I don't even remember learning. In Florida it's pretty much essential
why? I don't need you need to swim to live a normal life, and move around.
Imagine this scenario TC
You are on a plane, and the engine blows. You grab a parachute but struggle to get both arms in, the ground is getting closer, finally, in a last effort, you get your arm in, pull the chute, and with 2 seconds to spare, it opens and it spares you from fatal impact.
BUT YOU SNAG A TREE! Luckily there is water underneath you about 20 feet down. The branch begins to snap and you realize the waters underneath you are rapids. AND THERES A WATERFALL!
You plunge into the water, bumping rocks along the way and wash 30 feet down into rocky waters. You float down river as you come to, somehow surviving this entire ordeal.
But OH NO! the water is 6 foot deep and you are only 5 foot 10! You drown to death because you don't know how to swim.