Class Afloat

I went down to the dock tonight to see the S.V. Concordia, which is a ship hosting the coolest concept I've heard of in awhile...school at sea. High school students sail around the world and, while doing so, earn credits. They work as crew, as well as participate in an academic programme that is tailored to the needs of serious college prep students. They travel to places like Kenya, Singapore, the Galapagos, etc. all aboard a ship equipped with a CD Rom library, reference library, computer services and two classrooms.

A few years ago they hand selected a couple of students from Richmond to participate in the program and one of them was from my kid's school. He actually had been struggling in school, as he was very outwardly gay and being teased and bullied. I knew his mom, who was very supportive and had applied for the program to give him a chance at learning in a different environment. I was happy to see him there tonight...what an adventure he'd been on!!
Considering there's a ship this size docked here, I'd expect more adequate fire equipment....."fire on deck, grab the bucket"???