‘Survival’ Still Teaches What Tech Cannot

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Any Old Rochester 7th-grader who’s lived in the Tri-Town since the early 1970s knows what it’s like to experience Survival. Some of those very first ORR Junior High School students to experience a Survival excursion, which is the annual end-of-the-year trudge into a classroom like no other — the wilderness — are now pushing 60. But during a time when teenagers are likely more adept at creating computer programs and coding and less skilled at tasks like starting a fire in the wild or pitching a tent, Survival may just be more relevant today than it was decades ago.

What started out as a one-day trek into the woods of the much less-developed Rochester of yore is now a week-long immersion in the woods of western Massachusetts, and a deeply embedded Tri-Town tradition that has survived three generations of Tri-Townies, enduring as a common right of passage for its youth year after year after year.

Early this Sunday morning, Tri-Town’s current 7th-graders became the next line of students to stare down that “shared road to a stronger self,” converging in front of the junior high with those who chose that shared road as Survival guides. Long lines of backpacks waited in crooked rows across the lawn while the 7th-graders, older students who’ve already done Survival, and their adult leaders mingled in small groups and mentally prepared for the challenging week ahead. They’ve already physically prepared for the experience, having been assigned a list of required gear and physical training activities, but how would they cope emotionally, away from their parents, pets, comfy beds, and electronic devices?

Kevin “KT” Thompson knew exactly what the kids were feeling that bright and breezy morning, having experienced Survival himself as a 7th-grader in 1988 and every year since, with his involvement, now in its 30th year. “Cautiously excited” is one of those prevailing ambiguous sentiments, Thompson said.

“They’re probably thinking they’re half excited and half ‘what am I gonna do without my PlayStation or my cell phone?” said Thompson. And there are no Dunkin’ Donuts out there, either, he said. But the sacrifice is worth it, added Thompson, because Survival gives the kids more than the caffeine jolt of an iced coffee ever could– it gives them confidence, self-reliance, and a life-changing experience.

The environment is controlled, said Thompson, and it’s safe. But it’s unknown and unpredictable, “And they just know that it’s gonna be hard,” Thompson said.

“They’ll be learning to do things they never imagined they’d be able to do,” he said. “Surviving a week in the woods without technology, especially in a society that’s so dependent on technology – going completely old school.”

Thompson, a Scout in his boyhood and now a Scout leader in Rochester, knows all about what old school entails.

“This is my bread and butter and it enables me to bring those kinds of skills to them,” said Thompson. “And most of them don’t really know what it does for them, what it teaches them – to be independent, but working with others. Right now, they’re too young to know what it means.”

As part of the challenge, students are required to make their own shelters out of the natural materials they find in the woods, said Thompson. “They make it, they live in it, it’s their responsibility.”

And the community has been overwhelmingly supportive of the annual endeavor, Thompson added.

“It’s a 45-year program that’s got more community support than anything I’ve ever seen,” he said. The towns provide some funding, and local police and fire, Survival graduates, and a host of other members of the community either donate to the program or attend in in some capacity as leaders, guides, and assistants. “It’s massive,” said Thompson.

As the busses pulled up, it was last call for iced coffee and a quick assessment of the required gear: rollup sleeping mat, check. Water bottle, check. Tartan kilt, check — but only if you’re KT.

The boys with their baseball caps and the girls with their carefully tightened braids to keep camp hair away loaded their packs, gave one last goodbye hug to their mom, and boarded the busses. Next stop for the excited students: Northfield, Massachusetts for Survival 2018. As for the moms, they wiped their tears and retreated home to their child’s room to smell their pillow until the return of their beloved survivors – who, according to Thompson, will be back smelling less sweet, and more like survival.

By Jean Perry

 

134th Summer Season at St. Philip’s

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St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, next to the Town Beach in Mattapoisett, continues their long tradition of visiting clergy from Massachusetts and beyond.

Services using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer are conducted at 8:00am and 10:00am each Sunday through Labor Day weekend.

The Reverend Alan B. Warren, Rector of The Church of the Advent, Boston, will officiate the services on Sunday, June 24.

Come visit our historic chapel by the sea in Mattapoisett! All are welcome.

Sippican Historical Society

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In 1998, the Sippican Historical Society commissioned an architectural survey of Marion’s historic homes and buildings. The survey was funded one-half by the Sippican Historical Society and one-half by the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Due to the limits of funding, not all of the historic buildings were surveyed, but over 100 were catalogued and photographed. The results of the survey are in digital form on the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s website and in four binders in the Sippican Historical Society’s office (and at the Marion Town Clerk’s office).

Marion (Old Rochester) is one of the oldest towns in the United States, and the Sippican Historical Society maintains an extensive collection of documentation on its historic buildings. The Sippican Historical Society will preview one building a week so that the residents of Marion can understand more about its unique historical architecture.

This installment features 2 Lewis Street.  Water Street may have begun as a Native American trail.  Known as Harbor Lane at the turn of the century, it developed into an elite summer enclave in the late 19th and early 20th century.  Built in the 1890s, the one-and-one-half story, Shingle-style cottage called Point Rock Cottage at 2 Lewis Street overlooks Sippican Harbor.  It is situated at the intersection of Lewis and Water Streets.  David W. Lewis, a building-materials magnate, resided here until the early 1910s.  His company, located in Boston, sold “Akron Sewer Pipe and Land Tile, Fire Brick, Chimney Tops, Chimney Flue Linings and F.O. Norton’s Rosindale and Portland Cements.”

Snow Fields is Back to the Drawing Board

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On June 18, the Mattapoisett Planning Board and engineer David Davignon debated, discussed, dissected, and, in the end, sent the proposed Snow Field Road two-lot subdivision back to the drawing board.

The issue for Davignon, representing Dennis Arsenault, was the current inertia of the project. He needs a plan that, in theory, is acceptable to the Planning Board before the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection appeal lodged by abutters can proceed.

Davignon said that, without some sort of guidance from the Planning Board on one of several design concepts he has presented over several hearings, The DEP would not proceed.

The applicant has to demonstrate a willingness to develop plans that decrease the impact on wetlands. With the ball now clearly in their court, the Planning Board struggled, but eventually achieved enough thought cohesion to give Davignon what he needed to move forward.

Another significant issue for the applicant: waivers.

The board reviewed the waivers Davignon deemed necessary — eliminating sidewalks, slopes, cul-de-sacs either removed or added depending on Fire Department review, and the addition of a bump-out along one side of the lengthy proposed common driveway to allow a car to pass.

Chairman Tom Tucker made it clear to the group of abutters in attendance that the board was not approving the project.

“Just because we are talking about this doesn’t mean its being approved,” said Tucker. He explained that there would be many more hearings and documentation, including a peer review report, before the Planning Board would be at a point to take a vote. The focus on this night was to give Davignon guidance so he could develop another plan for DEP and Planning Board review.

Resident Brad Hathaway once again spoke out about the pending State Ethics Commission ruling regarding allegations against Mike King, chairman of the Conservation Commission, regarding this project.

“Why are we talking about this when we don’t know what’s going on with the Ethics Commission?” Hathaway continued, “Why don’t we wait … It isn’t fair to the town and the people in the town,” he asserted. Hathaway then launched into his concerns about another project the Planning Board discussed informally at the previous meeting for property located on Chapel Road. Tucker explained town counsel’s opinion that the Planning Board had the latitude to review the project as either a Form A division of lots, or a special residential district (SRD).

Hathaway refrained from further comment.

The hearing was continued until July 2.

Also coming before the board was Scott Snow to informally discuss a subdivision and driveway project off Prospect Road. Snow wanted the Planning Board to not only provide him with guidance regarding the possibility of conserving two stately oak trees threatened if driveway or roadway plans had to meet standard widths, he wanted the board members to help create a design.

“I’m seeking the board’s help … [with] maybe a waiver to keep the roadway at 11.6 inches, possibly with a voluntary protective covenant to maintain the roadway,” Snow wondered aloud.

Tucker explained that whether the project included a private common driveway or a private roadway, the 11.6-inch width wouldn’t be acceptable.

Tucker suggested Snow engage an engineer to help think through design options.

Snow asked, “You can’t tell us?” he continued, “I’d like the Planning Board to help plan.” Tucker responded, “The only advice I can give you is to get an engineer, a good plan — we’ll vote on it, deny it, then you can go to the [Zoning] Board of Appeals.”

Snow retorted, “I think the board should know enough to tell us what to do.”

Board members Janice Robbins and Tucker both told Snow that “we are not engineers” and he would be better served by trained professionals rather than by the board’s attempts.

“We’ve given you our best advice,” said Tucker. The board members did, however, give every consideration to the conceptual subdivision before again asserting that engaging an engineer would be Snow’s best solution.

Earlier in the meeting, engineer Brian Grady discussed the homeowners’ covenant and surety agreement for the Appaloosa Lane subdivision. After reviewing necessary edits and changes to the covenant and review of the amount of the surety offered — $5,000 — it was suggested that Highway Superintendent Barry Denham review the financials of the surety that will be put in place for the roadway completion. The hearing was continued until July 2.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for July 2 at 7:00 pm in the town hall conference room.

Mattapoisett Planning Board

By Marilou Newell

 

Scrimshaw Lecture

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The Sippican Historical Society will present a PowerPoint lecture on scrimshaw by its president, Frank McNamee, on June 21at the Marion Music Hall at 7:00 pm.  The lecture will discuss the scrimshaw collection that was recently donated to the SHS by William Claflin.  This remarkable collection of 19th century sailor-made scrimshaw consists of over 100 pieces and was assembled in the 1930s and 40s before there was any scholarship on the art of scrimshaw.  The Claflin collection is one of the most significant and valuable scrimshaw collections to surface in this century.  The collection consists of engraved whales’ teeth, pie crimpers, baleen corset stays, whalebone fids, whale ivory ditty boxes, and much more. In one fell swoop, the maritime collection at the Sippican Historical Society has been elevated to world-class status.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

Bike Share comes to Mattapoisett

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An effort to bring bike rental to Mattapoisett has been successful.  The Town’s recent approval of VeoRides’ proposal for a pilot program has resulted in 30 bikes placed in six strategic locations.  These bikes are available for public use.  The locations are shown on the downloadable app.  Any one using the bikes should read the VeoRides user agreement fully.  But here are the basics:

-You need a smart phone and a credit card.

-One phone only unlocks one bike. You can’t use one phone to unlock multiple bikes.

-Age 13 and older are allowed to use the bikes.

-Helmets recommended.  The Town is working on making loaners available NOTE: state law requires all cyclists 15 and younger to wear helmets.

– To access the bikes, download the app and put a few dollars in your account to start. Once you unlock the bike, it will draw from your account in 50 cent increments every 15 minutes.

– One-way riding is allowed. Just make sure:

1) You lock the bike when you are done (or it will keep charging you)

2) Park it where someone from the general public can see it and don’t block driveways or sidewalks or entries.  Parking it near other bikes is helpful.

3) You can only ride in Fairhaven and Mattapoisett.

– If you haven’t been on a bike in a while, practice in a parking lot first.

– Each one teach one – if you see someone interested in them, please explain how it works.

Thank You Mattapoisett Fire Department

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Dear Editor:

My husband, Paul Coderre, Sr., and I would like to thank the Mattapoisett Fire Department for their prompt service on June 15 when I tried to roast a garlic bulb in the microwave oven. Note to self: stop walking away when you are cooking.

Apparently, the garlic was very dry and ignited on the dry paper towel it was resting on. Thankfully my little dog Harry alerted me that something was wrong insisting that I stop dancing to the music in the living room and get back in the kitchen. Dogs are really great.

Rounding the corner into the kitchen the billowing smoke and glow from the microwave oven was unmistakable – I had really messed up this time!

After smothering the flames, opening doors and windows, I knew I had no choice but to call the F.D. What if the fire had gotten into the wall?

It was a call I didn’t want to make because, well, my husband is a retired fire chief and has over several decades warned me repeatedly about leaving the kitchen unattended. There have been other unfortunate kitchen events. But he wasn’t home and I knew “better safe then sorry.”

I was only slightly humiliated by my own actions and the professionalism of the first responders was very generous – “That’s why we are here.”

As I waited for my husband to return home (yes, from golf) I knew I couldn’t blame this episode on burnt toast. I’d have to fess up. Then came a knock on the door after the F.D. had returned to the station. Who could this be? I didn’t recognize the young man standing there.

Nothing to fear as he said, “Hi Mrs. Coderre I’m Michael Michaud of the New Bedford Fire Department. I live down the street. I saw the fire department here, so I called your son.”

My step-son is New Bedford Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Paul Coderre, Jr. Michaud had called him to report a problem at his father’s house, then stopped to check on us. I will suffer quietly next Thanksgiving as the microwave oven incident joins other historical kitchen antics that demonstrate just how close to danger I’ve come over the years, i.e. the exploding eggs, and another microwave oven incident, the flaming cornbread.

I explained to Michaud I had simply set my microwave oven on fire, nothing to see here, move along. But then I decided if he were here when my husband pulled in the driveway things might go more smoothly for me. Bless his heart he stayed. When you have someone in your family who is a member of a fire department, you become part of a different family, the fire department family.

No harm, no foul. As I told my husband, “It was time for a new microwave oven anyway.”

By the way, my husband took it well. After all is said and roasted, I am a pretty good cook, especially if you like smoky flavors.

Again, our deepest gratitude to the Mattapoisett Fire Department. And a shout out to my neighbors Sylvia Ouimet and Barbara Belanger for checking up on me.

As for dinner tonight, we’ll be eating out.

Marilou Newell

Paul Coderre, Sr.

Mattapoisett

The views expressed in the “Letters to the Editor” column are not necessarily those of The Wanderer, its staff, or advertisers. The Wandererwill gladly accept any and all correspondence relating to timely and pertinent issues in the greater Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester area, provided they include the author’s name, address, and phone number for verification. We cannot publish anonymous, unsigned, or unconfirmed submissions. The Wandererreserves the right to edit, condense, and/or otherwise alter submissions for purposes of clarity and/or spacing considerations. The Wanderermay choose to not run letters that thank businesses and The Wandererhas the right to edit letters to omit business names. The Wandereralso reserves the right to deny publication of any submitted correspondence.

 

RMS to Reassess Homework Policy

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Homework. Like skinned knees, bedtimes, and finishing your vegetables, it’s a typical part of the collective childhood experience. The Rochester School Committee, however, wants to revisit the topic of homework, investigate how it is assigned, determine what students are really getting out of it, and decide whether the current homework policy is adequate or antiquated.

On June 14, School Committee member Anne Fernandes raised the question on homework, saying she vaguely recalls a prior conversation the committee had pertaining to a tentative survey of families and teachers on the subject of homework.

“The reason that I raised this question at all, “ Fernandes said, “Is there are two sides of the fence … and I’m not sure if we’re updated enough to reflect family thinking or teacher thinking or stakeholder thinking about that.”

The standard homework policy is for teachers to assign roughly 10 minutes of homework per grade level – which means a range of, for example, 30 minutes per night for a 3rd-grader and an hour for a 6th-grader.

“I was curious more than anything about where we are with homework,” Fernandes said. But, she added, or course, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, I guess.”

Superintendent Doug White said there is an existing homework policy, but perhaps it is time to take a fresh look at it and study it to determine what value homework has within the district for teachers, students, and parents.

The Center for Public Education, a national resource for current research, data, and analysis on education issues, says research on the subject of homework has produced mixed results. Some studies suggest that homework under certain conditions does indeed benefit certain children; other studies show no benefit, while others suggest a negative effect.

For example, some research suggests homework benefits older students more often than younger ones, and some of the data suggests lower-income students with fewer resources, including technology, do not benefit as much as students of high-income families. Another study suggested that too much homework might diminish homework’s effectiveness.

The homework policy in the Rochester Memorial School student handbook currently reads, “Homework is an integral part of the learning process and necessary for student success. Students are responsible for completing all assigned work by teachers. Grade level teachers will inform students about their homework policies.”

“It’s pretty open-ended,” White said. “Even more so for each teacher.”

White said, should the committee so desire, perhaps the joint school districts’ policy subcommittee should take up the policy for review.

The three elementary school districts tend to share the same policies across the board, White said, for cohesiveness and consistency in the expectations of students as they all converge at the junior high school.

White suggested a review of the current research and for the committee to consider, “[Does] the policy really drive the work that we want to see happen in our schools?”

“I agree,” said School Committee member Robin Rounseville. “I think it probably needs a little bit more investigation.” She pointed out that the policy has not been looked at in years. “And it probably is time to look at … [whether we are] doing kids a service or a disservice in the amount of homework that they get, given that some kids may complete it in the allotted 10 minutes per grade and others may not.”

Life happens, as Rounseville pointed out, “And sometimes a night is just not meant for homework in some houses.”

“I would certainly like to see it looked at more,” said Rounseville. “I think a survey is also a great idea … [for] both staff and families.”

School Committee member Sharon Hartley agreed.

“It is an interesting topic and it definitely has some strong feelings on various sides,” Hartley said. “It’s time to take a look.”

Assistant Superintendent Dr. Elise Frangos said the conversation “struck a chord” with her.

“You mentioned the idea of parents, and it strikes me that homework in itself is kind of a three-way endeavor — it’s a parent’s responsibility, it’s a teacher’s responsibility to assign and promote meaningful homework and to really understand really why they’re assigning it … and the student has a responsibility as well for the completion of it in a way that’s timely, neat,” said Frangos. “It’s really a three-way opportunity in that homework can never be issued as a punishment or ‘busy’ work or something that’s meaningless.”

Frangos continued, “There’s a purpose and a function for it, whatever that may be,” whether it be creative work or a long-term project. She suggested that teachers have a responsibility to never ask for homework that must be completed using any resources or materials that are outside the average scope of typical materials available to all families, including technology, “… and assuming there’s a digital device where there might not be,” she added.

Frangos concluded that, perhaps, the district’s homework policy is antiquated and should be updated, keeping feedback from parents in mind.

“Doug and I have not heard of these challenges from parents, but we are always mindful of the digital divide and thinking about what we need to lend to kids … to support kids who may not have them,” said Frangos.

Rounseville said she is familiar with the opposing attitudes of different teachers, saying, “[Some teachers] have said, ‘I want you to keep at it until it’s acceptable,’ versus … ‘I want to see what your child struggled with.’”

“So it sounds like it’s going back to the policy subcommittee,” said School Committee Chairman Tina Rood.

The next meeting of the Rochester School Committee is scheduled for August 30 at 6:30 pm at Rochester Memorial School.

Rochester School Committee

By Jean Perry

 

An Anthology of Bird Feathers

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The most surprising discovery about birds by paleontologists uncovering prehistoric fossils is that dinosaurs likely grew feathers between their bones to stay warm during the Jurassic period.

This proved that birds were descended from prehistoric monsters like Tyrannosaurus Rex. From this, we also learned that the origin of bird feathers is a historical adventure in research.

The fact that they learned to fly some 150 million years ago and did not perish when volcanic ash smothered most other life makes birds the most successful surviving creatures on the planet.

Perhaps the oldest bird watching expression “Birds of a feather flock together” goes back in time some 400 years to 1599 when The Lexicons of Early Modern Englishwas compiled. And in nature, birds do, in fact, form flocks as safety in numbers helps prevent predation.

Today, feathers are classified in groups of anatomy: body down (for warmth), contour (overall smooth appearance), and flight (wings and tail). The color and design of plumage, like the peacocks of my illustration, enables, in particular, males to become better at flirting with potential partners. Courtship displays are plumage spectaculars with macho males pouting and inflating in an exotic ego trip.

Feathers also permit seasonal molting and color morphing such as with the snowy owl and Northern ptarmigan changing to white in winter and brown in summer. The popular partridge audibly uses his wing feathers to drum on a log for female attention. At each longitude, the tone of his plumage matches the degree of grey or red of the clay in the soil of its habitat.

However, in the 19th century, the beauty of wild bird feathers suddenly and fatefully turned against them with the fashion feather market for ladies millinery centers in New York and London. More than 5 million birds annually were being slaughtered, including 130,000 egrets for their brilliant white gossamer wisps.

But two Boston socialite ladies, Harriet Hemenway and Minna Hall, who campaigned for women to join a publicity intervention movement, turned the environmental tide and eventually 900 signed up to form a national federation. Through their efforts, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 made it illegal to take migratory birds for their feathers, putting an end to the omnipresent harmful plumage market and replaced it with the National Audubon Society, American Bird Conservation, and Partners In Flight.

Since Leonardo da Vinci failed to invent a human flying machine by substituting feathers with artificial material, the artistic aerial ascent of angels and archangels filled a human need for the spiritual mythology he failed to achieve. I hope you nevertheless share with me the aerial wonder of nature and the ethereal flight connecting a celestial bridge between Heaven and Earth.

By George B. Emmons

 

Scrimshaw Lecture

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The Sippican Historical Society will present a PowerPoint lecture on scrimshaw by its president, Frank McNamee, on June 21at the Marion Music Hall at 7:00 pm.  The lecture will discuss the scrimshaw collection that was recently donated to the SHS by William Claflin.  This remarkable collection of 19th century sailor-made scrimshaw consists of over 100 pieces and was assembled in the 1930s and 40s before there was any scholarship on the art of scrimshaw.  The Claflin collection is one of the most significant and valuable scrimshaw collections to surface in this century.  The collection consists of engraved whales’ teeth, pie crimpers, baleen corset stays, whalebone fids, whale ivory ditty boxes, and much more. In one fell swoop, the maritime collection at the Sippican Historical Society has been elevated to world-class status.  The lecture is free and open to the public.