Should swimming lessons be mandatory in schools? 

学校应不应该强制开设游泳课？ 

Guangdong province is set to make swimming lessons compulsory in primary schools starting from 2020, and proposing the courses be given from the fourth grade. Do we need to make swimming compulsory in schools? Forum readers share their opinions. 

2020年起，广东省所有小学将开设游泳课，建议从四年级开始。学校应不应该强制开设游泳课呢？论坛读者分享了他们的观点。 

WhiteBear (Poland) 

白熊（波兰） 

In Poland swimming lessons are not compulsory, but most of the schools have them. I think that when it is only possible - there should be the swimming lessons for kids. It is a lifesaving skill. 

在波兰，游泳课不是必修课，但大多数学校都设有这门课程。我认为，条件允许的情况下应该让孩子们上游泳课，毕竟这是一种保命技能。 

MisterPanda (France) 

熊猫先生（法国） 

I come from France where swimming lessons in school are compulsory (dating back to Charlemagne!). I even got my lifesaving certificate in school. 

我来自法国。在我们国家，游泳课是必修课（具体可追溯到查理曼大帝！）。我甚至获得了学校颁发的救生员证书。

Jet.feng (China) 

冯杰（中国） 

As a boy born in a rural area, I learnt swimming in a river near my home when I was 7 or 8 years old. I used to play in the river with boys my same age every summer, which was also the only entertainment we could make at that time, but we enjoyed it so much! I just learnt how to dog paddle (breaststroke) because no one taught us. Until I entered university, I got a chance to enhance my swimming skills in PE lessons. Compared with my classmates, I felt lucky because most of them couldn't swim. 

我出生在农村，七八岁时在家附近的河里学会了游泳。每年夏天，我都和同龄的男孩去河里玩耍。当时，那是我们的唯一乐趣，我们都非常喜欢！我只会狗爬式游泳（蛙泳），因为没有人教过我们。上大学之前，我通过体育课提高了自身的游泳技能。与我的同学相比，我感到很幸运，因为他们大多不会游泳。 

I think it's a good idea for schools to teach students to swim. But as a matter of fact, not every school in China has the conditions to do that. In some less-developed areas, there is not even a swimming pool for a whole county with a population of half a million people. 

所以我觉得学校开设游泳课是个好主意。但实际上在中国，并非每个学校都具备这种条件。在一些欠发达地区，一个县大约有50万人口，但却没有一个游泳池。

Boilermaker21 (Expat in China) 

Boilermaker21（在华外籍人员） 

There are swimming lessons in my city, but I was very disappointed in how they were taught. The kids spent 45 minutes of the one hour lesson practicing strokes ON DRY LAND. They only spent 15 minutes in the water. All of the children panicked and sank immediately to the bottom. Then all of the parents berated the children, telling them that they weren't paying attention to the teacher and that they were failures. 

我所在的城市有游泳课，但是我对其授课方式感到失望。在一个小时的课程中，孩子们要花45分钟在平地上练习拍水，实际只能在水里呆15分钟。毫无意外，入水后，所有的孩子都惊慌失措，立即沉入水底。再之后，所有的父母都会指责孩子，称他们上课不认真，认为他们十分失败。

ceciliazhang (China) 

西西莉亚·张（中国） 

It is a pity that many Chinese athletes won world championships in swimming while most schools don't have the swimming facilities. Swimming is an essential lifesaving skill that everyone should access to. The earlier, the better. The government needs to put money into the popularity of the sport. 

许多中国运动员赢得了世界游泳锦标赛冠军，但令人遗憾的是，大多数学校却没有游泳设施。游泳是每个人都应该学会的一项重要的保命技能，越早越好。政府应该为这项运动的普及投入资金。