Swimming lessons have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My dad was not allowed to swim until he was in high school. He learned how to swim at that point but he never could do it well. My mom learned to swim at a young age and grew up with a pool in her backyard. Her mother never learned how to swim and was very fearful of water (she did learn how to put her face in, and as a way for her kids to be able to take swimming lessons, my grandmother taught swimming lessons for years... however she only taught the lowest level where the goal was to be comfortable putting your face in the water... my grandmother had the reputation of being the best teacher for that level because of her patience. When the kids she taught found out years later that she couldn't swim and was in fact afraid of doing the very thing she taught so well, they were universally amazed). As a consequence of my dad and my maternal grandmother, I was enrolled in swimming lessons from the time I turned 1 year old until I could pass a certain level. I kept up with swimming lessons even after that point. By the time I was 13, I was teaching (at first it was just the babies 1:1, by 14 I had normal "level" classes). I taught various swim classes from that point until shortly after graduating from college.
When Pyrope was a baby, we started doing Parent and Tot classes (for the most part the classes that used to exist for babies without a parent are now gone). When he was 3, he was moved up to "Preschool" classes (no parents go in for these). Obsidian was following the same pattern. This fall when I went to sign up Pyrope for his preschool class, I noticed there was no longer an age requirement. So I asked about signing up Obsidian for the same class. I was told it was fine if he was comfortable in the water with a stranger and could wait his turn. He can do both (he can't do 30 minutes of lessons because he gets too cold, but that is a problem we have with the parent and tot one as well). He got signed up. I was sad on the first day of class the normal teacher was not there. The substitute was okay, but didn't really push Pyrope (or Obsidian but he needs less pushing and I'm less concerned about him learning the skills as quickly). Obsidian did fine. He waited his turn, he got in the pool, he tried, and he didn't cry. A 5 year in the class was fearful but listened, tried, and didn't cry. One of the 3 year olds refused (for the whole 8 weeks) to get in the water at all. The other 3 year old kept running around the deck instead of sitting and waiting his turn. The 2nd week, same thing. Week 3, the normal teacher was back, took 1 look at Obsidian and said he couldn't be in the class because he was too small and wouldn't listen. I said he had been fine the first 2 lessons. She said no and refused to let him come with her. With that, substitute teacher walked in and said the center had asked her to come in for the lessons so the class could be split (typically they limit the class to 4, and there were 5). She took the 3 year old who wouldn't go near the water and Obsidian. She was wonderful with Obsidian. He learned so much. Everyone from me, to his doctor, to his physical therapist started to notice him make significant gains (it could be coincidence, but I think it was related to what he was learning to do in the water). At the end of the session, main teacher said that next session Obsidian would have to be in the Parent and Tot class (the class requirements once again have age included). Are you kidding me? No. Parent and Tot they walk around in the water, sign song, and if the class is "good" try kicking sitting on the edge and being encouraged to put their face in. Obsidian was working on holding onto the wall and kicking, climbing out of the water by himself, bobs, alternating arm movements, and the "older" skills. The only person above the main teacher is the aquatic director. So I went in and appealed to her. She agreed to have Obsidian in the preschool class again as long as I signed up for a time that the main teacher wasn't teaching it. Fine. Guess what. Obsidian did fine (except getting cold after 20 minutes, but really that is an issue of the water temperature, air temperature, and his lack of body mass). Unfortunately, the teachers aren't nearly as good (they are all high school students, where as the main teacher taught some of my friends how to swim and the one who wound up teaching Obsidian is in her 20's). I would love to get Pyrope back in main teacher's class. Obsidian however was not exactly nice to her after he heard her saying he was too small (as in he would screech at her "I big. I swim." then spit at her... um, kid that is not really helping your case). I wish she would have looked at Obsidian for who he is and what he can do instead of his size (and to a lesser extent his age, if he had been a big 2 year old, I doubt she would have asked his age). They used to do private lessons, but stopped them. I would be willing to do that with Obsidian (I do understand he is young but at the same time skill wise, socially, and cognitively he does not fit into the baby group). I'm going to see how the remaining lessons go for Pyrope, and if he is learning anything (which the first lesson he didn't from the high schoolers) we will stay with what we have. If not, I'm back to the good fight.
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