Operation Education by Camille Freas and James Ean On 14 May 1980, the fifty-piece United States Navy concert band from Annapolis gave a once-in-a-lifetime perfonnance for the students of a high school in the South Bronx. In two brief hours, a relationship of respect , empathy and shared pleasure was evoked between the Navy and the community made famous as "Fort Apache." This was revealed through a deafening silence followed by a tumultuous ovation-a feat which bears need of repetition. This was the genesis of a three-pronged educational program called Operation Education: The Harbor Experience, an effort to bring together all the components of a model program translating the maritime tradition and its unique experiences into a tangible educational format for students. It began with a student version of an educational orientation visit to the Norfolk Naval Station by students from two outstanding New York high school s, Midwood High School in Brooklyn and Arts and Design in Manhattan . The students participated in a three-day visit which included living in barracks, using the facilities, touring the schools and visiting the ships where they could ask about related jobs and adventure. This aspect of the program was made possible by contributions from the New York Council of the Navy League of the United States. The second phase of the program was the establishment of a project called Technical Horizons for Youth , aboard the aircraft carrier museum , Intrepid. Under the direction of Camille Freas and with the encouragement of James Ean , students from Midwood, Design and Arts, and Seward high schools participated in a course in technical drafting given by Robert Freas , an architect and industrial arts teacher. Shortly after the program was begun aboard the Intrepid, students at the Park West High School lost the use of their training ship, the Liberty Ship John W. Brown. The students of the maritime
deck program were integrated with those of Tech Horizons already aboard the Intrepid with Capt. Anthony Litano as maritime instructor. The students of the maritime deck program were introduced to the essential up-keep of ships , concentrating on chipping and painting, general maintenance and e lementary engineering. Aboard the Intrepid, they used this practical education to help create their own classroom and work space. These two programs subsequently moved to Brooklyn College and the South Street Seaport Museum ship Wavertree with funding being provided by the Edwin Gould Foundation and Brooklyn Union Gas. A significant number of graduates from the maritime deck program have, in the past , gone on to attend both the Maritime College (SUNY) at Fort Schuyler and the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, and thence to become officers in both the merchant marine and the U.S . Navy . Such is the success of this program , in fact, that the National Maritime Union g ives a one-stop advance to all graduates entering the union. With the hoped-for return of the John W. Brown to the New York and New Jersey area this fall , it is hoped that the maritime deck program will continue at its fo1mer site. The broader educational aspect of the OpEd program is addressed through The Harbor Experience, which includes an introduction to maritime culture through visits to places of pote ntial employment in the maritime industry a nd related fields . These have included trips to tug and towboat companies such as Moran and McAllister, excursion boat operators and marinas , all of whom have a definite need for skilled, hands-on operations personnel. This aspect is not geared only to vesse l operations, however , and some students have been introduced as vo lunteers to administrative pos itions aboard the Intrepid thereby getting a tas te of
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Studems learn drqfting as par! of the OpEd program that combines classroom work with shipboard training.
marketing, public relations , membership drives and dealing with the public and patrons of the museum. The thrust of Operation Education is to provide students with a sound educational experience in an environment that is conducive to learning and which leads to meaningful economic independence or furt her educational opportunities when they have graduated . The maritime experience has provided this in the past and can do so in the future. With ongoing support and new ideas from participants and other contributors, Operation Education wi ll continue to provide young people with a contemporary maritime program relevant to today 's opportunities and challenges.
Before developing the OpEd program, Camille Freas was a bi-lingual counsellor at Phoenix House, and a teacher at the Convent School of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd and at high schools in the South Bronx. Jam es Ean, formerly president of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, currently serves as vice chairman of !he National Maritime Historical Society. Operation Educalion is a recognized projecl of the NMHS , and any inquiries or suggeslions can be forwarded 10 the Society, A!tention: OpEd. Contributions should be made out to ' 'NMHS - OpEd.'' SEA HISTORY , AUTUMN 1986