Sue's Swim School Philosophy

The philosophy of Sue's Swim School is safety and then proficiency/technique.  Therefore, the first goal of our instructors is to make children safe around water.  The components of this goal are:

1.   Every child must know what to do if they fall into water ... go to the side and “put hands on top.”

2.   Every child must know what their limitations are with respect to the water.

3.   Every child must know the rules around swimming pools and why these rules must be followed.

We definitely want every child to have fun during swimming lessons, but not at the price of sacrificing these goals.

Second comes proficiency/technique.  Once the goal of safety is reached, our instructors then work on developing the fine points of a child’s technique.  This makes them a more powerful, proficient swimmer.

General Guidelines

Every skill can be successfully taught with love, compassion, and a firm hand.  In order to do this children must know right away what we expect from them.  Of course, your children will try to manipulate you and their instructor until they see we will be firm and consistent.  The sooner they learn this, the smoother lessons will be.

Never underestimate the power or the abilities of a child.  Your instructor knows what a child can do before they ask them to do a certain skill.

The instructor presents themselves as very confident when giving instructions.  If the child senses doubt from the instructor in what is asked of them to do, then they will not be able to do that skill.  We always tell students, “I will never ask you to do anything that I don’t already know you can do.”  This builds confidence that will last a lifetime.

For the students benefit and to limit interference with the lesson, crying and talking must be controlled as much as possible ... this prevents the child from sniffing water up their nose.

Remember that excessive talking is usually due to nervousness or wanting to stall for time.