| Subject: |
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visits to schools |
| Name: |
|
Captain Bela K. Berty |
| Date Posted: |
|
Mar 19, 07 - 1:46 AM |
| Email: |
|
flatboatman@gmail.com |
| Website: |
|
http://www.EarlySteamboats.com |
| Message: |
|
My school visits have been most popular with the Fourth Grades because
we cover local history. In particular, we concentrate on the western
expansion of America, 1779-1838, by flatboats down the Ohio River. I
wear pioneer clothes. I show the details of a 2' model of a settlers'
flatboat, complete with farm animals, cooking gear, baggage, rowboat,
and canoes. I ask the teacher and the parents to arrange the students
to line up for an orderly parade to see the model of the flatboat.
Part of the display past the boat models are my books used for
research. (I give a list of the books to the School Librarian so that
the school has an option of buying books of interest. I give a list
of points I emphasize so that the teacher may have an easy time making
up a test.)
I use a poster-size map of the rivers of America to show how the
country became so rich so quickly because of the many tributaries of
the Mississippi carrying commerce through the world's
longest seaport to all over the planet. I show a five-minute video of my trip in 1988 aboard
the flatboat SPIRIT OF KANAWHA. [That video is professionally-edited,
interspersing a song written by a visitor.]
My favorite part of "Ohio River Pioneers" is the discussion when I ask
one question in several different ways to get a discussion going on
why people would give up comfort back east in exchange for danger on
the frontier. Then there are questions from the students answered by
me. The hour is never long enough to handle all the questions; the
students get excited about long-distance adventuring. I invite them
to visit my website to learn more. Some of them might take up my
offer of bringing their families to serve as crew for one week on our
next flatboat trip.
That trip will be blogged, with pictures and text by the families on
deck, updated at least weekly to our website so that schools all over
the Internet may learn a little American History, Geography, and
Economics.
Teachers and elementary school principals may Email Captain Berty at flatboatman@gmail.com. The fee is $300 for one day with as many as four presentations. For a week-long program involving the building of model flatboats, producing a drama by each class, and other activities for the school, the fee is $1,000 for the school week, Mon-Fri. |
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