‘In-line’, balanced, relaxed floating and gliding are the essential ingredients of any beginner lesson.
  Only then can we plan and devise suitable aids, support and activities, which will promote the streamlined position.

This and this only will unlock the door to future swimming achievement and success.

Teachers who rush their children into achieving a survival front paddle in the vertical position would hardly suggest that also they ride their bikes with the brakes on! And also try it in the mud for good practice!

Lesson Format

• Remember - children learn by doing! …not by clinging onto the side, shivering, whilst one by one the group is towed by the teacher to the other side of the pool.
• Planning your lessons should include planning for the maximum amount of swimmer participation. If you do want to focus on one child swimming, get the others to kick alongside with woggles – observation with a difference!
• Your ability to keep all children active will depend upon your imaginative use of equipment and pool space.

Effective Teachers will keep an open mind about the methods available to them. They will stay hungry for new ideas to help their swimmers to achieve success.
Remember we are ‘teaching children how to swim’ and we must take our lead from them.

“OUT OF ARMBANDS”

Some of this material was published as an article in the March 2003 edition of SWIMMING magazine.

Copyright Jane Hushon, Colin Christmas