OceanBound for History: School Teachers Trade the Classroom for a Ship by Hamilton Moore
O
ceanBound for History, a new program offered by the National M aririme Hisrorical Sociery and O cean Classroom Foundarion, and nexr year in conjunction with Mysric Seaporr Museum,
role in rhe American srory. The program educarors used Westward as a reaching plarform ro hold sessio ns abo ur rhe iniriarion experience, technology at sea, and rhe marerial culrure of rhe sailing ship. Parricipanrs joined Westward in Rockl and, M aine, and ser sail rhe foll owing mo rning. Mos r of rhe week was spenr sailing in Penobsco r Bay with visirs ro O urward Bo und's Hurricane Island and N arhaniel W ilson's wo rking, rradirion al sail lofr in Easr Boorhbay, M aine. In addirio n ro rheir academic requiremenrs, rhe
focus o n how the seemingly-isolared m aritime hisrories that rhey discover on their voyage played an important role in the overall development of the United States.
Hamilton Moore is the Education Director fo r Ocean Classroom Foundation.
'1 got a chance to shoot the sun, climb as high as I dared in the rig, steer a 125-foot ship, and see the stars on night watch in a clear Maine sky! I found this trip very helpful in understanding life at sea and American maritime history. " -Robert Esty, The Barrie School Silver Spring, Maryland
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gor underway in Augusr w irh a crew of green Ameri can hisrory reachers from across rhe counrry guided by professio nal sailing crew. With rhe goal of gerting reachers ro learn and recognize the inregral pan mari time hisrory has played in rhe hisrory of o ur nation as a whole, and thus inco rpo rate rhese ropics in their own class room curricula, rhe program immersed rhe reachers- turnedstudenrs/sailors in full operario n of rhe 125-fo o t sreel stays' ! schooner Westward. D aily classes and discussions on a va riery of maritime copies were held underway, developed and led by Dr. G lenn Go rdini er of Mys tic Seaporr's Munso n Institute and assisted by Richard Kin g of the U nive rsiry of St Andrews, Scotland. The 2005 OceanBound for H istory program proved a rremendous success for irs inaugural voyage. Twenry- three hisrory reachers were selecred for the week-long program, represenring both independent and public schools. Some were experienced sailors; ochers had never been on a boat. These m en and women are educarors will ing ro open rheir minds ro new aspects of American hisrory and willing ro push rhemselves physical ly in the unfamiliar wo rld of shipboard life-all fo r their students back in the class room at ho me. Topics fo r on board seminars we re chosen ro introduce teachers ro the maririme
teachers were fully immersed in the ship's operario ns as apprentice crewm embers. They rook cricks at rhe helm , learned bas ic navigation and marlinspike seam anship, tacked, gybed, and even assisred the cook in rhe galley. W ith rhe guidance of the program leaders, each teacher submitted a mini-curriculum focused on maritime hisrory after they rerurned home. These curricula have been collected and shared wirhin the group and added ro a database ar Ocean C lass room Foundarion. With continued successful programs in rhe coming years, rhis collecrion will grow and offer an invaluable resource ro other teachers working ro incorporate maritime hisrory into rheir curricula. Next year's program will agai n take place aboard schooner Westward, this time sailing our of Mysric Seaport with selecred port srops relevanr ro o n board discussions of maririm e hisrory. The curriculum will
CALL FOR APPLICANTS OceanBound fo r History is open ro acrive teachers of American hisrory ar the middle and high school level. Up ro 23 teacherparticipants will be accepted through a comperitive application process. The 7day program, 7- 13 Augusr 2006, is free of charge and includes all instruction plus roo m and board . A $95 processing fee is requi red with acceprance. For more in fo rmation and ro requesr an applicarion, co nracr Ocean Classroom Fdn. , 23 Bay St. , Watch Hill, RI, 0289 1, 1-800-724-7245, e-mail :