A critical investigation of the effects of using different learning Essay

A critical investigation of the effects of using different learning styles in swimming in KS1 - Essay Example The activity of swimming is a preventative learning experience that not only teaches a sport to children, but prepares them for the dangers of water Even though it may seem that water is a benign space, the truth is that it accounts for a significant number of deaths per year. Cultural disparities in infrastructure has caused some groups to have less access to swimming, thus putting them at higher risk for incidents. Swimming is also a social space, a place in which a natural hierarchy is developed and in which an unspoken set of rules govern behavior. Therefore, in creating curriculum that includes swimming, a social, safety, and culturally relevant system of skills is given to those participating in the educational venue. The ASA School Swimming Strategy Because of the many reasons for the advantages of having a swimming educational curriculum, it is crucial to critically evaluate the nature of swimming instruction as supported by the state. The ASA has identified four key elements that should be addressed where swimming is concerned: To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to learn to swim To ensure that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy swimming or water based fitness activities for health and fun throughout their lives To ensure everyone achieves their different personal goals throughout their lifetime To ensure we achieve gold medal success on the world stage (ASA) The problem with these objectives is that they skip the most crucial objective, which is to provide instruction that asserts the safety issues that must be addressed where water is concerned. ... This is an odd construction of focal points for a strategy that intends to cover the needs of all the participants in the program. While the strategy lists this a secondary focus, that it is listed without the focus of safety included is a quandary. The WHO (World Health Organization) has determined that 400,000 to 700,000 people drown each year at a worldwide level. There are a great deal of issues that affect the nature of drowning potential, including race, age, sex and the participation in instructions on water safety and swimming. Because many areas do not have sufficient infrastructure to support swimming as an activity, drowning becomes a real threat (Hastings, Zaharon, and Cable 915). The strategy outlines ways in which it helps schools systems to meet the criteria that are listed in different programmes. One of the programmes is the â€Å"Every Child Matters† programme that supports the idea that schools should be a place in which life long skill sets and protections are created so that the child has the best possible chance at a good outcome as an adult. Swimming, according to the ASA helps to provide this programme with some of its goals through achieving systems that create activities for extended school programmes so that there are places for children to go outside of the regular school time period (ASA). Again, this does not address the nature of the contribution of water safety that will provide further protections and skill sets that can save lives. Other programmes such as â€Å"Aiming High for Young People† and â€Å"Physical Activity and Sports Strategy for Young People† are also addressed to emphasize the importance of swimming as an activity, rather than providing a skill set for safety (ASA). The problem with simply