{ "submission_id": "1689532", "keywords": [ { "keyword_id": "433002", "keyword_name": "aquaphobia", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "2" }, { "keyword_id": "256447", "keyword_name": "asian mouse", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "45" }, { "keyword_id": "4747", "keyword_name": "beaver", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "4205" }, { "keyword_id": "303", "keyword_name": "canine", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "196432" }, { "keyword_id": "1665", "keyword_name": "class", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "830" }, { "keyword_id": "432674", "keyword_name": "deep pool", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1" }, { "keyword_id": "1659", "keyword_name": "fear", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "2792" }, { "keyword_id": "432673", "keyword_name": "fear of the water", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1" }, { "keyword_id": "62", "keyword_name": "feline", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "154986" }, { "keyword_id": "123", "keyword_name": "female", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1107802" }, { "keyword_id": "54", "keyword_name": "females", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "25236" }, { "keyword_id": "23493", "keyword_name": "flying squirrel", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1037" }, { "keyword_id": "33", "keyword_name": "fox", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "252295" }, { "keyword_id": "75", "keyword_name": "girls", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "10076" }, { "keyword_id": "174", "keyword_name": "lion", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "44144" }, { "keyword_id": "107", "keyword_name": "lioness", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "11929" }, { "keyword_id": "165", "keyword_name": "male", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1218682" }, { "keyword_id": "180801", "keyword_name": "one piece swimsuit", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "813" }, { "keyword_id": "438", "keyword_name": "pool", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "7455" }, { "keyword_id": "3092", "keyword_name": "speedo", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "5789" }, { "keyword_id": "18984", "keyword_name": "students", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "446" }, { "keyword_id": "1739", "keyword_name": "swimming", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "4871" }, { "keyword_id": "14165", "keyword_name": "swimsuits", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "940" }, { "keyword_id": "1308", "keyword_name": "vixen", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "28555" }, { "keyword_id": "917", "keyword_name": "water", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "17525" }, { "keyword_id": "78803", "keyword_name": "white mouse", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "66" } ], "hidden": "f", "scraps": "f", "favorite": "f", "favorites_count": "17", "create_datetime": "2018-09-01 06:41:41.255849+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "01 Sep 2018 08:41 CEST", "last_file_update_datetime": "2018-09-01 06:35:23.036342+00", "last_file_update_datetime_usertime": "01 Sep 2018 08:35 CEST", "username": "ElfenSciuridae", "user_id": "17077", "user_icon_file_name": "14671_ElfenSciuridae_fern-inkbunny.gif", "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/14/14671_ElfenSciuridae_fern-inkbunny.gif", "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/14/14671_ElfenSciuridae_fern-inkbunny.gif", "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/14/14671_ElfenSciuridae_fern-inkbunny.gif", "file_name": "2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.png", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.png", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.png", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.jpg", "thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80_noncustom.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80_noncustom.jpg", "thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "75", "thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "thumb_large_noncustom_y": "125", "thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "188", "files": [ { "file_id": "2415198", "file_name": "2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.png", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.png", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.png", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.jpg", "mimetype": "image/png", "submission_id": "1689532", "user_id": "17077", "submission_file_order": "0", "full_size_x": "1800", "full_size_y": "1125", "screen_size_x": "920", "screen_size_y": "575", "preview_size_x": "300", "preview_size_y": "188", "initial_file_md5": "a45e73c7ca6abe531e07a9110fb6e3bd", "full_file_md5": "0712dc574717211c42540359d640006a", "large_file_md5": "25b33ebaad34b61e28bdbbf49c78598c", "small_file_md5": "0fc9ac49896a04001af0cbc055595db3", "thumbnail_md5": "e3a1af6a62dd0d3b4888baa381585308", "deleted": "f", "create_datetime": "2018-09-01 06:35:23.036342+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "01 Sep 2018 08:35 CEST", "thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80.jpg", "thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80_noncustom.jpg", "thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2415/2415198_ElfenSciuridae_pooltest80_noncustom.jpg", "thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "75", "thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "thumb_large_noncustom_y": "125", "thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "188" } ], "pools": [ { "pool_id": "16423", "name": "True Stories", "description": "Things that had happened in my younger life... no matter how strange they were.", "count": "75", "submission_left_submission_id": "1624778", "submission_left_file_name": "2317532_ElfenSciuridae_fernando_grace.png", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/2317/2317532_ElfenSciuridae_fernando_grace.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/2317/2317532_ElfenSciuridae_fernando_grace_noncustom.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/2317/2317532_ElfenSciuridae_fernando_grace_noncustom.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "72", "submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_y": "120", "submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "180", "submission_right_submission_id": "859949", "submission_right_file_name": "1169306_ElfenSciuridae_miriam_d.png", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1169/1169306_ElfenSciuridae_miriam_d.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/1169/1169306_ElfenSciuridae_miriam_d_noncustom.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/1169/1169306_ElfenSciuridae_miriam_d_noncustom.jpg", "submission_right_thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "submission_right_thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "90", "submission_right_thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_noncustom_y": "150", "submission_right_thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "submission_right_thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "225" } ], "description": "", "description_bbcode_parsed": "", "writing": "There were many things I hated about high school because of the teachers' attitude of doing the minimum of their work and think that through their minimum we students would achieve the maximum. This was especially true with the Swimming Class.\n\nFor as huge as Brooklyn Tech was, its swimming pool was rather small: 25 yards x 10 yards, with a shallow end being 3ft deep, sloping down to 6ft in the middle and suddenly slopes down to 9ft. There was one diving board at the 9ft section and a step-up ladder at each corner. In some key locations, there were indented steps in the walls of the pool; one was at where the slope to 9ft ends and has 4 steps, and another was at the 6ft marker with 2 steps. They were used similarly as the ladders at the pool's corners but there was no handrail to grab on to at these steps, one used the ledge of the pool as a handrail to pull themselves up.\n\nMr. Braums and Ms O'Rierden were both the Swimming Team, Diving Team couches as well as the Swimming teachers for the school. Because of a fire in the boy's pool locker room the year before, there was only 1 locker room to be used, and classes became segregated into boys only and girls only swim classes. The Boys' Gym locker room was on the 4th floor. It was connected to the pool through a small staircase in the rear of the gym and pool but it would often be locked. This created a problem for boys who were chosen to take swimming instead of gym, but eventually this would be rectified by having the swimming classes staggered: boys would swim on day and girls would swim on the other day. It was during the boys' swimming class where I was discovered to be one of the best swimmers Mr. Braums and Ms O'Rierden had seen. I was invited to try out for the swimming team at the end of the class. During the tryouts, I broke the school's record, and they wanted to know how and why. I told and showed them how and why: I was a certified NYC lifeguard.\n\nThis disqualified me off the swim team due to a rule stating that an athlete cannot work in a job that is similar to his sport as this would create an unfair advantage. Thus bike messengers cannot be on the bicycle racing team, foot messengers cannot be on the track team, furniture movers and jobs requiring heaving lifting cannot on the weight lifting team, and lifeguards cannot be on the swimming and diving teams. But it did not disqualify me from taking the swimming class with the other boys at the time.\n\nThe following semester the girls would have the pool when I had gym, so I remained in the gym with the other boy for the first three weeks of the semester. But then third week's class was halted and I was selected to leave the class for some reason and later found out I had to report to the swimming class. The swimming pool has an audience bench area separated by a small 2 and a half foot high wall where students can sit. I walk into the class and see the girls already in their bathing suits sitting in this area with Mr. Braums and Ms O'Rierden lecturing them.\n\n``And there he is.'' Ms O'Rierden says pointing me out. The girls, some who are in my other classes not many were not, turn around to face me.\n\n``Unlike some swimming class helpers who are on the swim team, Fernando is a certified lifeguard.'' Mr Braums tells them.\n\n``Fernando, as we explained to the girls, since there is only one locker room you will be changing and showering with the girls.'' Ms O'Rierden explains.\n\n``You are not to change upstairs in the boys locker room, you are to change here with the girls. They agreed to it, all we need to know if you will accept this arrangement.'' Mr. Braums says.\n\nI look over at the girls and let out a sigh before saying, ``I do.''\n\nFor the first few weeks, the teachers who were there gave the lesson, and then let the girls into the shallow end of the pool and let them practice their swimming lessons. I would be in the water helping them improve their techniques. But then I noticed that the teachers would be gone and I would be alone with the girls in the pool. Shortly after that, the teachers would only drop by to watch the class while I was in the water teaching them. It was a matter of time where I would be alone in the class with the girls with no adult supervision. To most 16 year old boys this would be a dream come true. To me I saw the reality of being responsible for 32 girls who did not know how to swim and had to insure their safety in the pool while giving their swimming lessons.\n\nThe end of the term was nearing and the girls had to be able to pass the swim test of swimming across the pool from the deep end to the shallow end. It seemed easy enough, but having a fear of the water and not being able to swim, many of the girls had a fear of the deep end. Throughout the term, I gradually got the girls to be able to swim across the short distance of 10 yards across the shallow end. This was a little less than half way across pool's length of 25 yards. In getting the girls to swim across the 10 yards three times would get them to be able to swim across the 25 yard length of the pool. The other problem was to get the girls to swim from the shallow end to the middle of the pool, where at 6ft, was over the heads of all the girls. Getting them to swim in the area before it (about 5ft deep) got them the courage to go into the 6ft section. In just a couple of weeks doing this the girls shifted from fearing the 9ft deep area to respecting it.\n\nThough no one complained about my being with the girls in the locker room to change and in the shower with them, they found out that I was a student in the class and not a paid instructor. Though this garnered a lot of respect for me, it also created a lot of disrespect for the teachers in charge who should be in the pool with them and not hiding in the office next to the locker room behind closed doors. But for me it was imperative that they get to swim well enough to pass the test and enjoy the water as much as I do. The more girls that shifted over to the 6ft area to practice their swimming techniques, the more I knew who were going to pass that test and I can focus my attention to those who had not gotten to that point yet. \n\nTime would go by quickly and bit by bit, the girls would graduate from swimming on the shallow end to the middle part of the pool where the water was over their heads in multiple laps. It is a matter for them to be able to do this, swim non-stop from the deep end of the pool to the shallow end. Thus in the last classes of the term, I opened the 9ft section and let the girls swim to the shallow end one at a time. They all passed my test, they will be able to pass their final exam on the last class of the term.\n\nNOTE: It is a state and federal mandate that if a school has a pool, then all its able-bodied students have to pass a required swimming test before they can graduate. This is because of WWII and D-Day. More men drowned walking off their deployment vessels than Germans had actually shot them because they did not know how to swim less than 10 yards to safety of the shore or returning to their deployment vessel. After the end of WWII, schools of the time were required to install a pool and their students learn how to swim.\n\n", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "There were many things I hated about high school because of the teachers' attitude of doing the minimum of their work and think that through their minimum we students would achieve the maximum. This was especially true with the Swimming Class.

For as huge as Brooklyn Tech was, its swimming pool was rather small: 25 yards x 10 yards, with a shallow end being 3ft deep, sloping down to 6ft in the middle and suddenly slopes down to 9ft. There was one diving board at the 9ft section and a step-up ladder at each corner. In some key locations, there were indented steps in the walls of the pool; one was at where the slope to 9ft ends and has 4 steps, and another was at the 6ft marker with 2 steps. They were used similarly as the ladders at the pool's corners but there was no handrail to grab on to at these steps, one used the ledge of the pool as a handrail to pull themselves up.

Mr. Braums and Ms O'Rierden were both the Swimming Team, Diving Team couches as well as the Swimming teachers for the school. Because of a fire in the boy's pool locker room the year before, there was only 1 locker room to be used, and classes became segregated into boys only and girls only swim classes. The Boys' Gym locker room was on the 4th floor. It was connected to the pool through a small staircase in the rear of the gym and pool but it would often be locked. This created a problem for boys who were chosen to take swimming instead of gym, but eventually this would be rectified by having the swimming classes staggered: boys would swim on day and girls would swim on the other day. It was during the boys' swimming class where I was discovered to be one of the best swimmers Mr. Braums and Ms O'Rierden had seen. I was invited to try out for the swimming team at the end of the class. During the tryouts, I broke the school's record, and they wanted to know how and why. I told and showed them how and why: I was a certified NYC lifeguard.

This disqualified me off the swim team due to a rule stating that an athlete cannot work in a job that is similar to his sport as this would create an unfair advantage. Thus bike messengers cannot be on the bicycle racing team, foot messengers cannot be on the track team, furniture movers and jobs requiring heaving lifting cannot on the weight lifting team, and lifeguards cannot be on the swimming and diving teams. But it did not disqualify me from taking the swimming class with the other boys at the time.

The following semester the girls would have the pool when I had gym, so I remained in the gym with the other boy for the first three weeks of the semester. But then third week's class was halted and I was selected to leave the class for some reason and later found out I had to report to the swimming class. The swimming pool has an audience bench area separated by a small 2 and a half foot high wall where students can sit. I walk into the class and see the girls already in their bathing suits sitting in this area with Mr. Braums and Ms O'Rierden lecturing them.

``And there he is.'' Ms O'Rierden says pointing me out. The girls, some who are in my other classes not many were not, turn around to face me.

``Unlike some swimming class helpers who are on the swim team, Fernando is a certified lifeguard.'' Mr Braums tells them.

``Fernando, as we explained to the girls, since there is only one locker room you will be changing and showering with the girls.'' Ms O'Rierden explains.

``You are not to change upstairs in the boys locker room, you are to change here with the girls. They agreed to it, all we need to know if you will accept this arrangement.'' Mr. Braums says.

I look over at the girls and let out a sigh before saying, ``I do.''

For the first few weeks, the teachers who were there gave the lesson, and then let the girls into the shallow end of the pool and let them practice their swimming lessons. I would be in the water helping them improve their techniques. But then I noticed that the teachers would be gone and I would be alone with the girls in the pool. Shortly after that, the teachers would only drop by to watch the class while I was in the water teaching them. It was a matter of time where I would be alone in the class with the girls with no adult supervision. To most 16 year old boys this would be a dream come true. To me I saw the reality of being responsible for 32 girls who did not know how to swim and had to insure their safety in the pool while giving their swimming lessons.

The end of the term was nearing and the girls had to be able to pass the swim test of swimming across the pool from the deep end to the shallow end. It seemed easy enough, but having a fear of the water and not being able to swim, many of the girls had a fear of the deep end. Throughout the term, I gradually got the girls to be able to swim across the short distance of 10 yards across the shallow end. This was a little less than half way across pool's length of 25 yards. In getting the girls to swim across the 10 yards three times would get them to be able to swim across the 25 yard length of the pool. The other problem was to get the girls to swim from the shallow end to the middle of the pool, where at 6ft, was over the heads of all the girls. Getting them to swim in the area before it (about 5ft deep) got them the courage to go into the 6ft section. In just a couple of weeks doing this the girls shifted from fearing the 9ft deep area to respecting it.

Though no one complained about my being with the girls in the locker room to change and in the shower with them, they found out that I was a student in the class and not a paid instructor. Though this garnered a lot of respect for me, it also created a lot of disrespect for the teachers in charge who should be in the pool with them and not hiding in the office next to the locker room behind closed doors. But for me it was imperative that they get to swim well enough to pass the test and enjoy the water as much as I do. The more girls that shifted over to the 6ft area to practice their swimming techniques, the more I knew who were going to pass that test and I can focus my attention to those who had not gotten to that point yet.

Time would go by quickly and bit by bit, the girls would graduate from swimming on the shallow end to the middle part of the pool where the water was over their heads in multiple laps. It is a matter for them to be able to do this, swim non-stop from the deep end of the pool to the shallow end. Thus in the last classes of the term, I opened the 9ft section and let the girls swim to the shallow end one at a time. They all passed my test, they will be able to pass their final exam on the last class of the term.

NOTE: It is a state and federal mandate that if a school has a pool, then all its able-bodied students have to pass a required swimming test before they can graduate. This is because of WWII and D-Day. More men drowned walking off their deployment vessels than Germans had actually shot them because they did not know how to swim less than 10 yards to safety of the shore or returning to their deployment vessel. After the end of WWII, schools of the time were required to install a pool and their students learn how to swim.

", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Teaching The Girls' Swimming Class", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "image/png", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "0", "rating_name": "General", "ratings": [], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "16", "views": "456" }