Jody Sherwood
Teacher
Maple Grove, MN
What is your favorite part of working for FOSS?
I love teaching kids a lifelong skill!
What is your favorite FOSS story?
One of our adult students came to FOSS to learn how to swim for his granddaughter. He had carried a lifelong fear of water after having two near-drowning experiences in his childhood. He had carried this secret his whole life, telling no one. He didn’t tell his wife, he didn’t tell his children, and he couldn’t tell his granddaughter. Instead, he came to us to learn how to swim. He has since shared this lifelong secret with his family and after his first quarter of classes with FOSS, he is swimming wonderfully and ready to swim with his granddaughter this summer!
What is your personal favorite water activity?
Barefoot water skiing!
Can you recount a student of yours who experienced a major “lightbulb” moment when you were with them?
A wonderful lightbulb moment for me was with a kiddo that I had taught all through baby classes and ended up having him in a L1 class again about a year later. He was on his 5th time I think going through L1. He had no trouble putting his eyes in but struggled with letting go of the teacher to do the skills on his own. We were able to push through that fear and build his self confidence, and he FINALLY passed L1 with flying colors. Both kiddo and Mom were ecstatic and so was his teacher!
