Pool Play

Beginners learn with a yellow "floaty" strapped to their backs.

The bright sun provides HD-quality vision from sun up to sun down. The springy, casual, familiar smell of sun screen greets one's nose with its expectant, annual nod. Summer time has approached, and with it, pool time play. Pool etiquette involves soft speakers pulsing with favorable music from whatever popular, country, or classic rock station nearby listeners can tolerate. If fortunate, you haven't been splashed by rowdy neighbors (unless you enjoy that sort of thing). As I recline in a sturdy lounge chair and inhale the fragrant scents of Hawaiian Tropic and grilled steak, I can't help remembering my time at the local YMCA, where I taught swim lessons to small children.

Our spirited campers pause for a rest under the toasty Chattanooga sun.

 After obtaining my lifeguard certification,  I quickly learned that teaching doesn't just happen on the dry land of school campuses, it happens on the water too. Back in graduate school, I chose to teach high school students for the maturity, the independence, the excitement of college preparation and the thrill of advising them to recognize their strengths. Though I've avoided the sound of faux female baby voices emitting through cinder block walls and the experience of whole-class nap time, I feel the experience I've had with young children is highly valuable. My experience with them is unique. I learned to deal with young children in the water.

During the eruption of the downtown fountain, 5th graders squeal with delight.

 I may not be a navy seal, but if you have a young child, believe me, I can teach them how to swim. Swim lessons come with a level of unmatched excitement, yet there's a secret, incommodious stress that swim teachers and lifeguards rarely discuss aloud to parents: Unobserved, a child could slip into the water and drown. This simple fear plagues all swim teachers, resulting in the repetition of phrases such as, "Everyone stay seated while so-and-so has their turn. When we paddle back to the edge, you're next. Do not get in the water!" "No running!" "Do not jump in the deep end without permission!"


While teaching in the water, I overcame my insecurity of deep water, one-piece bathing suits, and 68 degree locker rooms. The joy of helping a child to conquer their fear of the water is a rewarding blessing. In addition, parents find a sense of relief when their apprehensive youngster finally glides forth unaccompanied into the smooth, cerulean waters of the swimming pool. No matter the level of education or intellectual ability, all children benefit by learning the vital skill of swimming. Teaching a child how to swim is actually symbolic of regular 'ol dry land classroom teaching: if you teach a child to swim, imagine how far they can go!