CALLING TO INSTRUCTORS AND TEACHERS OF ALL SORTS!!!! LEND ME YOUR EAR!!!!21:38 Jun 04 2008
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CALLING TO INSTRUCTORS AND TEACHERS OF ALL SORTS!!!! LEND ME YOUR EAR!!!!
I was talking with LordV last night until like 1 am. I couldn’t figure out why I was fired. I thought that maybe I had been too cocky, considering I have taught swim classes off and on for 20 years. I beat myself up for some of the ways I acted and talked it out with LordV. He gave me some insight, as your partner always should.
He pointed out that in the email, they spoke of doing things “The Oxford way.” He said it with a snooty voice. He reminded me of all the times, I came home, talking about how a suggestion I had, they had said things like, “wow, never thought of that.” Or “that is an interesting idea, I will have to look into it.” Yet I was supposde to throw out how I deal with kids and to do it their way. I mean, American Red Cross (ARC) Water Safety Instructor, is a course that you can take, to be able to teach kids how to swim. I took it when I was 15. One thing, they gave me ways of breaking down the strokes, they gave me games to play, that would help with the skills they were suppose to work on, but the main thing they burned into our heads is to make it fun. Compliment a lot and gently correct. They didn’t say this is the absolute and only way to teach. They suggested trying different things, since kids learn differently.
Oxford told me that I was to forget my teaching style, as they had been teaching kids how to swim since the 1960’s and they weren’t like American Red Cross, they actually made sure that kids knew how to swim when they passed. I took offense to that. I told them that, I had been an ARC instructor for 20 years and I never passed a child that couldn’t do the skills, it depends on the individual teaching, not the Organization. ARC has been teaching swimming lessons since 1941, btw. They have you beat.
So, one of the last things to do in my training, was to teach a class. They set down RULES FOR ME!!!! Told me that I had to use their teaching style. The magic chair--- basically telling the kids to sit in the magic chair prior to doing the prone float…oops sorry steamboat. What is the point? Nobody could tell me.
The turtle. They had an area that had about 3 inches of water in it and they would make the kids float and act like a turtle in that area. Again, the point? Most kids have enough weight to them, to be dragging their stomach on the bottom of the 3 inch area. Lastly, the bowls. They had bowls with holes on the bottom, to get the child acclimated to the water being on their face. Ummm, sorry but are you always going to have those bowls around for them to get their face wet? You have a whole freaking pool, why am I giving these kids a bowl to stick their face in?
Am I being bitchy? I might be, but I did it their way, but when I saw common problems, I used my tricks to fix them. When pushing off the side, to do a prone float (float on their stomach, face in the water, arms above their head) I saw that my two pupils would jump, which would cause them to slap their face in the water, making them come up in surprise. I taught them to be a tree. To gently fall forward, like a tree does when cut down. To even think to themselves “Timber” as they are falling, this way it is a gently way of getting into position to do the prone float. Solved that problem in one try. Kids love to pretend.
But the one thing that pissed me off, was the fact that after the lesson I was critiqued for being TOO complimentary. Well lets see. New kids to a pool, they aren’t very confident of even being in the pool, let alone putting their face in. If they put their face in for several seconds, I’m ecstatic. If they are willing to play bobs with me, (simply bobbing under water to get their face wet), GREAT!!! Oops, sorry they don’t approve of bobs, if I want to do bobs, then I should let them do it in the bowls. ???????Excuse me??????????
I was told that Oxford (yes I said it in the snobby voice this time) their motto is critique, critique, critique. *Shakes her head* What child can live on being critiqued every day or their life. How will swimming be enjoyable, if they feel that no matter what they did, it wasn’t good enough. The ones I was teaching 3-5 year olds. I mean wtf. If a child is first trying a skill, I will say compliment telling them what they did right and then push them to correct something else But if they do it right, I TELL THEM.
“You should always be telling them what they are doing wrong, even if they have the skill down, we want them to strive to be perfect.”
And Neurotic? Sorry but pushing off a wall, laying in the water, on your stomach, with your arms over your head…..ummmmm how do you screw that up? The only thing that messes with that is when the kids don’t get a big enough breath. Then they will break form to get a breath and I’m supposed to criticize them for that?
Ok, enough of a rant. Thank you LordV for making me see last night what I was blind too. They didn’t want an instructor with experience. They wanted someone with no experience that they could mold, (the other person hired didn’t have any swim experience at all but was studying to be a elementary teacher.) So, I guess I go and get recertified for Water Safety Instructor and have my own lessons in the local pool or see if some of their competitors are hiring.
So what do you think? Is my way of teaching “off the wall” or “just plain wrong” as I was told?
COMMENTS
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xRobin3x
06:15 Jun 25 2008
i'll be holding on to bets of any one who wants to make them on wether or not he makes this so called software he is talking about lol i think its a 10x your bet if it doesn't work right. 20 to 1 that he/she doesn't do it at all. 5 to one that within a month he/she will be pushed off vr one way or another lol either in a self delete or suspended lol
Maledicta
08:04 Jun 25 2008
Correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the use of software to inflate his stats - if he could indeed make one - result in an instant ban? I'm sure there was a message posted some time ago about this...
LadyChordewa
19:17 Jun 25 2008
Yes, it is against TOS to do inflate your stats. That is why a coven was disbanded and its coven master and assists were banned. I posted this, so we all could keep an eye on the person.