Reflection Of Liverning In Lifeguarding - 1698 Words

There are very many activities that one would suspect have nothing to do with reading or writing. In fact 3 years ago I would have thought the same thing about lifeguarding when I decided to become a lifeguard in Jacksonville Beach. However it is very surprising how nearly all things on this planet have literate communities that are actively engaged in discourse and the lifeguarding organization that I became a member of happened to be one of them. Typically a lifeguarding organization such as Jacksonville Beach’s would fall under the same kind of literate community as any other emergency medical responder; their main discourse being on medical related topics. However, because our organization is 105 years old we have our own literate†¦show more content†¦To uphold such an aged community such as our own there must be rules, standards, and history that set this organization apart from any other life saving organization. The initial difference that exists between our or ganization and many others is the process by which you go through to join the organization. People that wish to join must take part in a 12 week recruit class that takes place every Sunday and lasts the entire day. In this class is where recruits are taught the required medical procedures such as BLS and CPR as well as proper lifeguarding techniques and the tradition behind everything we do in our organization. The recruit class alone already contains lots of tradition that has been significant for the last 100 years. For example, recruits must wear a wooden sign around their neck that is about a foot wide and 5 inches tall that says the words â€Å"Recruit (their name).† The recruits are also expected to wear all black and respect all members senior to them. During Initiation recruits are expected to complete a series of rituals that are all upheld by tradition, such as wearing a dead fish with a string tied to it around their neck. Once apart of the organization members are kept permanently unless they are discharged or resign so they never have to do the recruit class again. In the