Intervista a Joseph Porrino
Ideatore del progetto educativo “Kids As Dolphins”, nonché presidente dell’Asd Apnea Academy KAD risponde a dubbi e dinamiche dell’apnea per i più piccoli.
Joseph, come nasce l’idea di creare un progetto educativo per bambini all’interno di una realtà come Apnea Academy?
Il progetto Kids As Dolphins nasce nel 1989 a Levico Terme (Trento). Rispetto a quanto proposto fino ad allora, caratteristica di questo progetto è il carattere essenzialmente educativo, il cui scopo è la prevenzione e l’educazione per un corretto approccio con il mondo subacqueo. L’intento è quello di creare un percorso didattico semplice ma allo stesso tempo innovativo, che tenga conto delle reali esigenze del bambino.
Qual'è il tuo pensiero in merito a questo tema?
Educare il maggiore numero di bambini alla prevenzione e precauzione in acqua significa sicurezza, quindi allontanare le possibilità di incidenti. Insegnare ai piccoli ad essere solidali e bene organizzati tra loro, come dimensione che riporteranno nelle relazioni del vivere quotidiano.
Che tipo d’ insegnamento viene sviluppato all’interno del progetto?
All’inizio ho sperimentato, con l’aiuto della dott.ssa Maria Neri Perina, psicopedagogista specializzata in tema di età evolutiva, nuove vie d’insegnamento tendenti a favorire l’autonomia e il rispetto della personalità nel bambino. Il piccolo allievo non viene più concepito come ricettore passivo ma come elemento attivo all’interno di una esperienza dove la libera collaborazione favorisce lo spirito di cooperazione. La necessità di creare i presupposti, pur all’interno di un percorso didattico guidato, di un self-government che permetta ai piccoli di conciliare gli interessi individuali con quelli del gruppo, è alla base di questo progetto. Attraverso l’esperienza attiva e la simulazione il gruppo viene stimolato a trovare autonomamente le soluzioni ai problemi che, di volta in volta, vengono proposti.
Che metodologia viene sviluppata per facilitare l’apprendimento dei bambini?
The main purpose is to develop, through a guided and structured path (sequentiality), new motor patterns that lead the child to learn techniques intended for underwater movement. The main objectives therefore become:
- physical-sensory familiarization to gradually accustom the child to perceive their body both on the surface and underwater;
- psychological adaptation that allows the child, through play, to remove states of anxiety and fears, positively introducing them to the underwater world;
- the formation of new motor patterns and technical skills.
What is the task of the KAD instructor educator?
The task of the KAD instructor educator is to facilitate, through a guided path, the acquisition of new knowledge and motor skills for safety in the aquatic environment. The KAD instructor educator must support the child's motivation through play and verbal gratification for each task performed. At the motor level, they must be able to correct any posture errors without forcing, breaking down the proposed exercises into simpler steps, to allow the child to find their point of operational balance. Such an intervention certainly promotes the acquisition of useful data so that the child can personally and autonomously develop and express behaviors consistent with the situations experienced.
At what age can one start a KAD underwater activity?
I believe that the first age group to consider for a project like “Kids as Dolphins” is the one starting from 7 years; old; children as young as 6 years old have not yet developed sufficient processes of literacy, socialization, and adaptability. Even coordination abilities, albeit minimally, are better from age 7 onward.
What importance do you place on play in teaching?
The play is an active part in psychomotor education, stimulating physical dexterity, the use of the senses, as well as unleashing great creative capacity.
In your opinion, what are the most serious mistakes a KAD instructor educator can make?
The poor understanding of issues related to developmental age and, even worse, the introduction of dangerous concepts such as time e the distance, become negative factors for children's mentality, counter-educational and sometimes misleading, if applied to a discipline like ours.
What are the safety parameters for an activity like the one proposed by “Kids As Dolphins"?
In this regard, I summarize what was recommended by Dr. Nicola Sponsiello at the first scientific conference of Castel Ivano (TN) on the theme: The Respiratory Act and Apnea in Children.
Let's start with a fact: a child has not yet completed the development of their soma. If we add to this the limited scientific knowledge on psycho/somatic development, we have no other choice but to urge maximum caution. The advice to give is to never exceed 3 meters for the youngest and 6 meters for children between 10 and 13 years old. These are not random numbers, but the result of established physiological knowledge: within 3 meters, the vascular changes, known as “blood shift,” are so modest that they do not seem capable of causing consequences. From this data, it can be assumed that even in immature organisms, there is no unpleasant effect in reaching 3 meters. Also, the breath-holding times must be very short and linked to the proposed educational activity.
From what I understand, the educational path includes multiple courses?
Exactly. With the help of Dr. Neri, I managed to identify and, above all, test a teaching method that takes into account the psychosomatic development of children from 7 to 13 years old. We divided the project into three different steps: from 7 to 8 years for a basic course, from 9 to 11 for an advanced course, and from 12 for the new expert KAD course.
In the first path, besides considering the need to dose kinetic stimulations based on the motor (neuro-vegetative) abilities of the young student, we focused on using a simple, understandable, meaningful language, focusing on a few essential concepts for safety education in water activities. Even in the choice of exercises, considering the difficulties in stabilizing motor skills, as mentioned before, attention was focused on the importance of sequence in planning the proposed work.
The situation is different in the advanced course: the age considered ranges from 9 to 11 years, a period in a child's life when fundamental changes occur in cognitive development, understood as the ability to process information and knowledge not only through experience but also through expertise.
Further developments occur for the very young from age 12, a life period for which we have redefined the teaching schemes based on specific developmental needs, which the brand-new course perfectly fulfills. KAD Expert born in 2023.
Experience and expertise are elements that promote a more articulated teaching approach, based on the concept of pair work as an indispensable element for one's own safety and are fundamental for the dimensions of organization and solidarity in the group experience.
Do you think training KAD instructor-educators specialized in this field is necessary?
Absolutely yes, I believe serious training covering various aspects of developmental age is more necessary than ever: psychological, linguistic, learning ability, psychomotor, just to name the main ones.
Besides Dr. Neri, which other specialists collaborated on the project?
Some members of the scientific staff of AA Research and DAN Research and researchers such as actively collaborated on the project: Dr. Nicola Sponsiello, Dr. Danilo Cialoni, Dr. Lorenzo Manfredini, Dr. Stefano Correale, Prof. Andrea Campara, lecturer at the University of Motor Sciences of Verona, Dr. Claudio Marabotti, Dr. Maurizio Schiavon, Prof. Costantino Balestra, Dr. Flavio Fontana, Dr. Mike Maric, Dr. Eika Garbella, Prof. Stefano Tovaglieri, Dr. Silvio Battaini, Matteo Zangoni, Paolino Deriu, Antonella Devanna, Carlo Gottardi, Piergiorgio Bertoldi, and Master Umberto Pelizzari.
I would also like to publicly thank the late Prof. Piergiorgio Data and the instructor as well as great friend Roberto for their valuable advice and support.
Finally, I thank all my staff of excellent KAD trainers, composed of serious, competent, and prepared professionals.
What is your thought on this topic?
Educating the greatest number of children in water prevention and precaution means reducing the possibilities of accidents. Teaching the little ones to be supportive and well-organized among themselves, as a dimension they will carry into the relationships of daily life.