<p>I agree that being able to swim can be somewhat of a mark of privilege. I don’t live in a bad area per se, but the only bodies of water that were accessible to me as a kid were the local swimming pool, which was at most 4 feet deep at the deepest portion, and my bathtub. The only pools that were deeper had to be driven to (YMCA, some parks) and my family never had a car so we could not go. My parents could also not afford swimming lessons.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I’d be able to graduate from a school that required such a test. I am a complete non-floater, and several people have attempted to teach me, but to no avail. In high school, I got remedial swim lessons in the shallow end while the rest of the class did kayaking, but at best I can still only doggy paddle, and poorly, so I’m exhausted in less than two minutes. </p>
<p>I do understand why learning to swim is important. I just never had the opportunity growing up and by the time I had some semblance of a chance (that is, about 5 classes in the pool once a year in high school) it just didn’t take.</p>