Every school should have a pool
More than 50% of Americans don’t know how to swim. On average, there are 3,960 drownings per year and about 8,080 near-drownings. These statistics, by the Red Cross, are alarmingly high.
Everyone should be able to learn how to swim, but not all communities have swimming pools or the proper programs to educate people. The best way to solve this is to have swimming pools at every school in America.
Education is how to reduce these statistics, and with pools at schools swim programs can be instituted into general physical education.
When looking at the benefits of having swimming pools at every school, there are plenty. And the few concerns would become minimal and irrelevant with proper planning.
Having pools at every school gives students the opportunity and education in swimming they need from an early age. At school we are taught academics, life and social skills, but I believe there’s an addition that needs to be made: water safety and the proper way to swim.
Learning to swim can not only save your own life, but someone else’s. The benefits don’t stop here.
Other issues are childhood obesity and unhealthy habits. By
including swimming into educational programs at school, students are gaining health benefits. Some examples: endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular health, all of which lead to healthier people.
But the advantages of having pools at all schools in America do not stop with the students.
Pools can benefit communities. Programs can be expanded outside of school with group swim lessons for preschoolers, open swimming hours and the ability for town-run water-sports teams (swimming, diving, water polo).
Although many argue that installing a pool is costly, the benefits
outweigh cost. It is expensive to install and maintain a pool and employ the proper personnel to run it. If swimming pools were open to the public, membership, group lessons and other fees would help pay for them. And high school students would have job opportunities after being trained as lifeguards.
Another concern that might arise is how to teach students, especially those at the elementary level. These lessons would come from lifeguard and swim instructor training, which would ensure a safe environment to truly benefit the students.
We all know how hard it is to swim when you hit the wall of exhaustion and struggle to grab a pool wall or touch the bottom of the lake or ocean. Many have been in that situation, but no one should be put in that position.
I speak from personal experience. As a swim instructor, the first thing I teach my students is to float on their backs if they get tired. Some people don’t know how to do this, even those who know how to swim. It doesn’t sit well that so many people drown each year, especially when it might have been avoided with proper swimming lessons.
By installing pools in every school in America, all students would have access to the resources and lessons they need to be successful swimmers. More communities would have access to pools as well, opening opportunities for everyone.
But most importantly people will know how to swim, drowning statistics will be lowered, and avoidable incidents and deaths will diminish.
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