Lifeguard Lexisof Northwood Pool
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It's Not Always Sunshine and Blue Skies
Like in any discourse community, conflict is inevitable. Although Northwood strives to be a conflict-free environment, when hot summer days reach 100 degrees, it can be hard to work at maximum potential. One of the conflicts within the community is the strong comradery.
Yes, you read that right. The strong camaraderie can be a potentially dangerous problem at Northwood when it comes to safety during swim lessons.
With the pool being in a small town, most of the guards employed go to school together and have close-knit friendships. This seems like a bonus, but when high school boys get together to teach a swimming lesson, things can get a little out of hand. During lessons, it’s crucial that all guards are fully engaged with the kids, because not all of them are strong enough to swim on their own yet. When the lifeguards get distracted (by each other) in lessons, this creates a formula for disaster. Luckily, Rowe has been in the industry for quite some time now and has learned to separate the immature boys and intermix them with the seasoned female and male guards.
Connection or interference?
While on most occasions Northwood Pool operates without a hitch, there are times that the lifeguards find themselves in sticky situations.
In order to be a lifeguard, an individual must take physical and mental tests facilitated by the Red Cross. Every two years after the initial certification, each guard is required to become recertified in order to keep their title. Although the guards already know the material, the recertification is often challenging due to the different terms used by the Red Cross.
The association is constantly changing the terms they use for emergency situations, hence creating confusion for the guards. Northwood pool also has their own lexis that differs from that of the Red Cross, so this creates another language obstacle for recertification. This is a serious issue because in order to ensure and enforce safety, concise communication is crucial, and everyone should be on the same page.