I went to a school with plenty of Ivybound graduates in an area where swimming was also really popularthere were multiple pools less than ten minutes away , including the county ' s public pool . Perhaps they simply figured that anyone who wanted to learn to swim would simply take advantage of the multitude of extracurricular opportunities available , but I think it ' s more a result of the progressive elimination of nonacademic activities in American schools over the last few decades see also driver ' s ed . I find it pretty interesting that you prefer breaststroke to freestyle , though ! I can at least muster a backstroke , and I might be able to freestyle about 25 m before I accidentally inhale some water and freak out , but my breaststroke was total garbage . No matter how much my tutor tried to explain how to kick my legs back , I could never get the hang of it . It just seems like such a laborious way to propel yourself through the water .