swimming level-didn't pass

[LibbyP]

Okay it's 3:30 am and I am the only one here, I feel so alone, cannot sleep it's just awful, had the worst day, my daughter didn't pass her swimming level:sad: , actually I'm quite upset about this (I never thought I was a competitive person) but apparently I am . If the teacher had told us during her mid-term report that she was having troubles doing her back float unassisted, we could have worked on that, but he didn't say anything so my (Q) is this does she have to do the whole level over or just work on her back floats? Does it say something about the teacher when all of the class didn't pass other than one girl, which I admit she could do a back float but couldn't swim unassisted, everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, or am I just being a whiny, bi**** mommy?

[angie79]

awww I'm so sorry!!

I don't know the rules and regulations. but dont be upset, encourage her, and next time you know to keep an eye out.... and make sure the instructer communicate with the parents.......

keep your head up,

[muckypup]

Don't sweat it. Failing is a good learning experience.

[Puppyluv]

Awww totally don't sweat it!! The kids I (USED TO!!! ) babysit, did swimming lessons while I was there, and the girl passed but the boy didn't. The parents were crushed that he didn't and couldn't understand why he didn't, but from an outsider's perspective, I agree completely with him not passing. Yes, he made huge improvements, as I'm sure your daughter did too, and these improvements are what matters ()and should matter to the parents) but when you look at it from an unbiased position, he didn't have the skills he needed to make it to the next level. If your daughter was passed even though she couldn't do the unassisted back float, she would just struggle more in the next level, the same sort of thing that happens in schools when kids are passed just because of pressure from parents, school boards, governments, etc. Chances are, the reason most kids didn't pass was because they weren't ready to. Not because of the teacher,. More and more kids are being put into levels that they are not prepared for, and I say good for the teacher for not being afraid to hold back almost everyone.
Don't worry about it, embrace your daughter's achievements and improvements, and get pumped for next time around.
As per your question, it usually depends on whether or not it's a joint class. If for example your daughter didn't pass level 3, and they offer a 3/4 class, then she can take the 3/4 class, and do level 4 plus the missing level 3 things. If it's a seperate class, she'll most likely have to take level 3 over again.

[LibbyP]

Thanks, after Finally going to sleep at 4:30 up since 1 am I have come to the realization that like Puppyluv said , she came a really long way, before the classes she just started doing 'bobs' on her own and swimming underwater by herself, she has no idea that she hasn't passed onto the next level, I think I was most upset with the fact that both my hubby and I asked if there were any areas that needed some improvement on at midterm and he said nope she's doing fine, had he already decided that she wasn't strong enough in her skills to pass the level? Anyway thanks for your kind words , after a sleep (woke up at 10:00 hee hee hee) I feel much better and brighter today, back to salamander we go
Puppyluv does this mean you are not working for the mom anymore? Did I miss that post?

[Prin]

When I was younger, they had the color coded levels, you know- yellow, orange, red, maroon, blue, etc etc. We had swimming lessons as gym class in elementary school (we lived where there were tons of lakes and they felt it was necessary). I passed yellow in kindergarten, and then spent grades 1-4 passing orange, while everybody else passed two levels a year. I ended up with my own teacher because I was so far behind. They even made me go to swimming summer school and I still failed.

Honestly, not passing and falling behind never bugged me. What bugged me was being forced to dive and do the crawl. I just wasn't ready for those yet and having some one in the water saying, "Do it! Just go!" was way worse for my self-esteem. They were all so anxious to get me to pass that they stopped caring if I was comfortable or not.

Anyway, moral of the story- don't force your kids to move fast just to keep up with the pack when they're uncertain and a little scared.

[jiorji]

i took me 3 summers to finally learn to swim. My parents when I was around 5-6 enlisted me in summer swimming classes for 3 years, and I did ok at the classes then we';d go to the beach and i wasn't able to swim lol

and so they thought it was the teacher's fault, so every summer I'd go to a different swimming class all in different parts of town, and it was my fault not the teacher;s.

Some kids don't feel comfortable swimming on their own, maybe that's her problem. WHen someone's there you're more relaxed and know that if something goes wrong you have someone to help you. If they make you do it alone some people panic. You should talk to her about that.

[Puppyluv]

Originally Posted by LibbyP

Puppyluv does this mean you are not working for the mom anymore? Did I miss that post?

That would be correct, but you didn't miss the post, I've just been postponing making the post, because I don't really want to think about it anymore, but I'll post the end of the story soon

[jiorji]

I bet you got fired Puppy and then she called to yell at you for not showing up ...heheh :troll:

[OdinAndAlan]

Hey LibbyP, next time ask the instructor if they could show you a list of items that you child should be able to perform to pass the level. Then watch your child in class as much as possible so you have an idea of what each item is. That way you can keep track of your child's progress.

This wasn't my idea btw, I used to teach swimming and one of the parents asked to see the list of items for that level....

[pamha]

Something similar just happened to us. My daughter (age9) took a 2 week class earlier in the summer & the teacher passed her up through level 3 although she couldn`t back float. I asked him & he said she could swim well enough that it didn`t matter. So the session we just finished they put her in the level 3 (or maybe it was 4, I never did find out) class where they were working on back stroking and improving their freestyle. Cass was really struggling seeing as she couldn`t freestyle up to their standards or even back float on her own. At the end the teacher said she was only up to level 2. BUT she did improve her freestyle & finally learned to back float alone, plus do a bit of backstroke. I was so proud of what she accomplished it didn`t really matter that this teacher was so much tougher on her. Even if she never takes another lesson I feel like she has the basics & can work on it on her own if she wants.

[Joey.E.CockersMommy]

I can relate my son now eight has taken level one swimming so many times we have lost count, but for sure at least a dozen This summer he finally past we were so proud of him.

He went into level two - and it so happened all the kids in it were way better swimmers so the teacher asked if we wanted to put him back to level one. We were like absolutely not - he did what it takes to finally pass level one - its not his fault the other kids are more advanced swimmers than him. Anyways he didnt pass level two which is fine he can now swim the length of the big pool on his back with out floaties.

The way the swimming lessons work here is if you dont do all the things that you are supposed to they make you do it again until you pass.

[LibbyP]

THANK YOU EVERYONE, I don't want any of you to think in any way shape or form that I was upset with my daughter, like I said she did an awesome job I was more upset with the teacher as much as anything, if he had said when we asked what are the areas needing improvement and worked on them, I feel alittle bad though, my daughter said ' I wasn't a very good salamander', she was an awesome salamander and she'll be better and stronger and more confident the next time. She came along way from her first class when she found out she had a 'boy' teacher , she didn't even want to do anything he asked her oh well what can I say,that's my girl for ya never let a man tell ya what to do

[phoenix]

well even if he had told her, maybe she would not have done it then...

I'm so tired of hearing mommies blame the teacher. As the post above said, if your daughter couldn't do the things on the list, she shouldn't pass to the next level. Usually those swimming teachers are just kids themselves anyway (tho I don't know about your guy...) with a little check list.

Sometimes the instructors want to be encouraging, so they don't say the negative things. If she's progressing, that's all that should count, not whether she made it past an arbitrarily set level or not. You shouldn't be mad at anyone; people learn at their own pace and that is not anyone's fault.

[mafiaprincess]

I teach skiing.. They tell us no matter what you can't be negative or mean.. We have to do report cards. They have to be as upbeat as possible even when you wanna write 'Jonny, please next year take up bowling, I think you will rock at it'. Cause my goodness, your child will never ski..

I don't think Libby is blaming the teacher because her child didn't pass.. It's the fact that when asked what needs work, it was apparently 'nothing' when that wasn't true.. I think a checklist for each level would help so you know what needs ot happen to pass a level without having to rely on an instructor who could be good or could be a twit..

[LibbyP]

Thank you mafiaprincess, you you hit it right square on, phoenix being a teacher I'm sure you must hear tons of bi****, whiny mommies blaming the teacher, on the midterm report there is a checklist of what needs to be completed before they can move onto the next level: here is the list
Fitness Activities
play and songs/relay +
kick on front with buoyant object 2m
distance swim 2m
Skills and Water Safety
facility orientation and active supervision +
stop!look!ask!(find an adult) +
jump into chest-deep water +
pfd and me
buoyant objects +
surface support 5 sec. (assisted)
Swimming
open eyes underwater (attempted) +
rhythmic breathing 3x
front float and recovery 3 sec
back float and recovery 3 sec
roll-over float 6 sec (assisted)
front glide 3 sec
front glide with kick 5 sec (assisted)
back glide 3 sec (assisted)
back glide with kick 5 sec (assisted)
roll-over glide 6 sec (assisted)
front swim 2m (assisted)
Comments
great work ********! Your bubbles are excellent and you are improving with every class. Then can you tell me she wasn't doing any of these things on the list? If not what have they been doing for the past week? And the(mid term was on monday) by friday of the same week you can tell me that she improved that much in 4 days? Everything was checked except the back float and recovery, wow that's quite the improvement

[jiorji]

i think that "improving with every class" comment was great because it's good to keep a kid's morale up so they don't give up even though they don't pass. Better luck next time . Had he said "uhh you're very slow at learning to swim" that would've been worse right?? She would've quit right after

[Prin]

I never understood why they always put "rhythmic breathing" on those things. What kid at that level understands what the hey rhythmic breathing is. I STILL don't know what it means.

[LibbyP]

Okay I'm feeling the need to clarify things so nobody is feeling blamed (I) think part of being a 'good' teacher is open communication with the parents, both hubby and I come from/work where communication is the key. When the teacher was asked about areas of improvement nothing was stated as areas of concern or weakness, I'm fine with that, no problem what I have a problem it this was untrue, how is this any different from say meet the teacher night at school, parents come talk with the teacher about how *Jimmy* is doing, teacher says fine no problems to report or discuss, *Jimmy* fails that grade, parents get report and it's nothing like the teacher stated. My children are just going into JK this Sept and I really hope for a 'good' teacher who discusses ALL concerns with us the parents whether they are positive or negative. How else are they to improve on their weaknesses if not pointed out and worked on?
Ya Prin how is she to know what rhythmic breathing is , she just turned 4yrs

[Puppyluv]

There is the possibility that at the midterm, she was on track to pass. Often, they have a progress goal, so that at the midterm they looked at what she could and couldn't do, and based on prior experience, they figured that by the end of the course, she would be able to do everything she would need to do, so long as she continued to progress as expected. If that's the case, then there really was no reason for them to say that there were areas that needed work. However, she didn't progress since the midterm as was espected and thus didn't pass. That's just a possibility.

[CyberKitten]

I have just spent the morning withreally ill children and while I loved swimming lessons and we had a pool so I could pratice and my sisters both taught swimming, unathletic me managed to pass my swimming credentials but I never saw them as all that important. I never planned on a career goal as a lifeguard tho I suppoose I could have done that in the summers. My older sister did and made my swimming - certificates and all - seem paltry by comparison.

I just think everyone is unique and in the grand scheme of things, she will eventually learn that particular level and move on to another, Don't think of it as a level or even a cometition - unless she is in competitive swimming. (I'd love to have been an Olympic swimmer but I'd never have made any team, even locally). The only road team I was ever on was curling tho I did teach skiiing - thought of it as those who can do and those who can't tho my mom is a teacher and I teach at the medical school. Try to look at it from the teacher's petrspective - your daughter may well need that extra time and some people have different strengths.

I know my niece is what my brother (Mr. Can do everything well atheletically) calls her a "girly girl" and she is - she loves all manner of clothes, books, art, music - so she is a Beethoven in the making and not a Janet Evans.

If there are probs with the instructor, I would talk to him or her though and try to ascertain how to improve things.

I have to admit I thought at least your daughter is healthy and happy. That is so important - you know the old saying, don't sweat the small stuff and while swimming may seem important right now, in the grand scheme, it is rather small. This too shall pass and she may actually turn out to be a great swimmer and better for the experience. We always learn more from these experiences than the excited feeling we get when we do so well!! (Tho that feels good too, lol).

I have a friend - another physician - who had a difficult time even getting into med school did his first degree in 5 yrs but he one of the best GP's I know!! So, mistakes are not the worst things in life!! In fact, they are sometimes the best teachers!

[Catt31]

Awww Libby, I just skimmed this thread, and although I feel for you and your daughter, I have to agree, that in the grand scheme of things, its just a little blip on the radar!!! AND, when she takes the level again, she can work on her back float and continue working on and improving the other stuff on the list. I believe, if it is the same here as there, she can also get check marks on the next higher level if she excels at them! Remember at camp when some of our kids never passed their levels? It was devastating but short lived!!! I know this post was awhile ago but I just wanted to let you know I think she did AWESOME for 4 years old!! There are kids out there that are terrified of water, so that is a big plus!!!!

[LibbyP]

Thank you Catt31, she starts salamander again on Sept 11, and she is sooo excited and cannot wait, I'll have to remember to ask about the higher level checks, ya thanks again for reminding me about camp days that seems sooo long ago:sad: well it was 17yrs ago

[Catt31]

I know,,, crazy eh??? I miss it!!!