squidkid.

Yesterday I touched on a subject close to my heart: The benefit of private one-on-one instruction verse a group setting for introducing a new and possibly fearful non-swimmer to the water.

When I think about using a group approach to get a scared swimmer started, I recall a quote my friend’s grandmother used to say: “Only the rich can afford to buy cheap, because they can afford to buy something again and again and again …”

Enrolling in group lessons to teach your resisting child, which are cheaper than paying for a private instructor’s time, will feel a lot like that quote. Read further, and I’ll save you time, money, headache, and get you to end up with a safe swimmer.

Ratios Equal Reduced Attention, Period
Even in the best group swim instruction ratio settings, which typically is (and I wouldn’t settle less for) 4:1, your child isn’t going to get all the nurturing, turns, information and swim time they require to make significant progress. You’ll end up repeating the process again and again and again …

In any numbers setting, a teacher will always find themselves teaching the medium, or middle, which ultimately means learning and practicing skills all students can somewhat do. This slows progress for both the highest-level student and lowest-level student. So if the highest-level swimmer can put their face in and swim back-and-forth to the teacher, but all the lowest-level swimmer can do is swim assisted with their face up, common ground has been found and all students will stay within the confines of this activity.

Water is a safety issue — an instructor cannot turn their back on a student just so another could be pushed to swim further out. And you wouldn’t expect an instructor to force a fearful child to keep up with the pack.

Breeding Ground For Bad Habits
Another reason you might want to reconsider group lessons is because it can breed bad habits. Even if your instructor attempts an individual approach using a watchful eye, kids still have to wait their turn. They get bored. They start doing things they shouldn’t be doing, from spitting water to swimming away.

Instructors in a group setting are generally forced to go against instincts and become an entertainer, doing a lot of what I call “plate-spinning” (you know, a busy act clowns do in the circus), as well as spend thirty seconds of every minute gently disciplining/educating.

When A Semi-Private (2:1 Ratio) Works, When it Doesn’t
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I don’t teach beginner’s group classes if I can’t help it. I don’t even really like the semi-private lesson approach, where two students share one instructor; be it siblings or friends.

More often than not, the two students are mismatched swim partners. They might be great friends and get into the pool because they have one another, but it can jeopardize long-term results in the form of acquiring swim ability or establishing water safety. You end up with what I’ve described above, and I’m back to my old plate-spinning routine to keep them engaged.

The exception to the semi-private rule is for students who are able to swim by themselves in the water. I see lots of 6 year-olds and higher benefiting from the extra push a swim partner gives them. And of course an exception is if the parent begins to see that splitting any two apart will net in more results.

Not all instructors feel the same. I’m simply not a fan of group or mismatched semi-private lessons because each child deserves to get exactly what he/she needs in a swim lesson to make progress toward being be a safe swimmer.

But all instructors can agree that if you are very serious about getting the job thoroughly done, you go with one-on-one instruction. Water safety needs to come first before play or relying on any group dynamics that at some point stop delivering results. And you’ll save more money in the end.