KIDS & SWIMMING
tzuziet
I have a swimming related query that somebody might be able to
respond to: my daughter is now 8 and, so far in her life, she has
learned and has "forgotten" how to swim at least 8 times! We don't
go regularly but have spurts of swimming activity each year - and
each year she is again unable to swim after achieving a really
confident level of ability and diversity of swim-strokes the year
before! I sometimes wonder if she is just one of those people who
WOULD forget how to ride a bike! Is this normal?
respond to: my daughter is now 8 and, so far in her life, she has
learned and has "forgotten" how to swim at least 8 times! We don't
go regularly but have spurts of swimming activity each year - and
each year she is again unable to swim after achieving a really
confident level of ability and diversity of swim-strokes the year
before! I sometimes wonder if she is just one of those people who
WOULD forget how to ride a bike! Is this normal?
[email protected]
In a message dated 5/2/04 1:47:23 PM, tzuziet@... writes:
<< I sometimes wonder if she is just one of those people who
WOULD forget how to ride a bike! Is this normal? >>
I think the problem isn't with your daughter or with swimming.
It's with the definition of "learning."
If she tagged all the requirements of the course and got her certificate or
patch or whatever, it means she passed a course. It doesn't mean she became a
proficient swimmer.
With school, there is an ancient tradition of kids denying that they remember
what they learned last year, even when they most absolutely DO remember. It
buys them more easy grades and days of being able to doodle and daydream if
they look blankly at the teacher when she says, "So you all learned what nouns
were last year, right?" If they said "Lady, we've known for four years, and
they just keep telling us," they might be in for something new and more
difficult, so they squinch their eyebrows, and look at the ceiling and shake their
heads slowly and shrug.
I've been the kid and I've been the teacher. Repeatedly, both parts of that
traditional play.
And part of that forms the basis for all serial learning. You review what
they were supposed to have learned the last time. You preview what they will
learn in the next level.
It's course-taking, it's not often real learning.
Someone could conceivably "take a course" in unschooling and pass it by
parroting back what the teacher wanted to hear (if there were such a course, and
there was some talk years back of HEM sponsoring one in an online school, but it
was decided against). The student could demonstrate that she knew the
difference between John Holt and John Dewey, between Maslow and mazel tov and get a
certificate.
Would it mean that she was an unschooler? That she would or could
confidently spend years with her child and not pull out the Saxon math books or phonics
flash cards just because the kid turned six and it seemed like time?
Some things are only learned by doing.
Some courses are only passed by parroting.
Sandra
<< I sometimes wonder if she is just one of those people who
WOULD forget how to ride a bike! Is this normal? >>
I think the problem isn't with your daughter or with swimming.
It's with the definition of "learning."
If she tagged all the requirements of the course and got her certificate or
patch or whatever, it means she passed a course. It doesn't mean she became a
proficient swimmer.
With school, there is an ancient tradition of kids denying that they remember
what they learned last year, even when they most absolutely DO remember. It
buys them more easy grades and days of being able to doodle and daydream if
they look blankly at the teacher when she says, "So you all learned what nouns
were last year, right?" If they said "Lady, we've known for four years, and
they just keep telling us," they might be in for something new and more
difficult, so they squinch their eyebrows, and look at the ceiling and shake their
heads slowly and shrug.
I've been the kid and I've been the teacher. Repeatedly, both parts of that
traditional play.
And part of that forms the basis for all serial learning. You review what
they were supposed to have learned the last time. You preview what they will
learn in the next level.
It's course-taking, it's not often real learning.
Someone could conceivably "take a course" in unschooling and pass it by
parroting back what the teacher wanted to hear (if there were such a course, and
there was some talk years back of HEM sponsoring one in an online school, but it
was decided against). The student could demonstrate that she knew the
difference between John Holt and John Dewey, between Maslow and mazel tov and get a
certificate.
Would it mean that she was an unschooler? That she would or could
confidently spend years with her child and not pull out the Saxon math books or phonics
flash cards just because the kid turned six and it seemed like time?
Some things are only learned by doing.
Some courses are only passed by parroting.
Sandra
the_clevengers
--- In [email protected], "tzuziet"
<tzuziet@y...> wrote:
her? If not, then it's not really a problem. If it bothers her and
she wants to maintain continuity, find out how often she needs to go
to maintain her level and make it a point to get to a pool that
often. Both of our kids love to swim, so we plan at least one family
swimming night a week, though we try to do more (especially in the
summer!). It's entirely possible that if they went long enough
without swimming, they might forget part or all of how to do it. I
was amazed that a 10 day vacation was enough to wipe my daughter's
memory of most of the violin music she plays by memory. She forgot
all the way down to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Because she doesn't
have as much musical knowledge - hand/finger connections, ear/finger
connections, years of listening to and playing music as I (a grown-
up) does, it fled her memory faster than it did mine. However, I was
considerably more rusty when we returned home as well. I think that's
natural.
Blue Skies,
-Robin-
<tzuziet@y...> wrote:
> I have a swimming related query that somebody might be able toMore important than whether or not this is normal is does this bother
> respond to: my daughter is now 8 and, so far in her life, she has
> learned and has "forgotten" how to swim at least 8 times! We don't
> go regularly but have spurts of swimming activity each year - and
> each year she is again unable to swim after achieving a really
> confident level of ability and diversity of swim-strokes the year
> before! I sometimes wonder if she is just one of those people who
> WOULD forget how to ride a bike! Is this normal?
her? If not, then it's not really a problem. If it bothers her and
she wants to maintain continuity, find out how often she needs to go
to maintain her level and make it a point to get to a pool that
often. Both of our kids love to swim, so we plan at least one family
swimming night a week, though we try to do more (especially in the
summer!). It's entirely possible that if they went long enough
without swimming, they might forget part or all of how to do it. I
was amazed that a 10 day vacation was enough to wipe my daughter's
memory of most of the violin music she plays by memory. She forgot
all the way down to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Because she doesn't
have as much musical knowledge - hand/finger connections, ear/finger
connections, years of listening to and playing music as I (a grown-
up) does, it fled her memory faster than it did mine. However, I was
considerably more rusty when we returned home as well. I think that's
natural.
Blue Skies,
-Robin-
[email protected]
J. Stauffer
<<Is this normal?>>
Absolutely. We have a pool in the backyard and the beginning of each summer
is a refresher for everyone under about 8.
Julie S.
Absolutely. We have a pool in the backyard and the beginning of each summer
is a refresher for everyone under about 8.
Julie S.
----- Original Message -----
From: "tzuziet" <tzuziet@...>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, May 02, 2004 1:38 PM
Subject: [UnschoolingDiscussion] KIDS & SWIMMING
> I have a swimming related query that somebody might be able to
> respond to: my daughter is now 8 and, so far in her life, she has
> learned and has "forgotten" how to swim at least 8 times! We don't
> go regularly but have spurts of swimming activity each year - and
> each year she is again unable to swim after achieving a really
> confident level of ability and diversity of swim-strokes the year
> before! I sometimes wonder if she is just one of those people who
> WOULD forget how to ride a bike! Is this normal?
>
>
>
> "List Posting Policies" are provided in the files area of this group.
>
> Visit the Unschooling website and message boards:
http://www.unschooling.com
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
[email protected]
In a message dated 5/2/2004 5:09:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
SandraDodd@... writes:
<< I sometimes wonder if she is just one of those people who WOULD forget
how to ride a bike! Is this normal? >>
I think the problem isn't with your daughter or with swimming.
It's with the definition of "learning."<<<<<
I think I just wrote this in another post.
When my boys learned to swim, they learned to swim.
My mother had my brother and me take swim lessons every year without fail
because "people forget how to swim from year to year." No, we don't. We forget
when we haven't really learned!
Frnak Smith's _Book of Learning and Forgetting_ shows how well this ties in
with LAL learning.
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
SandraDodd@... writes:
<< I sometimes wonder if she is just one of those people who WOULD forget
how to ride a bike! Is this normal? >>
I think the problem isn't with your daughter or with swimming.
It's with the definition of "learning."<<<<<
I think I just wrote this in another post.
When my boys learned to swim, they learned to swim.
My mother had my brother and me take swim lessons every year without fail
because "people forget how to swim from year to year." No, we don't. We forget
when we haven't really learned!
Frnak Smith's _Book of Learning and Forgetting_ shows how well this ties in
with LAL learning.
~Kelly
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]