Place-Based Learning Provides a Sea Change for Students

As the School by the Sea approaches its sesquicentennial in 2026, creating the next strategic plan is well underway.  Part of that plan includes leveraging the opportunities that the school’s waterfront location has to offer.  Sippican Harbor can provide context to interdisciplinary studies and act as a resource for a well-rounded education through relevant studies and hands-on learning opportunities. Dr. Julia Porter’s classes, for example, explore the sea as a rich source of meaning in literature, teaching works like The Odyssey in the fall and Clap When You Land, a verse novel by Elizabeth Acevedo, in the spring.

“Ninth grade English is where students first embark on their voyage as a Seawolf, and the teaching team is very aware that we have many opportunities to create class-wide common experiences throughout our curriculum,” says Dr. Porter.

In May 2023, ninth grade English classes were given a sea change on learning when they took to the open waters and boarded Tabor’s school sailing vessel (SSV), Tabor Boy. According to Dr. Porter, the schooner offered a different perspective of both the harbor and the lessons they were studying in class. 

“Going aboard the schooner gave us a chance to make some of those metaphorical conversations literal,” continues Porter, “Classmates were literally ‘pulling together’ to raise the foresail and could describe in their own words the feeling of the deck moving under their feet.”

While on the vessel, Seawolves were asked to make connections between Tabor Boy and the texts they’d read.

“Some female students pointed out that in The Odyssey, women aren't even allowed on ships, but they are welcome on Tabor Boy. Other students wrote about understanding some of the imagery in Yukio Mishima's novel, The Sound of Waves, more completely because they were looking out from the deck of a ship, like the characters were in the book,” shares Porter.

The “Literary Voice & Identity” class focuses on poetry and poetic devices, so students also practiced imagery by journaling their observations all the way from the boat launch at Hoyt to aboard Tabor Boy. Using each of their five senses, students noticed the sound of seabirds crying, the feel of water spraying on their faces, the sight of campus from the water, the smell of gasoline from the launch engine, the taste of sunscreen, and much more. These devices are meant to teach students how to capture the moments and locations they write about. After sharing their work, the ninth graders were given a tour of the vessel.

“A highlight of the trip was definitely getting a crash course in becoming crew members from Captain Jay Amster and Chief Engineer Clare Feely. We split into teams to pull on the two lines that raise the gaff of the foresail and had a little competition. It was hard work! But when the students got into the rhythm of it, they were impressed with their work,” remarks Porter.

The ninth grade English trips to Tabor Boy are a perfect example of place-based learning, an educational practice that immerses students in local heritage, landscapes, and experiences as a foundation for their academic curriculum.

“In addition to sparking the imagination, placed-based learning disrupts students' habits and routines and asks them to rise to the occasion. Ninth graders work all year on developing personal responsibility, so offering them the opportunity to do something place-based and special in May demonstrates our trust in how they've grown,” continues Porter, “They had to get themselves to the right place at the right time, navigate dress expectations and teacher conversations, and once aboard, keep themselves on-task in a very diverting situation. I was impressed with how my students jumped into the schooner visit; I could see how much more mature, confident, and engaged they are today than they were in the fall. For those who had done the Tabor Boy Summer Experience program last summer, they could measure themselves against who they were then— brand new, often uncertain—and remark upon how they had grown.”

Not only did their time on the vessel act as a place-based learning opportunity, but it also ensured that all ninth grade students, Tabor’s 150^th class, have been on SSV Tabor Boy before graduation. This is a tradition Dr. Porter hopes to continue with future classes.