Rules
&
Behavior
Expectations
My students come to class with so many different emotions: excitement, fear, anxiety, confusion, concern, and so many more. I get that.
Rules and expectations help reduce that confusion and help keep the kids SAFE. SAFETY FIRST! Always around a pool and especially with kids who are learning how to swim.
These rules and expectations are all based on:
Experience
Safety
Common Sense
Respect
If a student forgets any of these rules don’t worry. That’s to be expected. You’ll find I’m actually very easy-going overall. I’m a swimming instructor…I should be!
So with this in mind, here are my rules and expectations for behavior to keep kids safe and everyone happy and having the best time possible.
SAFETY FIRST: If a student ignores any rules that puts that student, me, or anyone else in danger, I will either end class early or they will be put in a time out by sitting on the side of the pool depending on the severity and the frequency of the students failure to follow safety instructions. Safety is the most important thing to teach children around water.
The first thing I do with every new student is to show them where they ARE and are NOT safe in my pool by themselves. They are clearly instructed multiple times not to cross those safety lines without me.
Your child/ren are swimming students. They are not able to safely swim on their own yet. It is for their own safety that they get out of the pool immediately when instructed to at the end of lessons. I know they love swimming and don’t want to get out of the pool, but I cannot watch them play in between lessons. If I am not watching them they can go into an area that is not safe and safety is the first rule in my pool. If they repeatedly do not get out of the pool at the end of lessons I will have to end their lessons early to accommodate their refusal to get out of the pool at the end of lessons. It’s not fair to the next student to have to wait every class for the student before them to eventually get out of the pool.
If I am teaching two students at once, the student I am not currently working with at that moment is expected to stay in the safety zone where I put them. If they are unable to control their excitement for swimming and leave the safety zone they will have to sit on the side of the pool when it is not their turn. This may be cold for them, but I’d rather they be cold than put themselves in an unsafe situation.
NO TOUCHING the Fastlane Pro without my supervision or approval. This includes ALL FORMS OF TOUCHING: hanging on, standing on, sitting on, jumping on, etc. This is an EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE piece of equipment. If it breaks I will literally fall down and die in front of your eyes. It is my baby. It is my favorite thing about my pool. It is a critical part of many of my students’ lessons that they love and they too would be heartbroken if it was broken by a student disrespecting it. Thank you.
Students are not allowed in the hot tub/spa before, during or after class without my permission. I use the hot tub/spa for lessons, but not for all my students and not every class. Sometimes it is heated. Sometimes it is not heated. If they get into the hot tub before class and it is heated they are not allowed to complain about the pool being cold. I do not want to hear it. They broke the rule and that is the consequence of breaking rules. After class they may get into the hot tub with permission and as long as they are supervised by a guardian. I cannot teach and supervise kids in the hot tub. They also may not interrupt the next class while they are enjoying the hot tub.
Students are not allowed to enter the pool without MY approval. Many of my students' parents insist that their children ask for my permission before they are allowed to enter the pool and I LOVE that practice so I'm adopting it. It is such a great practice for keeping your children safe around any pool. All students should stand or sit on the side and ask my permission to enter the pool and get my affirmation before entering.
I schedule a 5 minute break between lessons to handle a variety of things that come up that need my attention: cleaning up toys and equipment from the previous class, getting out the toys and equipment I want to use for the next class, taking a bathroom break, responding to urgent messages, and more. If you see me on my phone in between classes it’s because I’m taking notes on my lessons to help me remember what we did and what I want to work on with your child next class so I need uninterrupted time to enter those notes before the next class starts. I don’t want to be rude if someone is talking to me but it’s hard to concentrate on writing my notes and talk to students and parents at the same time.
So just because I’m finished the class before your student’s class doesn’t mean it’s immediately their turn. They are so excited for class they don’t know that. I love that they are excited for class, but I can’t have them jumping in the pool just as I’m getting out for a minute or my back is turned handling business.
Sometimes students don’t realize they have to wait for their turn and think their turn starts when they arrive so they jump in as soon as they arrive, even if I’m still teaching another student! They run down the alley ahead of their parents, all excited, throw off their shoes and jump into the pool. As their teacher it makes me so happy to see how excited they are for their swimming lessons. However, students should not be getting in to the pool early while I’m still teaching the previous class. Sometimes my back is turned because I am teaching another student and the next student is getting into the pool. I LOVE their enthusiasm, but I just need them to wait a few more minutes.NO SPITTING WATER: By this I mean a student intentionally filling their mouth with water and spitting it at me or anyone else. This is just disgusting. This has always been a non-negotiable rule. Following the Coronavirus pandemic it is an even higher priority that all children learn that spitting is absolutely unacceptable under any conditions. Please explain to your children why they want to keep pool water out of their mouths as much as possible. (pee pee water. YUCK!)
NO HITTING, KICKING OR BITING. I'm not talking about accidental kicks or hits. I'm talking about intentional lashing out. Usually this is caused by a scared student trying to assert dominance over me and take control over me and class. I get that, but they need to learn better ways to communicate their fear like talking. I will listen! INTENTIONAL hitting, kicking and biting will result in class ending early that day.
NO INTENTIONAL SPLASHING OTHER PEOPLE: This has gotten to the point I have had to add it to the rules. Students are constantly splashing me and not stopping when I politely asked them to multiple times. It has become a problem of not listening and disrespect. The reality is that most people don’t like being splashed. It’s fun to splash people, it’s not fun to BE splashed. It is NOT funny and it wastes class time. Usually students like to do this to me as a way to avoid practicing a difficult skill and justify it as being funny. It is not. I will end class early if a student refuses to stop splashing me when asked multiple times. That’s how serious this has become.
NO RUNNING around the pool. Ugh! I hated that rule when I was a kid. But now I’m an adult and have to enforce it.
I LOVE FINS, as do my students, but please wait until they are in the pool to give them their fins so they don’t “duck walk” around the yard. Or ask them to hand them to me so I can help them put them on if they are too young to do it themselves. It’s a trip hazard to walk in them. They are not designed for walking. Also, help me reinforce that they are to take them off BEFORE the get out of the pool. They are so excited for lessons and swimming this is the kind of thing they will forget and it’s understandable. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.
No walking on the blue tile hot tub wall: This can be slippery. It’s a potential slip hazard and asking for trouble if a student does this so this is absolutely against the rules.
No diving without my approval and supervision: My pool is 8’ deep in the deep end so there are safe places to dive in my pool. There are also many unsafe places to dive. Let’s just stay safe and only dive with my supervision so I can be assured that my students are diving in safe zones and that I know they have learned what are safe zones to dive when they are not at my pool.
Students are not to go through my boxes of toys without my permission. I have very good reasons for this and it can become very expensive when students do not follow this important rule. It's also disrespectful to go through someone else's things. I have everything organized for lessons so that I can be efficient for lessons and not waste time looking for specific teaching tools. I will share my toys though so they are welcome to ask me if they can play with any of my toys while they are waiting and I will get them the toys they want to play with.
No Chewing or Bubble Gum allowed. Sadly someone dropped their gum onto my turf. It’s not real grass so cleaning gum out of every single blade of fake grass was a chore. Please don’t make me do that again! Someone else dropped their gum on the pavers. So I had to scrape that up. I have several trash cans around. PLEASE use the trash cans. Do not throw gum, or any other trash, on the ground. Thank you.
If you eat food outside please clean up your dropped food. There are several trash cans around. It will reduce bugs and other wildlife from coming into the yard to eat it. Plus, there are a lot of people walking around barefoot. Let’s work together to keep the ground safe and clean.
Students should wear shoes when not in the pool. The ground gets hot and it’s so easy for kid to do something to hurt their feet running around. Get those shoes on them as quickly as possible after lessons. I can’t tell you how many times I yell after students who have left to come back and get their shoes they forgot about. Plus, I don’t want to see anyone hurt their feet.
Parents...stay within earshot with a box of tissues ready. Hardly a single class goes by without me calling for tissues for my students. I am NOT KIDDING about the tissues/baby wipes!!! For sanitary and health reasons I will not help your child blow their nose if they need help. There are trash cans inside the sunroom and outside for you to use to dispose of the dirty tissues.
Students are allowed to tell me they are cold ONCE. I keep the pool at a reasonably warm temperature for most people…in the high 80s. It is impossible to make every person happy with the temperature so I do not try. I strive to make sure the majority of my students are warm. If your student is cold on any given day they can feel free to mention it once and then after that we are going to focus on learning how to swim. Any student that is consistently cold should get a wet suit. It will keep them approximately 10° warmer than not wearing one. I also suggest not scheduling children who get cold easily first thing in the mornings. Mid-day is best as the air temperature is the warmest and the pool is probably as warm as it's going to be for the day around that time of day. Once class starts there is nothing I can do to get the pool any warmer in 25 minutes. The pool is too big. I learned how to swim in unheated pools where the water temperature was in the 70s when I was a toddler and little kid. I was cold, but I lived and learned how to swim. A little chilly water never hurt anyone.
If students want to come early or stay late to watch another student swim they are very welcome to do so. They can learn a lot from watching classes before and after theirs. I have always found my students to be incredibly respectful of those having lessons and don't disturb classes in session. I have the best behaved students.
Don't be scared to talk to me. I want my students to tell me if they are scared, or need help or anything like that. It will help me be a better teacher for them. If they want to learn something specific in any class feel free to speak up and tell me. I LOVE that! It shows interest which I love to foster. I like to foster a “team” approach to swimming lessons, though I do get the final say in what we work on each day. I welcome suggestions from my students.
Go to the bathroom BEFORE class begins. (Please don't pee in the pool.) Parents should stay within earshot of class in case your child also has to go to the bathroom and needs your assistance. Some kids just need to go a lot even if they went before class. But, if they need to go to the bathroom during class that's ok. Just speak up and let me know!
Leave things the way they were found. If the door is opened close it, especially if the AC is running. Put toys, books or games away the way they were found before leaving so the next kiddos can use them.
Please turn off the AC in the sunroom when you leave. If you turn on the AC and no one is in the sunroom when you leave please turn it off. If the AC was on when you entered the sunroom and no one is in the sunroom when you leave please turn it off. I appreciate your help saving electricity and money. Sometimes it’s hours in between families using the sunroom and running the AC for hours is wasteful. The room cools super fast when the AC is turned on. There is also a remote for the ceiling fan to help circulate the air in the room to cool it down even faster.
Practice in between lessons, when possible. I get it. Life gets busy. Even if you have a pool in your backyard or a block from your house sometimes you just don’t have time to get your child/ren into the pool in between every single class. That’s OK! If you don’t try then you definitely won’t. But students need pool time between lessons. I find the number one reason for behavioral problems in swimming lessons is because students are only getting swimming time in swimming lessons so they want to use my pool and lesson time as play time. Students who come ready to learn got play/practice time in a pool in between most lessons. If you do this one thing you can probably avoid the entire next section labeled “Behavior”. Put going to a pool to play/practice on your schedule. You wouldn’t take your child to piano lessons and never practice in between THOSE lessons! You need to have time on your schedule for lessons AND practicing. If you want your child to learn quickly then the best way is to practice in between lessons so you are not putting all the pressure on them to get it all just in lessons. It will also help you save money because you won’t need as many classes. We only work on skills your child/ren need to learn and master. Once they master a skill we are moving on! Plus, they will have so much fun in the pool with you. Practicing in between lessons reinforces how important learning to swim is to you and that will motivate your child/ren to do their best in lessons. I can teach your child to swim if you never practice with them in between lessons, but it will take a LOT longer than it takes other kids to learn how to swim.
Behavior
Fortunately this section applies to very, very few of my students. Nearly all of my students show up excited and ready to learn how to swim or learn how to swim better. We have fun and tons of progress is made.
But, since I do get students now and then who act like this I feel like I should set proper expectations as to how this behavior will be handled.
Please note that I understand how to work with ADHD students. ADHD students do very well in my lessons and we have fun. They are not the students to whom I’m referring in this section.
Students should to come to class ready to learn, and not see my pool as strictly a play pool and me as a lifeguard or play pal. I love it when students come to class excited to learn how to swim. I do everything I can to keep that enthusiasm as high as possible. But some students are either so excited to be in a pool, or they forget they are here for swimming lessons and they just swim and play and ignore me.
I will work with your child’s excitement and enthusiasm within the bounds of lessons, but this is still a swimming class and they need to listen to their instructor if they are going to learn. I’m extremely flexible with my lesson plan and will throw it out the window if a student shows interest in learning a completely different skill than I had planned that day. I work with my students as much as possible.
It is the parents responsibility to prepare their child(ren) for swimming lessons so they understand that I am an instructor and they are a student and this is not play time. Yes, I want to have fun, but it’s educational fun…not “student-lead free-for-all, do whatever the student wants” fun.
I have two-year-old students who understand why they are at my pool. They wake up in the morning excited to come to class and learn something new. They show up to the pool ready to have fun learning how to swim. They are on a mission to learn more and get better at swimming with every visit. If two-year-olds can do it then certainly older, more experience kids can too.
I expect students to keep their heads above water when I'm speaking with them.
I expect students to watch me when I demonstrate skills.
I expect students to follow directions and not ignore me.
I expect students to TRY to practice the skills I am teaching and not use that time to goof off and play.
Students can't learn if they can't hear me or watch me demonstrate. I will not speak until their heads are above water and they are paying attention. I will wait for them to be ready to listen and learn.
I have lost my voice due to constantly repeating myself to students going underwater while I'm teaching them, or yelling after them when they ignore my instructions to practice a skill and they swim away. I am not doing that any more.
I cannot teach students who do not listen to me or look at me when I am demonstrating a skill. If, after repeated attempts, a student absolutely refuses to listen to me and follow my instructions, then classes will have to become more strict in order for learning to happen. (Diagnosed ADHD students are handled differently and parents will help advise what works with their child.)
WHY do some kids come to class ready to learn and others come just to play? I have found that it’s usually because the ones who come ready to learn got to play at a pool in between swimming lessons. That makes sense! If you only make time for swimming LESSONS and never take your child(ren) to a pool to play and practice in between lessons then of course they are going to want to play in my pool. It’s not fun to ONLY go to swimming lessons!! They WANT to practice what they learn in swimming lessons and never get a chance outside of class. By not taking your child to a pool to play in between swimming lessons you are setting your child up to not be able to focus and learn when they do come to swimming lessons.
If your child is using swimming lessons for play time because they are not getting pool time outside of lessons then schedule some play time at the Henderson Multigenerational Pool right down the street from me. Schedule play time for before or after lessons so your child knows when and where to play and will be more focused to learn “new tricks” when they come see me.
Sometimes parents get upset because then classes are “NOT FUN” like I promised because I have to be more strict with those students who ignore me when I’m fun and nice. I can’t have a fun class with a student who ignores me. I’m sorry, but when we had fun your child refused to learn. So we can’t “have fun” again until your child starts listening to the instructor and making an effort to learn again.
If you only want to bring your child to my pool to play, you are absolutely welcome to do that at the same cost, just let me know that you would prefer that instead of lessons. I’m fine with that.
I charge the same price to be a lifeguard as a swimming instructor.
Some ways I get students to listen when they ignore me is to sit them on the side of the pool. This is a standard practice every swimming instructor in the United States has used for decades to get students to pay attention and listen. Are the students cold and unhappy? Maybe. Hopefully!! That’s the price paid for not listening and hopefully they will learn to listen to avoid sitting on the cold and boring side of the pool. If they can listen while being in the water then they do not have to sit on the side.
Students who do not listen are unsafe and/or not learning. If students continue to not listen class will end early so that parents can have appropriate discussions with their child(ren) to prepare them to pay attention and listen for the next class. There is no point in spending an entire 25 minutes just trying to get a student to listen who is set on just playing in my pool. The child won. He/she got to swim for 25 minutes and play with no consequences. I want to teach students how to swim, not spend 25 minutes trying to get a student to pay attention. If they get away with it in one class then they’ve learned that they don’t have to listen in future lessons and your child will not end up making any progress in swimming lessons.
I cannot make your child swim if they refuse to swim.
I cannot make your child learn if they do not want to learn how to swim.
This is different than if they are just scared, but want to learn. I have taught tons of students like that. I can teach anyone who WANTS TO LEARN.
But, I cannot force children to learn to swim if they don’t want to be here and learn for what ever personal reason they have.
It is the parents responsibility to bring children ready to learn to lessons.
There are NO REFUNDS for parents who decide to end their session early because their child(ren) has refused to learn how to swim.
YOU decided your child was ready for swimming lessons. YOU booked my time and let me know your child was ready to learn. There were dozens of other parents and students who desperately wanted your spot so they could learn how to swim and now they don’t get that opportunity. I reserved my time for you because you told me your child was ready for swimming lessons.
You know your child well enough to know if they can handle swimming lessons and want to learn or not. I cannot instill that desire in your child if it is not there already. By signing up for swimming lessons you are telling me that your child wants to learn how to swim.
I cannot possibly be held financially accountable for your child refusing to learn. Again, you reserved my TIME for a specific schedule and I set that time aside for you. If you or your child chooses not to use that time for lessons you still have to pay for the time you reserved. I will NOT take the financial loss for your child refusing to learn how to swim when I could have used that time to teach a child who wanted to learn how to swim.
I reserve the right to end a class early at my discretion…
if a child is just having a really bad day or time. We all have bad days! It’s ok. It’s not ok to force someone to continue in that state. They are not learning and it’s just making their mood even worse. It’s better to cut and run and try to salvage the rest of your day if possible. They are not going to learn if we force them to finish out the time. The time is better spent trying to get them back into a better mood for the remainder of the day. This usually just applies to the youngest students.
if a child refuses to follow directions, pay attention, listen, watch demonstrations and make any effort to learn. Students who ignore me and just play in my pool will be told to get out and speak with their parents so their parents can explain why they are in my pool…for swimming lessons, not free pool play time. This usually just applies to the intermediate - advanced students.
if a child looks or acts ill.
if a child is acting in an unsafe way and will not stop.
any other situation that comes up that I have not thought of to write down in this space, but is a reasonable reason to end a class early…and I’m sure you’d agree with me on that…i.e. some sort of Act Of God…or Keanu Reeves walks his dog down my street.