School pools key to swim skills

It's tragic to think the closure of school pools, which means requiring expensive lessons at council pools, are costing our children's lives because of the simple fact that all are not learning to swim.

It's almost unbelievable schools have ‘removed' or bulldozed their pools to save running costs.

The reality is school finances have had to be redirected into drastic remedial programmes in an endeavour to turn around the abysmal standard of reading and writing, which were once highly ranked.

To back up the ‘required loss' of their pool, principals are making excuses that chilly school pools mean pupils can only utilise the pool for a short number of days per year.
Twaddle!

Every previous generation coped and drownings in New Zealand happen in cold, chilling waters - be it open sea beaches, rivers or lakes. Most of these public playgrounds are not warm, tepid waters.

Being a baby boomer, like many of my friends, the basics of swimming were taught by our parents, older brothers, sisters and friends at the beach, river, local or 20-metre school pools, often built by our fathers on Saturday via working bees.

Then, also, there was the very successful Government Education Department swimming programme in all primary schools.

After a ‘pressure cooker' course on swimming skills run by the physical education lecturers at teachers' college, student teachers went out to schools on their first observation section.

This was commonly called the swimming section. There, pupils were taught to swim, improve existing swimming abilities and to work towards a swimming skills certificate.
I experienced this progression as a pupil, student teacher, and secondary teacher.

The discontinuance of the very successful Government Education Department swimming programme in all primary schools was a tragedy.

All our children should have free access to swimming pools and lessons. Our school pools were admirable and gave all children that opportunity and a better chance to survive in a life threatening situation.

Bruce Sinclair, Papamoa

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