Since coming home for college, I know it's time for one thing. I can smell the pool and hear the cries of angry kids, and that's when you know it's swim lesson season. I have been a swim teacher for at least five years, and through all the cries, the popsicles the children get at the end of the week, and the laughs, I have learned so many things.
Every child is different.
This is certainly a given, and we all know this. However, it becomes even more apparent when you work with children. Each child learns a different way, and each child is reassured differently. If a child is special needs, sometimes you can't even tell, and with others, they can learn how to swim just like any other child. Even though some have on the same swim suits, they all have their little quirks and are raised by different kinds of parents.
Even though they are all different, some are carbon copies of their parents.
It's crazy how you start to notice what a kid has gotten from their parents. Sometimes it's just the way their face is, but it seems like everything about them is from their parents. There are several occasions when siblings take lessons together and even they could look like twins, despite the couple years apart.
Every parent is different.
Because every child is different, their parents are going to be different, too. Some are so clingy that they don't want to step away or let us do our jobs, yet some want us to do anything we want because they know they want their child to learn to swim. Some learn they need to step away from their screaming kid because of how much a kid doesn't want to put their head in the water, and some don't know what to do with themselves.
It's amazing how some kids are a natural.
Some children are absolutely terrified of the water (they will definitely let you know), but some love it so much that they don't want to leave. I have met three year olds that go off the diving board and don't need help swimming to the ladder, and last week I saw a two year old do it. Some kids know what you're talking about and easily do it, and some can't get the idea into their heads. It's crazy seeing how much kids can improve.
You get attached.
I can't help that there are some I absolutely love, and I'm so happy that I was the one to teach them one of the most essential things to learn.
