His heart is in the right place, but his solution isn't. That's the proper response to State Representative Wendell Gilliard's proposal that all public school students must learn to swim in order to graduate from high school. See Gilliard: Require Swim Lessons to Graduate. The lessons would be free, naturally. However, Gilliard has not proposed a way for school districts to pay for them.Here is a perfect example of why students graduate from high school without learning to read well enough to fill out a job application. What should be the role of the public school in our society? If the schools have too many responsibilities to fulfill, none of them will be accomplished properly.
My heart aches for those who have lost loved ones, especially children, to drowning. Somehow, the community should provide for those unable to afford swimming lessons. After all, water is all around us.
Just don't put another straw on the camel's back.
Update: Even the editors of the P & C agree: Swimming Beyond Schools' Reach in Saturday's edition.
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4 comments:
I completely agree with you! When all of our children are able to read, do math, and have learned science well enough to compete at an international level, we will conquer the swimming issue! But, until they can do these basics, let's not add more to our education system!
I agree that in the perfect world everyone would know how to swim; however, making it a requirement to graduate from high school is ridiculous. Like Becky said in the above comment, schools are meant to educate and teach chidren how to read, write, and do math. Parents really do have responsibilities for their children's safety.
I've witnessed Burke's version of PE swimming classes at the MLK pool. The kids sit on the bleachers while a few "play" in the shallow end of the pool.
It's a joke.
Doesn't Mr. Gaillard get it? CCSD can't teach kids to read, why would he think they would teach kids to swim?
Does a parent have any responsibility anymore???? I remember when our children were little, my husband said forget any kind of lessons until they know how to swim. You have to set your priorities...that is called being an adult. If you are not an adult, don;t have children! Sorry but that is the reality, don't expect CCSD to pick up your slack. You people on this blog need to grow up and get real!
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