Swimming

I am a really lousey swimmer. When I think back to school swimming, I still get that stressed out feeling in my stomach.

Now, a few months ago I happened to be chatting with a lady with young kids. And she mentioned that she needs to get them into swim class. So they can get up to speed and not feel embarrassed at school.

Wait, what?

Then I twigged. I vaguely remember kids going to after school swim class. Or kids speaking about swim class they used to go to when they were younger. And I realised that maybe my ineptitude when it comes to water might not have been entirely my own fault. Maybe half of the rest of the class had already been to private swim schools! Maybe 90% of the rest of the class!!

And I felt sorry for my six year old self, frantically trying to cling to that floaty board and kick my way across the pool, when everyone else was going for it with ease.

But then it got me thinking about the debate around "quality and transformation" in higher education. Basically the idea of "we can't let standards drop!!!!" versus the idea that we need universities to take part in fixing the wrongs of our past and that are relevant to our situation today.

And I thought, you know, I wonder how much of our fixation with "quality" is just insisting on a level of swimming only attainable by kids who have been to private swim class. Or a small minority who have been able to teach themselves to swim at private swim class level on their own. And then teaching at a level only appropriate to kids who have been to private swim class.

Then "quality" becomes a barrier to entry, or a barrier to attainment, that you can only climb over if you have some special input that the university doesn't even give you itself.

Imagine the ability to swim was a requirement for entry to Grade 2... I would be a primary school drop out! Unless my mom managed to organise me private swim lessons...