A Rite of Passage R.M.S. Titanic A Learning Experience

Article by Dewayne Clover

Just before midnight on April 14, 1912, the “unsinkable” R.M.S. Titanic, on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City struck an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland. The luxurious vessel shuddered briefly, and in the early hours of April 15, ripped apart and sank beneath the waves. The maritime disaster claimed the lives of 1517 passengers and crewmen.

Fifteen years ago, Barbara Johnson, a teacher in Hamilton’s Ann Whitney Elementary School, began reading, “S.O.S. Titanic”, a fictional novel by Eve Bunting, to her fifth grade students. As the tale evolved, a current story was born. The students became engrossed in the dramatic tale, and new avenues of learning and teaching unfold.

Other individuals began to suggest new concepts that evolved from the project. Years later, the initial concept has become a community tradition, and a rite of passage for the students completing their final eyar of elementary school. The young learners were assigned projects to illustrate their vision of the legendary story. Models of the ocean liner, images of the China place settings, and displays of the perceived cabins unfolded. Literature, research, art, history, and etiquette inspired their inspirations.

The finale of the experience developed into a formal luncheon for the students and their educators. First United Methodist Church graciously offered to convert their fellowship hall to a “ballroom”. A collection of Vintage China, once rescued from boxes of oatmeal and laundry detergent were loaned. Linen tablecloths, glassware, and silverware appeared. Decorations were borrowed, and caterers offered their help. Finally the young ladies, attired in period dress, and their youthful escorts, in formal dress, were escorted into a six-course candlelit meal. Mothers in classic black and white served, and fathers and other volunteers prepared the food. A string orchestra, this year from Baylor University, performed background music, with the final piece being “Nearer, My God to Thee”, traditionally believed to have been the last piece played on the failing Titanic as it broke apart and sank. School staff researched the actual passenger list on the doomed ship. Prior to the meal, individual letters were secured beneath the students’ seats. As the luncheon ended, those letters were presented, each child being advised regarding whether the guest they represented survived of perished. As the students excited the church, they were escorted by chaperone sponsors on the one block walk to the County Courthouse, where they greeted the public, and displayed their finery to parents and photographers.

This wonderful tradition is the result of a dedicated community and imaginative education.