Do you have “school trauma“?
I don’t, but I do have “water trauma.” I almost drowned twice; So I’m skittish around water, the same way some students with terrible experiences at school are skittish in their academics!
The problem is, I LOVE water and WISH that I was more comfortable swimming and playing in it. Just like you probably wish you could feel more relaxed, confident, and competent at school, right?
More about that shortly…
First, I want to do a quick shout out to all the folks I met at The Executive Function Online Summit (TEFOS) this past weekend! It’s not too late to watch the recordings if any of you missed it; the speakers were phenomenal, and I learned a ton myself! What you see today is an example of my weekly video tip for students.
In today’s 3-minute video…
You get to see me in snorkel gear, playing in California’s Yuba River. I reflect on how I’m getting myself to feel more relaxed and comfortable in the water and make suggestions about how students could try some similar techniques for being more relaxed and comfortable at school.
(Hint: The secret is incrementally).
Check it out:
Got an idea about how you can apply incrementally to your school year this year?
I’d love to hear! Hit reply and tell me.
Smiles,
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This is what makes you so fun. You are willing to take risks and you connect everything to learning. I used to teach adults and children to swim. You are so right that incrementality is the key. Many of my adult students had past trauma like yours. In addition, there was a swim instructor in the school district who was notorious for pushing students in the water. I had to help undo a lot of his damage.
Anyway, we used the incrementality starting with people getting comfortable getting in the water. Then getting their face wet. Then practicing holding their breath. Practicing holding their breath underwater. Floating with assistance. Floating and standing up without assistance. Floating, gliding, then kicking and finally introducing arm movement or strokes.
At the end of the two weeks, they were given the opportunity to jump in the deep end if they wanted (no pressure). You’d be surprised how many did.
Watching people overcome their fear and picking up a lifesaving skill is what made me fall in love with teaching. Thanks for the reminder.