Programmes
Background Knowledge
The following quotes express the philosophy that serves as the basis of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation's programmes.
Being Raised on the Ocean
It should also be observed that sea-shore people have a considerable advantage in bringing up boys, because boys who become good boatmen must have had an admirable training in alertness, prompt decision, resource in emergencies, and courageous steadiness in difficulties and dangers...The youth who learns to wring safety and success out of such adverse conditions has been taught by these struggles with nature to be vigilant, patient, self-reliant, and brave. In these temperate regions, the adverse forces of nature...develop in successive generations some of the best human qualities.Charles W. Eliot (1834-1926), John Gilley of Baker's Island, P. 25/26. Charles Eliot was the pivotal Harvard president who lead the provincial college into the preeminent American university. Eliot served the longest term as president in the university's history.
What Makes a Good School?
In my vision of a good school, students and adults are encouraged to take risks, and a safety net protects those who do so. Considerable research suggests that risk-taking is strongly associated with learning. Indeed, when I considered my own most profound learning experiences, I find that they were occasions when I went out on a limb- when the boat was heeling and water was washing over the gunwales. Learning seldom comes from passively sitting still in the water with the sails flapping.Dr. Roland Barth, "A Personal Vision of a Good School", 1996. Dr. Barth, a BSF Director, was the founder of the Principals' Center at Harvard Graduate School of Education.
