Swim For Your Life!
WHAT does the Government know that we do not?
The Times says that children who cannot swim are to be thrown in at the deep end.
What horror is this? Are non-swimmers to be culled, seen as unfit to grow into adult Britons? Or is it a study to see if a diet of fizzy drinks and crisp makes you float?
The truth of the matter is something yet more worrying. Pupils unable to swim 25 meters by age 11 are to be made to learn. They will be taken to a pool every day for a fortnight and made to swim.
What happens to those who fail to doggy paddle in the proscribed manner is left unsaid. And our blood runs cold at the possibilities.
But what is the official line on this £5.5 million scheme? Schools Minister Jim Knight has heard that 17 per cent of 11-year-olds cannot swim 25 meters.
As he tells the Telegraph: Swimming is an essential skill and a fun way to exercise. We want to give as many pupils as possible confidence in the water and the potential to enjoy a whole range of other water sports and activities.”
Whats that about swimming being an essential skill? How vital is swimming to a resident of Birmingham, say?
Or has the Government taken heed of the warnings of melting ice caps and rising sea levels and now wants us all to prepare for the coming flood? Will we be swimming to school? Will milkmen backstroke to your front door?
And whats the part about other water sports? Is Tony Blair going to take us all windsurfing in Barbados?
Are these all reasons why swimming is a Key Stage 2 requirement in the national curriculum? If it is, then fine.
All the remains now is to find a clean and functioning swimming pool…
Posted: 14th, June 2006 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
