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It was the final test for my SCUBA open water diving certificate. We were all in the big lake in San Marcos. The instructor had a series of tasks lined up—ways to test whether we were able to safely operate underwater. One of these tests involved hula hoops. There were three hoops, held at different depths by poles pushed into the lake bed 30-something feet down. We had to smoothly swim through each hoop without catching any of our gear or stopping. This required accurately adjusting buoyancy while on the move. The lake is home to seven endangered species and the most consistently active spring system in Texas (it also offers the greatest visibility of any water in the continental US); buoyancy control was important so divers wouldn’t inadvertently squish a blind salamander or fill in a spring with an errant fin-kick.

We had a few minutes to practice before the real test. It was great. Lots of real time feedback. Too much air in your vest, and you catch your tank on the hoop. Too little and you smash your face on the pole.

Lots of our time in schools is about jumping through hoops. But not all of those hoops are bad. Some of them provide important, accurate, real-time feedback.