Reflection

Overall I was pretty pleased with how the kids progressed, and I felt that I learned how to be a better swim teacher, and will teach some more in the summer and next year. I also learned more about communication, asking for help, and lots of emailing. In the beginning of my project, I hoped to teach 3 kids who would not have otherwise had the opportunity to have swim lessons. I taught 6 kids 5 lessons each. I am not so sure if I reached my target demographic as most of the parents seemed at least moderately well off, and some offered to pay me to continue afterwards, but I am glad that I helped these kids learn to swim, and I gained valuable experience.

April Blog Post 2

Wow I have gotten so many responses. All the times filled up quite fast, and now I have more people on the waitlist than people I am teaching. I am thinking that I might do this again next year but with more people, maybe as a signature project with 2 people or maybe as a club thing. The problem with the signature project idea is that we would only have 2 people which is not ideal, and the problem with the club idea is that people would be less committed and might lose interest or have busy and unpredictable schedules. I suppose if it were to do the club thing I might want to keep each session shortish, so have like 4 lessons each session over maybe 6 weeks (accounting for long weekends and breaks) so people could quit or join more easily. It also might be hard to find enough interested teachers. If there were more lessons happening at once, it might be a good idea to have them during not open swim so that there is enough space. For that, I would need to organize having a lifeguard (possibly me) as well as teachers. I am having the first lesson tomorrow. I am excited and nervous, but the guy who is the father of both the girls I will be teaching sounded nice, and I asked my advisor Ms. Hatton if she could come and just swim nearby and help if needed. I hope there is not a rule on having too many blog posts, it is just that I have a lot to record on my blog and everything is moving so fast! It is also interesting to note that I have gotten a response from parents of kids with Autism and Down Syndrome. It must be hard to find affordable private lessons with instructors who are willing to work with kids who think differently.

Annotated Bibliography

CDC Stats on children drowning:
https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/waterinjuries-factsheet.html

Friday Knight Fishes Program:
https://www.strose.edu/academics/schools/school-of-education/campus-based-professional-groups/friday-knights-program/

WSI Book:
http://www.instructorscorner.org/media/resources/wsicandidates/WS_IM_978-1-58480-606-6_Digital.pdf

April Blog Post 1

This has been a busy day for my project and I just want to write it all down. I got a call this morning just minutes after I woke up from the principal of PS 16 saying that he was going to send the flyer home with parents today. Then, I got 2 emails and a phone call over the course of the day with parents or grandparents who are interested in the program. I actually set up a lesson with a guy named David on the phone who has two daughters. The time is next Wednesday. That is less than a week from now and I am a little nervous. One of my concerns is again how to make sure that they can touch the bottom of the pool. There is a platform that I think I have seen in the pool before but it is under 2 heavy machines. I will ask Rob about it when I see him at swim ASPE. I also helped someone yesterday with swimming. ASPE was cancelled because Rob was sick but Ms. Parry asked if I could lifeguard while everyone else swam. I helped a student tread water. At first she was hesitant and scared to let go of the wall, but we just sort of had a conversation about something unrelated which I think helped to take her mind off of her fear. I eventually had her hold the rope on the end of the lifeguarding tube. At first she held on very tightly but then she started relying on it less and by the end she was treading water almost on her own. Sorry that this is long and not very organized but I am really excited and nervous. I just have to keep reminding myself that it is okay if I am not perfect and I do not owe anybody anything and that the only way I could fail is if I did not show up or if I let someone drown, and that won't happen. I also should probably work on my phone talking skills, and my social skills in general. I think my conversations went okay but they could have been a little better.

March Blog Post 2

In my last post I had a flyer, and was planning on contacting someone at school 16. I found out that my Spanish teacher does some of the school 16 club stuff so I emailed her with the flyer and asked if she could talk with someone at school 16 about it. She emailed me back and copied the principal of the school. He wanted to know how many students there would be in each session and what age and skill levels I would be teaching. I told him that I would teach one-on-one during open swim so there would be around 3 lessons per open swim block, because I noticed that I get emotionally tired after lessons so more than 3 would be too many. I also said that I plan to teach kids ages 6-11 and all skill levels. The principal said that he would forward the project to the superintendent's office for review and distribution to parents. I hope that I will be in contact with some parents soon to arrange lessons.

March Blog Post 1

I made a flyer with the information about my project that I intend to put up in school 16. It says:

My name is Katie and I am a student at Emma Willard School. I am on my school swim team, and am certified as both a lifeguard and a water safety instructor by the Red Cross. I want to help your family be safer around the water by providing one-on-one swim lessons for children ages 6-11, preferably children who are eager to learn swimming.

Possible times for lessons include Saturday 4:30-6pm, Sunday 3-5pm, and Wednesday 3:45-5pm during the months of April and May. The lessons would be about 30 minutes each, there will be a lifeguard on duty, and parents are welcome to observe. If you are interested in scheduling swim lessons and are free during one of those times, please contact me at kfoster@emmawillard.org or (860) 817-2234.

I was a little worried about including my email and phone number but could not think of any better option since not all of the parents have email or internet access. The lessons are going to be one-on-one because I have heard from several sources including myself that I am better in one-on-one social interactions and teaching. Next, I will try to contact someone at school 16 who could help get this information out to parents there who might be interested. 

February Blog Post 2

In the last post I mentioned that I was looking for a platform that the kids might stand on so that they can comfortably reach the surface of the water. I found that platform but it is under some swimming exercise machines and they look heavy and hard to move. I also went to Friday Knight Fishes again and taught some other kids. They were quite cute, but one of the things I am looking forward to about teaching neurotypical children is that they follow directions better. It was sometimes hard to get the kids at fishes to actually learn swimming when they were so interested in playing in the pool or with toys.

February Blog Post 1

I Bryce for practice teaching kids and I worked with him on putting his face in the water and side breathing. He was ok, but tired quickly, and we just need to make his form smoother and increase endurance. One challenge that teaching Bryce helped me find was that the water in the shallow end of the EWS pool was fairly deep for him-up to chin level. As some kids might be even shorter, and some might not be comfortable in that water, I thought it might be good to find some sort of platform. I think there was a platform there before that goes in the pool. I think I have seen it before and I might ask someone about it so that kids can stand and are more comfortable.

January Blog Post

I have continued to work with helping some of the students in my swim PE class, and they are all progressing very well. I also have researched some ways I might contact parents of kids who are my target demographic for lessons. I looked at some websites about schools in the area and found that Public School 16 is really close to Emma Willard. It is only a few blocks, which makes it easier for kids and their parents to get here. School 16 has 327 students, and 69% of them qualify for a free or reduced price lunch, which means most of them probably cannot afford swim lessons. Next, I will make flyers and contact the school to see if I can put them up somewhere.

Here is the link to the College of Saint Rose Friday Knights program. If you scroll down, there is some information about the Fishes part of that program.

https://www.strose.edu/academics/schools/school-of-education/campus-based-professional-groups/friday-knights-program/

Interview

Ms. Hatton, who is currently a Science instructor at Emma Willard School, was born and grew up in Maine, graduating from high school in Cape Elizabeth in 2008. During high school, she cross-country skied, ran cross-country, mentored an elementary school student, and was a secretary of the national honors society. When she was 13, she took a class to become a water safety instructor aid. That summer, she volunteered helping swim teachers at a summer camp that her brother worked at. She was hired and worked at that same camp all during high school, and also taught lessons during the fall and spring. After graduating from high school, she attended Bowdin college where she studied science, was a member of the cross-country skiing team and a member of peer health. In 2012, Ms. Hatton heard about the program at Emma Willard School in which she could teach while earning her masters degree. She was a little hesitant at first, but after talking on the phone with Mr. Neilson, she agreed to visit campus. During her campus visit, she began to really like the school. The school liked her too, and she was hired. At first Ms. Hatton found it hard to adjust to the lack of work/life separation, and being so close in age to her students, but she now enjoys the closeness of the community and getting to know her students.