Wave Pool - August 18, 2019

Wave Pool 

By, Michael Earnshaw 

August 18, 2019 

@mearnshaw158

 

My wife is 1 of 5 girls in her family. Every few years we embark on a large summer vacation with everyone, including family friends! When the kids were younger it usually consisted of renting a house on the beach for a few days. This summer, with many of the kids being older now, we headed off to Cedar Point! Many hear Cedar Point and think of the Roller Coaster Capitol of the World, which it does have an amazing assortment of thrill rides. The kids and I made it on every single one! There is also plenty to do for those that don’t enjoy rides, such as the beach parties and the water park. Needless to say, with a group of 18, there is something for everyone! 

While majority of our time was spent at the amusement park during our trip, I learned the most about our students and education during an afternoon at the water park. Mainly, the wave pool. The three older boys and I had come back from multiple descents on the plunge slides only to find the rest of our party gone. The boys wanted to take a break from the slides and check out the wave pool. I stood on the edge, with just my feet submerged, while the three of them headed out towards the middle. After a few minutes, my wife arose from the crowds with my daughter, our friend’s daughter, and our nephew. I glanced up at the clock, less than 2 minutes before the waves began. Of course, these three wanted to get in on the fun. My wife asked, “Babe, can you go in there with them?” I contemplated a response but knew this wasn’t really a question.  

Before I could catch up to the six kids, the buzzer screamed throughout the area, alerting us all that the waves were coming. I zipped and dodged through people, kids coasting by, nearly missing me on inner tubes. I kept scanning the pool for my six. Nerves starting to build up faster than the waves. Found them! 

Luckily for me, four of the six kids were pretty much together. My son and oldest nephew were a little deeper out, but both are strong swimmers. I was now left with four kids: two decent swimmers and two not so decent and vertically challenged.  

The rush of the waves seemed to last an eternity.  Every few seconds I would look over to the older two, ensuring they were ok. We communicated through head nods and thumbs up. Then my focus would go back to the four near me. The two that could decently swim never held on to me yet stayed close in the event they needed assistance. The other two needed my support. One of them would grab a hold of my arm after a few waves became unbearable. When there was a lull, they’d let go, but stay extremely close. The last, they tried to fight on their own, but quickly grabbed a hold of my arm and never let go, knowing we were too deep, and they needed the support.  

As the "fun” began to calm, I realized the wave pool is like our classrooms. Within them we have many students, all at different levels, strengths, and abilities. As educators, we must know our students and where they’re at to ensure they don’t drown. We will have students that are more advanced and excel, who want to go into the deep end alone. That is fine, if they are ready, but we must still always know where they are at. If they begin to sink, it’s our responsibility to swim to them, pull them up and bring them back close to us. We will have students that are strong swimmers on their own but need our support. Keep them close yet give them independence. These swimmers require a watchful eye. They may have too much pride and be afraid to ask for help. We need to be prepared to offer help when we know they need it. Lastly, we will have those that need our support constantly, or at least think they do. Keep them with you, show them success and some fun, and at the right time, slowly let them go. We may need to grab them back right away, but after time, they’ll be the ones swimming in the deep end, fighting the waves alone.