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Playing Devil's Advocate

I must confess that I don't believe swimming should necessarily be taught at school - the logistics and time involved may not be worth the benefit when other lessons are considered.
From a species point of view a few (thousand) drownees is not significant - human beings are not currently an endangered species, so who cares if we lose a few?

But from a parental point of view I think basic ability in the water is potentially a life saver. Knowing Judo might at best save your wallet (but might also get you killed if you aren't very good at it) whereas being able to keep your head above water for 10 minutes rather than just sinking is clearly quite a good thing.
 
Ezra Pound said:
I personally would have been a lot happier at school had I not been forced to play football for 5 years :)
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Double rugger on a cold, wet, muddy field? Loved it. Hated when they cancelled that for the run up to the Christmas party for dancing lessons. :(
 
Black Hole said:
You think that is an equivalent argument?
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Not sure. :unsure: But yesterday it seemed to me that your assertion "why do they think this......etc" could be applied to anything. But as you intended with this thread it at least got me thinking.

MikeSh said:
I must confess that I don't believe swimming should necessarily be taught at school - the logistics and time involved may not be worth the benefit when other lessons are considered.
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That is true, it generally took two hours out of the school day for a half hour lesson and the expense was considerable, but the pupils at least had the opportunity as working parents would not have the time to devote to this activity.
 
My point is that swimming does not contribute to the economic activity of the country (other than employ a few people in the leisure 'industry'). A few deaths here and there are in the most part avoidable, and quite often as the result of misadventure where the casualty could swim but took too great a risk.

Neither does swimming contribute to somebody's ability to fend for themselves rather than be a burden to the State, other than as part of a general fitness regime which can be achieved in other ways - swimming is unique in that it requires facilities that are of no use for anything else (sailing model boats, anyone?).

So where does this imperative that everyone should be taught to swim (like it or not) come from? Obviously it is now propagated by enthusiast groups "I enjoy it therefore so will you (eventually)" - personally I regard the whole process as a tedious waste of time (I have swum a mile, but only as a personal challenge and I would never want to do it again). The origins, I think, must be when it was fashionable to "take the waters" and all that best medical practice could offer as a cure-all was immersion in sea water.

Councils seem to agree. How many public baths have been closed to save cost, even now leisure centres come under fire on a regular basis. In some instances an enthusiast group has formed a trust to take the facilities over, so they get the facility at zero or little capital cost but at least it then has to run on its own income. This seems the right way to go.
 
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gomezz said:
Double rugger on a cold, wet, muddy field? Loved it. Hated when they cancelled that for the run up to the Christmas party for dancing lessons. :(
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:rolleyes: :)

Double hockey/athletics/netball on cold, wet, muddy tarmac? Hated it. Loved it when a new enlightened regime took over the P.E. department and ballroom dancing lessons were offered as an alternative.
Best thing ev-ah! Finally earnt me some medals... :D
 
Ebola.

Why is the developed world so keen to send relief? The planet is over-populated as it is - we need more wars, famines, and pestilences.
 
DM Front page Saturday
FREE Ceramic poppy brooch. Beautiful. Unique. And we're giving away thousands to lucky readers
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So the 1000's of lucky readers will be able to wear their unique poppy brooch in the full knowledge that no one else has one?
 
This may also be AvP, but according to the BBC News: "Bob Geldof on Band Aid: 'Ebola is inhuman'".
 
Yeah. Look at the panic they're in over some poor nurse who (weirdly) went over there and came back to be greeted by a lynch mob.
 
Right, well Ebola didn't stir up much of a fight (or indeed any), so how about this...

Earlier this week 'they' were fussing about trying to encourage more girls into science subjects at school (again). When are 'they' going to realise that, while some girls get on OK with science and engineering, and some men are nurses and carers, that is not the general pattern simply because the male and female brains (on average) are differently wired.
 
Are you proposing girls use a soldering iron on their brains?

PS I bet you still underline your section headings too? :disagree:
 
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Black Hole said:
Earlier this week 'they' were fussing about trying to encourage more girls into science subjects at school (again). When are 'they' going to realise that, while some girls get on OK with science and engineering, and some men are nurses and carers, that is not the general pattern simply because the male and female brains (on average) are differently wired.
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So not a fan of Pink Stinks then : )
 
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