Call of the Sea Debuts
Enhanced Education
Program
At Call of the Sea, the most exciting thing we do is not sailing across the Bay or watching Schooner Seaward's tall masts clear the Golden Gate Bridge. The most exciting thing we do is sharing our knowledge and love of the maritime world with learners of all ages.
Our educational programs have received glowing approval from students, teachers, and maritime education professionals. Yet these programs aren't standing still. For almost two years we've been working on a project to take our whole program to a new level by rethinking both the content of the curriculum and how the students experience it. Some of these changes have already been phased in, but most of them will appear for the first time in our spring voyages.
Program Director Haley Chutz, Educators Scott Spillias and Peter Arlein, and consultant Caitlin Schwarzman have worked together to craft these new programs. Their work has been guided by clear objectives. They want students to:
- Develop curiosity and engage with the ship and the Bay
- Develop a connection with environmental and cultural aspects of the Bay
- Gain an appreciation for maritime traditions, including teamwork
- Gain a new perspective and return with the sense of having completed a voyage
In addition, we want to make our programs useful for teachers by continuing to align with California curriculum standards and we've even strengthened that connection. We'll also be providing each teacher with choices as to the best elements to include for their particular class. For example, a teacher might choose the "Sailor for a Day" voyage to emphasize history, or the "Oceanographer for a Day" voyage to emphasize environmental science.
Within each voyage are activities and lessons tailored to the needs of different student populations. Guiding all of these lessons are our principles: investigation, involvement, and teamwork. We want to use the ship to do things that the students can't do in the classroom.
If you come aboard with a group of students, what changes will you notice? You'll still see learning stations with nautical charts, water sampling, and squishy critters to investigate. And every student still gets to steer the ship. But you might also discern a wider variety of activities and learning tools, and a whole new focus on each student's active involvement. And at the voyage end, we think you'll feel the students' interest, pride, and sense of accomplishment.
That's what Call of the Sea is all about.
This piece has been contributed by Gary Schwarzman, Education Chair on Call of the Sea's Board of Directors