Life as a swim teacher | Training

After getting stabbed in February, I felt like my body is just not the same. I tried to do a long ride but it was so excruciating, when I got home, I was so sure I didn't want to bike ever again. Whenever I'm driving and I see someone biking, I used to always get this envious feeling, 'I wish that were me.' I wish that I was biking too instead of being behind the wheel. Now, every time there's an invite to ride, even if it's to a place I've never been to, I decline it because a) I think I'm only being invited out of pity, b) I know I'm just gonna be someone who needs looking after and I can't have that. I'd rather punch myself silly than be someone's responsibility on a ride. The people who are willing to ride according to my downgraded level are people I just settle with anyway. I don't enjoy their company but I ride with them because you can't always choose who comes, rides are usually made in an open invite. And the people I actually enjoy being with are not so excited to level down their rides for me. I definitely don't want to cause them any bother.

I didn't miss biking. Not at all. I was back to my old couch potato self. I eat whenever I do get out of my bedroom and sleep whenever I'm not watching tv. I don't even do so much as a stretch that I'm out of breath when I take the stairs. One time I went swimming at a family get-together, I noticed how normally I could use and tread with my wounded arm without any hint of pain. I started thinking maybe I could replace my lost love (biking) with an old love (swimming). I have always loved swimming anyway.

Four months into unemployment and ten extra pounds incurred from total bumness, I seized an opportunity to be able to swim everyday for the summer and get paid to do it, aiding my two current statuses.

Applying for the job
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
1030. I submitted my resume to Bert Lozada Swim School's south office in Las Piñas. I waited for a while because there were a ton of other people applying so my resume got filed at the bottom.
1130. I was finally called and then I answered a two-question essay type paper.
1215. I was interviewed by the HR Manager.
1245. I was invited to stay for the orientation and advised to have a quick lunch for the mean time.
1300. We discussed the history and foundation of BLSS, Mission and Vision, DOs and DON'Ts, and the submission of requirements. Then, there was a 30-item test about what was discussed.

Requirements in peso
PHP450 - Medical examination at HP Las Piñas
PHP140 - NBI clearance
PHP500 - Admin fee (80-hour training)
PHP100 - Payroll account bank deposit
TOTAL: PHP1190

10-day training
For new employees, 80 hours of training is required to learn and apply the swim school's lesson plan thoroughly, regardless of your knowledge and skills in swimming itself. Even though you paid P500 admin fee, you have to complete the training otherwise you would pay the original training cost outside the BLSS Foundation of $3,500, which I personally think is bullshit. I was late on starting training because there were some delays in submitting required documents, so I was only able to attend one official training day and it was the last one too before the first batch of enrollees commenced their swimming classes. I rendered the remaining 9/10 days of training teaching actual, paying clients (one reason why I think the penalty for non-completion of training is bullshit... what is on paper, said, or promised is not always what is experienced).

Saturday, March 25, 2017 - First day @ La Consolacion College Manila

1/10. I arrived fifty minutes early at the 7:30AM call time. I was first there but other trainees started coming not long after and one of them was even on a folding bike. Coincidentally, her name was also Clarrise. If I had biked too I could've estimated my time of arrival more accurately but I wasn't sure if it was gonna be safe. Mum withdrew her permission to let me borrow the car so I had to take public transportation. I have not commuted in nearly two years straight because I always just bike to places. I hate the idea of having to pay to get to a place when I know full well that my legs can take me there, free of charge!

While waiting for the training committee/coaches, I learned that I didn't have a white card--a card that each trainee has to get signed once the day is over to prove attendance among the many other sheets we had to line up for to log in/out from. I only had a paper form, which I was told by one of the HR people, Ms. Jirlie, will be what I'm going to present. I asked one of the coaches, Coach Rose, if it was okay that I didn't have a white card and she said that it was no problem so I became at ease. After logging in and creating a name plate, we settled in at the pool area killing a good hour of just warming the class up with introduction, recitation, and question & answer. We were divided into four groups and each group had a respective coach. I kept waiting for my name to be called but at the end, Coach Teri, who was administering the training for the day, said "those who were not called will stay in my class." So I stayed where I was.

The two groups' lesson was practical so they got to swim right away while the rest had to sit in an actual class. Coach Teri's class started with a slide labeled "Day 4". Ummm, this is my first day!? I wanted to react, but I let things play out a little longer. I was struggling with the lesson because it was so advanced. Good thing my seatmate, Enzo, provided me with notes so I did okay. I kept yawning though, not because the lesson was boring me but because I had minimal sleep. When it came to discussing the lesson plan, we had to stand up and do the drills on land. I tried to mimic what Enzo and the others were doing but I knew nothing. I kept thinking, When will this be over? I was so miserable, water almost leaked from my eyes. As my misery ensued, I glance over to Coach Johnwyn's class as I still attempt to follow the steps with now very little will to continue, I realized, Hey, his trainees are all those who introduced themselves today as their first. Maybe I should be in that class. I got the attention of Coach Teri to raise my concern, that maybe it was a mistake to include me in the Day 4 class when it was so clearly established that it's my first day, but she said that there was no mistake and that she needed more people in her class. Okaaaaayy.

At 11:30AM, we were sent to lunch.

At 12:30PM, we changed into our swimwear. The class was divided again. I waited for my name to be called (again), but this time, they were done calling names and my name still wasn't called. So I didn't have a group. Apparently, my form was stapled to another person's form. I wasn't being called because I didn't have a white card, which wasn't even my fault. Since Coach Johnwyn was handling those whose first day was today, I got in his class. He applied the first half of the lesson plan to us for three hours; I was surprised to know that some of the first day trainees didn't know how to swim that much, so I enjoyed being the excellent student in his class. We had a race before swim time ended, there was a whole new division again and I got into the winning team under Coach Angie! The PM class was definitely much better than the AM class. We logged out at 6:10PM and a white card was finally provided to me.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017 - Start of Batch 1 @ Big Strides, Ayala Alabang

My packed lunch, because there are no eateries inside Ayala Alabang 😂

2/10. Situated at the prestigious Ayala Alabang Village in a resident pool for VIP clients under Coach Rose, I was fortunate enough to experience the ambiance of what being in a first world must feel like--dealing with cute, well-bred kids. Because it was only my first day at this new venue and the security is quite high, I decided to take public transport and go there with Coach Rose together with teachers under her. We had an early classroom discussion first to get me reviewed for the lesson plan since I was mistakenly put at the Day 4 training on my first day. Then, it was time for me to shadow April, a co-teacher. I handled my first student, Jessiah, only for assessment and Coach Rose commended me for building trust with him. Jessiah went home telling his mom, "I had so much fun today!" He was formally enrolled the next day.

I was only supposed to assist since it's technically just my first time on a real teaching day (my first day of training at La Consolacion College Manila was solely us trainees and the training committee), but April furtively gave me her other students, basically refusing to take leadership for me to act as her shadow. With parents watching, I couldn't let my now known face under their judging eyes become a potential complaint, so I stepped up and tried to apply the lessons the best I could. I handled three kids in total: Jessiah, Chloe, and Tala. I liked Chloe the most because she was such a good girl. She braves the pool even if she can't reach the floor and swims only as instructed. Kids like her definitely make it easier to contain the class.

I pattern my teaching style from Coach Rose's approach--fun, loving, and playful but still educational. Watching her work is truly admirable. She loves what she does and she's very good at it! On top of that, she's an overall radiant person you'll just wanna be around. The way she handles students is like magic. One minute students cry because they're afraid of the water, but one... two moments with Coach Rose, next thing you know they're jumping into the pool. It was an amazing art to witness.

Thursday-Saturday, March 30-April 1, 2017 @ Big Strides, Ayala Alabang
3/10. Since I'm big on not spending [on transportation], I was finally able to go back to biking to work. I get a gate pass first, then I merrily pedal the wide streets of Ayala Alabang Village. I wanted to record videos of myself biking there but I thought it might be a violation of the village's privacy so I just cherished the moments in my head while it lasted.

I wasn't just shadowing co-teachers now, I'm a teacher already as well. That shouldn't be the case but, oh well, I just look at it as more practice for me to grow for now, and I appease my feelings with the thought that I'm spending my summer swimming for free! Based from experience, whenever I do great, I don't feel rewarded with praise. I feel rewarded with work that shouldn't even be mine. This, I think, is the motivation us millenials have on why we would rather do a substandard job than be used and taken advantage of the skills we can offer when we're not even compensated for our excellence. Not that I'm doing a substandard job as a swim teacher. That would just jeopardize my likeliness to be an effective one, defeating its very purpose. And if you know me, you'll know how intense my feelings are towards imparting knowledge--in this case, a life skill--and how important it is for me that teachers teach with the goal to leave kids well-educated, and not just wait for their hours to be up so you could go home.

March 31, 2017: Oyasumi @ Big Strides, Ayala Alabang

4/10. Teaching comes so easy for me when I see kids share their milestones with a smile. Today I saw how Blue, a 3-year-old baby boy who first started as someone terrified of the water, jump and submerge himself with eagerness in his eyes. Then, he randomly called his mom who was just on her laptop nearby, "Mommy, I love you."

5/10. It's my last day at Big Strides and my remaining five days of training will be conducted at Olivarez College Parañaque. I got to chat with the pool owners' kids, Cathy and Yllana, before leaving and they were both such dolls! I don't feel like I'm wasting time at all when I'm talking to good kids (unlike when I do so with people my age or older, I always regret sharing a moment of my time just to hear their unsubstantiated, uncalled for comments on matters that don't concern them or they don't fully understand).

Monday-Friday, April 3-7, 2017 @ Olivarez College Parañaque

The 25x25-meter pool of Olivarez College Sports Center

6/10. The pool here is evidently much bigger than Big Strides' but the ambiance and overall cleanliness at Big Strides is definitely unmatched, not to mention the people. Parents/guardians here seem to be irate more often than not, and I would be too if I see that my kid is not getting trained the way that I (as a parent) was expecting, considering how expensive the enrollment fee is. I am now training under Coach Jon with Teachers Enzo, Ritchell, Charles, Ronald*, and Nikko*. There's a workload shock but I kept myself collected and took the swim school's mission to heart: "Through our standards and practices, we will define the benchmark of quality in our craft." I don't want to be the kind of teacher I've always hated and questioned when I was still schooling. I want to make the swim class fun and worthwhile. Again, all the bad things in this giant good thing is appeased by me, thinking, at least I get to do longer laps here and practice my diving demos in deep waters (10 feet). Plus, it's so much easier to bike here. I just wish the head coach at this venue was as strong-willed as Coach Rose--driven by passion and not the need for an income.

(*Ronald and Nikko also had training at Big Strides).

April 4, 2017: Oyasumi @ Olivarez College Parañaque

7/10. I wrote down some quick student highlights on my Tumblr account as to not forget how the day went: Joseph, an 8-year-old, had very good kicks but despite being able to swim decently, he was afraid of not being able to touch the pool floor. He was bright, fun to talk to, and can already freestyle and back float. Euan, a 4-year-old baby boy, was so easy to handle because he liked me. He even told me, "Teacher, you're so much fun. Why are you not always my teacher?" when I accompanied him to go wiwi. At first I couldn't get him to kick or swim away from the wall, but then I saw the "abc" printed on his kickboard, I started singing the alphabet song and every letter corresponded a kick. His father was very pleased.


8/10. I taught two adults today: Ma'am Irene, who's preparing for the military, and Ms. Jenny, a Chinese woman who enrolled along with her two kids. I was just talking to Kevin, my FlipTop friend/favorite person, the other day about possibly going on a swim this holy week so I can practice on him, a grown ass nigga. Then, here goes Coach Jon, without proper briefing or setting of expectations, giving me two grown-ups on the spot. It's not like you can refuse or react when the clients are already there, you just do it. You don't want to make the impression that they're being unwantedly passed around. It made me lose a bit of respect for Coach Jon; I felt like I was being sent to battle to bleed and that he didn't care as long as it was not him who was bleeding. I'm not sure if that is a standard, because with Coach Rose, I'm informed who will be in my class and what I should do before the students even come. I'd say I handled myself pretty well, nevertheless. To make sure I'm not wasting time trying to teach Ma'am Irene and Ms. Jenny something they've already gone over with Coach Jon before they were suddenly assigned to me, I ask them what lessons they remember. I applied myself the best I could, pushed to become more at ease, and it was free-flowing from there; I just took that opportunity as a great practice to not be enclosed in teaching only kids. And I learned that, as a teacher, my personality can be diverse. I'm more lesson-focused than fun and animated when handling adults as I tend to be stricter. I also refuse to loosely give out praises such as "good job" when it really isn't--something I also do not condone about Coach Jon (he would sometimes randomly say "good job" to students after he sees them do a swim they were commanded even if it isn't a good job at all, that creates a distorted sense of what a good job really constitutes). Instead, I say, we could use more practice so we should keep on swimming.

9/10. Despite my critical comments towards Coach Jon, I still do respect him as he's been in this scene much longer than I have been and he does display responsibility by always coming to work early. I also think that the goal from the way my training went under him was still achieved. That is, to get used to the workload because SUMMER IS COMING (I was advised to brace myself for the peak season).

"Dear Teachers, Thank you for building my confidence. Love, Euan" ❤❤❤

10/10. Training complete! The students' parents/guardians showed us some love by bringing us food. I think everyone is a sucker for free food, I know I am! There was Jollibee and heaps of homemade pancit! It definitely took a toll on my, finally, improving weight problem. 😂 Normal classes still continued. I was commended on my work on Ma'am Irene, because I was able to make her swim in the deep waters and do proper breast strokes which she'll have to do 8 laps of for the military exam. I don't let it get to my head, though. After all, I'm just doing my job. But it feels pretty good to be recognized. The only bummer, I guess, would be because it's my last day, I wanted to swim more laps but two of the students were late so they got adjusted to a time when we should've already been free to do stuff. I will definitely miss Olivarez College and its glorious pool, but I'm off to my permanent venue for the next batch! 🏊💦