Is the school pool abolished?
Swimming class that changes due to aging and cost issues July 29, 11:55
School swimming lessons that many would have experienced are undergoing major changes.
Increasingly, the school pool has been abolished and the indoor pool outside the school has been used.
In junior high school, there is an area called "lecture only".
Because, the school pool has a lot of problems now.
The facilities are aging nationwide, and the repair cost is 100 million units.
The number of days when classes cannot be held due to the recent intense heat and heavy rain is increasing.
The maintenance can be done by the teachers overtime ...
How to continue the important swimming class to prevent water accidents.
From the interviews with the pool, we can see the reality surrounding modern schools.
(Social Program Department Director Morisuke Fujita / Gifu Broadcasting Station Reporter Yuki Yoshikawa)
Swimming class at "indoor pool outside school"
Shiratori Elementary School in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, where 464 people attend.
Since then, we have been conducting swimming classes at an outside private sports club without using the school pool.
On this day, 4th grade students spend the 1st and 2nd hours in class.
Take a chartered bus to the pool.
The atmosphere inside the car is like an excursion.
I arrived 10 minutes later while getting caught in a traffic jam, and the class finally started.
The difference from the lessons at school is the number of adults who teach.
On this day, seven instructors participated in the class in addition to the teacher in charge.
The children were divided into 4 groups and were instructed by level.
And an indoor heated pool without sunlight.
Unlike the school's outdoor pool, the poolside isn't too hot to jump or the water is cold and quivering.
Fourth grader who took the class
"I'm glad that I couldn't do much fluttering and crawl, but I'm glad that I can move forward quite a bit. became"
"It was very hot outside the school pool, and it was quite difficult to be by the pool, but it's not that hot indoors, so it's a lot easier."
The teachers are also "helping"
It is said that pool lessons became widespread in the 1955's due to a series of water accidents involving children.
However, for teachers who have a wide range of tasks and long working hours are also an issue, swimming classes that require specialized knowledge are a heavy burden.
There were often tragic accidents in which children drowned and died during class.
In a survey by a local government, three-quarters of teachers answered that they were "not confident in swimming instruction."
It is said that the participation of swimming professionals in teaching has been a great help.
Class teacher
"We are trying our best to teach, but there are limits. Even if there is something we want to do, it is difficult to prepare. We are grateful for children to see this initiative with a professional eye. It also leads to improved leadership for us. "
How widespread are these efforts?
Since there is no national or prefectural total, the interview team conducted an independent interview and found that more than 20% of the local governments in Tokyo carry out the survey.
(13 out of 53 municipalities excluding the islands. Including model projects)
In our interviews with each board of education, "Aging pools are in trouble due to big waves." "In discussions for reorganization of public facilities. Some local governments talked in detail, such as "it has become a hot topic" and "it is important as one of the ways to reduce the burden on teachers", and I felt a high level of interest.
Actually, there are a lot of issues!
School pool
There are three main reasons behind the ongoing review of pools.
1 The number of days when classes cannot be held in the outdoor pool due to the intense heat and thunderstorms is increasing.
2 It is a factor in the long working hours of teachers.
3 The facilities are aging.
First, "weather".
From the recent weather in Katsushika City, it can be seen that the number of hot days and thunderstorms that may cause heat stroke is increasing.
Many schools hold pool lessons for a limited period from June to July, but the number of days they cannot take lessons is increasing, making it difficult to make plans.
And "teacher's burden".
At school, it is common for all teachers to participate and spend half a day cleaning to open the pool.
In addition, once pool lessons begin, you will need to manage them daily.
Pool management is done before children go to school and just before class.
Fill the foot wash area with water and sprinkle with chlorine, and check if there are any dangerous substances on the poolside.
Clean and inspect the water quality.
Measure the chlorine concentration and hydrogen ion (pH) values, and add the chemical to reach the standard value.
At this school, we also measure the temperature and water temperature, and if the total is within 50-65 degrees, we will hold classes.
In addition, "aging of facilities".
According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, many school facilities were built in the late 1965s and 1950s as the number of second baby boomers increased.
About 50 years have passed since then, and the renewal period is approaching, and the large cost burden has become a financial issue.
Which is more cost effective, the school pool or the external pool?
Katsushika City compares the cost of building a new school pool and using a private pool.
Assuming that the school pool will be used for 80 years with a longer life, the scale is 421 students per school, which is the average of Katsushika City.
The result was an estimate that the cost could be reduced by about 2.6 million yen by utilizing a private pool.
After consideration, the ward decided to abolish the school pool in the future and gradually move classes out of school.
Katsushika City Board of Education Takayuki Mori, Chief of School Education Promotion Section
"It costs 100 million units to maintain the pool. On the other hand, the pool is used only during the limited summer season. There are also issues. Considering the recent weather conditions, work style reforms of teachers, and measures against aging facilities, it is important for the educational environment of children to invest limited money only for those who can surely teach. I think it's important. "
In junior high school, there is also a movement to "stop practical skills"
Furthermore, at junior high schools nationwide, there is a growing movement to cancel practical skills without repairing aging pools.
At Kaizu City Hirata Junior High School in Gifu Prefecture, a class was held at the "gymnasium" in July before the summer vacation to learn how to prevent water accidents.
The base of the pool at Hirata Junior High School is tilted, and the pool is getting old and unusable due to water leaks.
We also considered classes in a public pool about 5 km away, but some of the physical education teachers at this school also serve as social studies teachers. Abandoned as "I can't assemble".
This year's swimming practice class has been cancelled.
On this day, I used a urethane mat prepared in place of the pool and experienced the posture of floating on the water.
I was also taught to wear a life jacket when working in the river or the sea.
Kaizu Municipal Hirata Junior High School Physical Education Teacher
"I'm sorry that I'm spending less time learning clothes and swimming in the actual pool and saving my life. Speaking of which, I would like to hold a class to learn knowledge about water accidents in the pool in cooperation with the citizen pool. "
The course of study states that "if it is difficult to secure an appropriate swimming pool, we can not handle it, but we must take up the knowledge about prevention of swimming accidents."
Konosu City, Saitama Prefecture has also abolished the junior high school pool from this year and is not implementing practical skills.
In some areas there was a big debate over the school pool
On the other hand, some areas have been controversial over the abolition of school pools.
Until the pool at Gifu City Nagara Elementary School was completed, various opinions were exchanged, both pros and cons.
In the second year of Reiwa, Gifu City announced that it would stop construction and utilize private facilities for swimming classes because the bid for pool construction was unsuccessful.
In a survey of parents conducted by the board of education, the majority agreed with the city's policy.
On the other hand, the city council said that the suspension of construction was "disregarded by the council" while the initial budget including the construction cost of the pool had already been passed.
Gifu City Council Chairman (at that time) Representative Kazuo Ohno
"The fact that the policy to unilaterally cancel the pool maintenance did not wipe out the sudden feeling, and I got the impression that it was frankly careless. Apart from the Nagara Elementary School pool, which was in the final stage, we requested that there be sufficient discussion about what the future school pool should be in the city as a whole. "
“The misery of a school without a pool is unacceptable”
Not only the city council but also the local residents have started a signature movement to continue the construction, and according to the citizens who carried out the movement, the number of signatures has exceeded 1000.
In addition, the "statement of opinion" submitted to the Board of Education also contained the following words.
“There is no“ private pool ”in the ward, and it will be a burden to move to a private pool outside the school district.”
“I cannot let the children experience the“ satisfaction of the school pool ”. Imagine that.
"The misery of a school without a pool" in the Nagara district is very unacceptable. "
A man who was a central member of the signing movement (79)
"This elementary school is near the clear stream Nagara River. Children living near the river that the area is proud of are familiar with water and lack a pool to know water I promised to build a pool once, so I should keep my promise with my children and residents. "
The city council of the year unanimously passed a resolution calling for prompt budget execution for pool construction.
Eventually, the city spent about 260 million yen to build a new pool along with the annexed meetinghouse.
The completed pool has 5 lanes for outdoor use and shallow lanes for lower grades.
The pool was directly connected to the classroom by a corridor, and the lessons started immediately.
Principal Noriyasu Hayashi of Nagara Elementary School, Gifu City
"The children were looking forward to the completion because it took a long time to build the pool. When I was renting the pool of the next school or going to a private pool I had a hard time traveling. Now I can swim right away, so I'm glad I had more time to swim. "
Is it time to review "1 school, 1 pool"?
Gifu City expects that more pools will need to be renovated or rebuilt in the future.
Pools are set up in all 68 elementary and junior high schools in the city, but there are currently 10 pools that are over 50 years old.
In the future, it is estimated that the cost of building a new pool and using it for 50 years will be 274 million yen.
The City Board of Education says that there are no pools that need to be rebuilt for the time being, but we believe that we have to reassess the system of having one pool per school as before.
Kaoru Noda, Deputy Director of the Gifu City Board of Education
"It may be time to consider whether to maintain" one school and one pool "as the financial situation surrounding local governments becomes more severe in the future. It is necessary to let everyone know the actual situation of the current school and think together while carefully explaining to parents, children and related parties. "
The education that the adult generation has taken for granted is inevitably changed due to the problems and rationalization that are unique to schools today.
However, everyone who responded to the interview was desperately thinking about "what is best for the children."
Changing schools often leads to sensitive discussions, but I felt that it was more important to understand the current situation of schools, teachers, and children for constructive discussions.
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Morisuke Fujita ,
Director of the Social Program Department Joined the station in
2011.
After working at the Kanazawa Bureau and the Tokyo Metropolitan Area Broadcasting Center, I was interviewed
by my grandfather who was a member of the Self -Defense Forces
during interviews such as reviewing the current school rules, working styles of teachers, and reforming club activities .
Gifu Broadcasting Station Reporter
Yuki Yoshikawa Joined the station in
2015
After working at the Morioka station, joined the Gifu station in August and became a member of the Nagoya
station
.