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My primary Writing.com blog. |
*Written as part of the "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" ![]() Day 15 Prompt: Write about a childhood experience that you remember vividly. Include as much sensory detail as possible. Oh, I can already tell this is going to bring back horrible memories. ![]() The year is 1906, and the students, or "lads," are immersed in an eighteen hour journey through the past. As "green" hands on their overnight stint aboard a historic vessel, they must learn to step lively and gain the necessary skills to set sail on the evening tide. The program encourages students to develop self-confidence and self-reliance, which in turn fosters a sense of responsibility for themselves, their shipmates, and their community. Throughout the entire experience, emphasis is placed on building self-esteem, a sense of responsibility, respect and cooperative learning skills. These skills are not just useful on the vessel or in the classroom, but will be useful throughout ones entire life. Sure, that sounds like an interesting experience. And all due respect to the teachers and administrators who put this together. Schools really need more hands-on, out-of-the-classroom experiences like these. Maybe just not this particular one. Here's what I remember from the experience: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It was a miserable experience. It seems like the entire adventure was geared toward showing us how abysmal it was to be on a boat crew early in the 1900s. I'm sure my personal experience is probably glossing over some one or two positive moments, but I just remember never being happier to get back in the van and go home. By the time the experience was over, I had blisters on my hands and feet, was sleep deprived, hungry, and feverish. And now that I look at their website, I wonder if some of the following notes shouldn't be posted in large, bold print to make sure people are fully aware: The [parents] have one of the most difficult roles on board: they are there for safety only. This is challenging because parents are used to stepping in to help and guide their children in unfamiliar or difficult situations. To stand back and watch the children struggle through a problem is difficult, but necessary. It is VITAL that PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE PROGRAM all [parents] are aware that they will not be able to interact with the lads except during an emergency. Maybe they've changed their program over the years (fourth grade was a long time ago!), or hired different people who handled their supervisory roles with a little more decorum. During my experience, I must've missed the part where the captain's sense of humor came through since he was described as "tough but with a sense of humor." (Mostly he just stalked around and grumbled a lot about the 'sorry lot of sailors' he had to work with.) And I must've missed the part where the first mate was fair even though he was described as "stern but fair." (Mostly he just screamed at us and promised to give us even more work if we kept screwing up.) I'd like to think that maybe this was one of those things where my perspective was just skewed because I got sick and had a bad experience personally. But the thing is, I don't know a single one of my classmates who claimed to have a good experience. Every one of the two full classes of kids couldn't wait to get off the ship and get home. I'll never know what the behind-the-scenes talk among the parent chaperones, the teachers, and the professional boat crew were, but I can't imagine what I would be thinking - as a teacher - if I went to the expense and effort of arranging a field trip only to have forty kids all come out of it cranky, sleep-deprived, hungry, and generally miserable. I can only imagine the conversations they had with the event staff and/or with the parents of the students once they heard what their kids had to do on their field trip! ![]() Maybe the program has changed and evolved over the years, and maybe they've made improvements to the way things are run. But at least when I went on this program during my childhood, $3,000 seems like an awful lot of money for a class to have spent on a field trip that was little more than learning outdated "sailing" skills and being yelled at and abused for the privilege. ![]() |