This vision works
I am not asking for utopia. In fact, a world where everything worked perfectly, with no side effects, is its own kind of hell. I am a protopian. I believe in progress, an incremental betterment with corresponding downsides each year, inching toward a world that is desirable despite its many flaws. A protopian future would generate plenty of unexpected ills and unjust distributions, but overall the greater net benefits would draw us to it.
-- source = KK.org
Meanwhile in Pittsburgh Public Schools' Athletics
The miraculous abilities in competitive swimming and throughout sports that we have today came because the magic arrived in small increments. But in Pittsburgh Public Schools, improvements stalled or else were punished. There were few upgrades and small incremental advancements in the past two decades. Pittsburgh administrators were no longer enthralled with simple betterment and didn't care about a program's health and well being. The students survived. Today, our students are far behind.
Yes, an inescapable dystopian future is entirely possible, but not inevitable. However, a trajectory towards dystopia will be hastened and aided by our lack of an imagined alternative to doom.
Without a vision of a desirable future, it is unlikely we can head toward it.
The vision of swimming and aquatics in PPS includes:
- 2,000 active competitive swimmers, not kids who swim but students who know themselves as swimmers.
- busy swim pools in afternoons, evenings, nights, weekends, holidays and throughout the summer
- college scholarships for swimmers
- varsity water polo teams playing for state championships
- community aquatic programs where kids and adults learn swimming together
- where playing well with others happens at the pools throughout the region and in the city
- Where dozens of lifeguards are exported for stints at beaches, resorts, cruise ships and international destinations
- canoe water polo happens in multiple outdoor venues (Lake Elizabeth, Panther Hollow, Highland Park, Deer Lakes, Schenley Park's pool and wave pools) until Thanksgiving
The common dream for aquatics is full of recurring hope and expectation for new energy among teachers, students, citizens. Our public and private sources of inspiration need to be present in programs that have a sense of fusion among academic, social and strength of fitness. Pools and devotion to aquatics can be cheap and clean, yet serious in commitment -- where leaving the pocketbook behind is not out of the question.
Pools and programs can deepen the understandings of digital and physical challenges to support a holistic quest with teams of people of various ages and abilities.
Aquatics can transform our economy into richness with creative work-and-play. The spread of education in new modes with aquatics can impact the students classroom work and become a universal challenge for the adults and guardians too. The local battles can occur with the help of others around the globe, and in lifelong pursuits.
The desired trend is for aquatics in the city to be consistent and cohesive. Yet the specifics would be dynamic.
The purpose of this site, part fantasy, part reality, is to assist in the building of political will and to give assistance for the visualizing of a sensible future that I want for my children's children. I want to work towards an aquatic future where kids can have common hopes and brushes with excellence.