Stuti Maru, a swim instructor at Swan Active, enjoyed learning to swim while growing up in Australia. She also remembers feeling there was no one in the class she could quite relate to.
That experience helped shape her decision to become a swim teacher. She now works for both Swan Active and Royal Life Saving WA, helping others learn skills she has valued since childhood.
What Stuti remembers about learning to swim
“As a child, learning to swim was simply fun,” Stuti told Royal Life Saving WA.
“Later, it became important to me because it gave me a sense of safety.”
As she grew older, Stuti also came to appreciate what swimming did for her health and development. It was an activity she enjoyed and a skill that helped her feel safer.
Feeling connected to the people in her swimming classes was a different matter.
“I was usually part of the minority in swimming classes and often felt detached from other children and instructors simply because there was no one I could relate to,” she said.
Stuti wanted other people from multicultural backgrounds to have a different experience. Becoming a teacher offered her the chance to provide the connection she’d missed.
Learning to teach at Swan Active Midland
Stuti completed Royal Life Saving WA’s Skills to Teach program at Swan Active Midland as part of the multicultural program running at the centre.
Skills to Teach helps people prepare for a swim teacher course. Participants develop their swimming, stroke and water rescue skills, and get an introduction to the course and its assessments. It is a preparation program, rather than the swim teaching qualification itself.
For Stuti, it was a chance to find out whether she could see herself doing this work.
“Skills to Teach allowed me to see whether swim teaching was the right choice for me and motivated me to pursue this career,” she said.
The program gave her a foundation to build on as she continued her swim teacher training. She now puts that learning into practice in her work with Swan Active and Royal Life Saving WA.
Royal Life Saving WA’s Skills to Teach page has information about the program and how to enquire.
Teaching in a way people understand
Learning how to communicate with different swimmers is one of the parts of becoming a teacher that Stuti is most proud of.
She adapts the way she explains and teaches skills to suit the person learning. For her, that means finding an approach they can understand and put into practice, whatever their age or background.
Teaching people from multicultural backgrounds is particularly rewarding. When she notices positive changes in how students take part in lessons, she thinks about her own experience as a child.
“It reminds me of my younger self and what she once wanted to experience,” she said.
“Now, I’ve become the one who can provide it.”
Bringing your background to swim teaching
For others considering becoming a swim teacher, Stuti’s advice is to value the experience they bring with them.
She sees cultural knowledge as something that can help students and families understand water safety. It is also a way to be a teacher they can relate to.
“Value your background and become the bridge,” she said.
“Use your cultural insights and knowledge to help students and families to learn water safety in a way that they can understand, while being a relatable role model for them.”
Swimming lessons at Swan Active Midland
Swan Active offers swimming lessons for infants, children and adults, with a focus on swimming skills and water safety.
For details or to register your interest, visit swimming lessons at Swan Active.
Royal Life Saving WA acknowledges the support of the WA Government in delivering the Skills to Teach program.