Upward Bound at Sea

August 30, 2010

This August, six Johnson State College Upward Bound students joined 18 other students from all over New England to sail aboard the schooner Westward. During their six-day, 400-mile voyage, they explored the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, the Cape Cod Canal, and Stellwagen Bank. The students participated in all tasks necessary to sail the tall ship, including manning the helm, standing midnight watches, and raising and trimming sails.

All the students received scholarships from the Ocean Classroom Foundation to participate in the voyage free of charge through their involvement in Upward Bound at Johnson State College. Upward Bound is a federally funded, college-preparatory program that provides modest-income, first-generation college students the academic background, experiences and support needed to succeed in college immediately after high school.

The Ocean Classroom Foundation creates programs aboard their ships in which students grow stronger and more confident socially, intellectually, ethically and physically. Learning occurs in context, as students explore and test their new knowledge in the real environment. Abstractions of science and math are grasped and tested, and themes of literature and history are made tangible and relevant. Living and working upon the ever-changing sea requires all voyagers to be alert, clear minded, open-eyed and responsive to the environment. This sense of responsive alertness has been a shared educational objective cultivated by student participation in both the Ocean Classroom Foundation and the Johnson State College Upward Bound for the past seven years.

For more information about the Upward Bound program at Johnson State College, contact Tony Blueter, director, at 802-635-1268.