Single Gender Swim Classes and Swim Times

[Mollyk]

Originally Posted by SwimForHealth

My nephews attend a school where the swim classes are coed. They are somewhat shy wearing swim suits around girls. About 3/4 of the school is female. They have been allowed to wear rashtops with their suits.

Should swim class be mixed or single gender?

Similarly the open swim times in the school are co-ed and girls only. Should male swimmers have single gender swim times as well?

I have always thought that swim class and swimming should be mixed. I know in secondary school often swimming is part of physical education and those classes are on gender lines.

I teach swimming classes that are women and men.

Keep swimming fun. Keep it co-ed.

[Torchwatch]

My primary school sent us to be taught to swim by Mrs Fox, luckily i could already swim because most of the boys and girls that couldn't swim were more afraid of Mrs Fox than of the water.
A woman teacher like that should not have been allowed near children.

A teaching swimming pool should be a fun and sensual experience even if you can't swim, discovering that you can float and swim should be a pleasure. Overcoming a child's fear a water should not be through reinforcing their fear of adults.

If bullying is taking place in a swimming class it can easily become a dangerous place. That any child should want to cover their body during a swim class is a sign that something is wrong, if all the boys want to wear rash guards they are under pressure from their teacher, the girls in the class or both, this is not a happy class and the boys will learn to hate swimming. These boys need to swim without those girls around and with a male teacher.

So often we expect women teachers to be good with children and so often we discover them to be cruel and sadistic. One of my nephews was a happily talking child until a woman teacher at primary school terrified him so badly and for so long that even now as an adult and a father he is unable to speak clearly and openly.

We don't need male or female teachers, we need good teachers. We don't need co-ed or single sex classes but classes where children can learn to swim without fear of either the teacher or others in the class.

[Mollyk]

Originally Posted by Torchwatch

My primary school sent us to be taught to swim by Mrs Fox, luckily i could already swim because most of the boys and girls that couldn't swim were more afraid of Mrs Fox than of the water.
A woman teacher like that should not have been allowed near children.

A teaching swimming pool should be a fun and sensual experience even if you can't swim, discovering that you can float and swim should be a pleasure. Overcoming a child's fear a water should not be through reinforcing their fear of adults.

If bullying is taking place in a swimming class it can easily become a dangerous place. That any child should want to cover their body during a swim class is a sign that something is wrong, if all the boys want to wear rash guards they are under pressure from their teacher, the girls in the class or both, this is not a happy class and the boys will learn to hate swimming. These boys need to swim without those girls around and with a male teacher.

So often we expect women teachers to be good with children and so often we discover them to be cruel and sadistic. One of my nephews was a happily talking child until a woman teacher at primary school terrified him so badly and for so long that even now as an adult and a father he is unable to speak clearly and openly.

We don't need male or female teachers, we need good teachers. We don't need co-ed or single sex classes but classes where children can learn to swim without fear of either the teacher or others in the class.

So well said. Make swimming enjoyable and fun for kids.