The ship, according to Jim Spurr, Chairman, Friends Good Will Committee of the Michigan Maritime Museum Board. is “rigged to a museum standard of authenticity and detail” that “allows her passengers a few steps back in time, reliving the rich maritime history of the Great Lakes. While the wind and waves are timeless, shipping aboard a sailing vessel armed with its own black powder long gun, is a rare and memorable experience.”

Registration ends June 30, $60/person for the day, $50 for MCHE members and their immediate families, so if you’re interested, click here for the informational flyer and registration form.

I infrequently violate my rule of emailing only once/month to the MCHE E-Notes group via the MSU H-Net system. Information about a very unique social studies opportunity prompts this email. A few of you may have already seen the announcement of the position, but MCHE E-Notes reaches a large audience. One never knows who might find this of interest. Then, I did decide to include a few special items for your consideration.

Find it here.

“Far more than simply conveying the story of a country or civilization, an education in history can create critical thinkers who can digest, analyze and synthesize information and articulate their findings. These are skills needed across a broad range of subjects and disciplines.   In fact, students who are exposed to more modern methods of history education — where critical thinking and research are emphasized — tend to perform better in math and science.”

We couldn’t have said it better.  Yet history’s share of the Michigan Merit Exam and of the social studies curriculum continues to shrink while the public’s attention is drawn to worrying about improving performance in the STEM disciplines.  Elementary grade social studies teachers across the state barely spend more than an hour a week in history instruction.  In neighboring Indiana, according to NCHE President Linda Salvucci, “elementary students receive twelve minutes per week of instruction in history.”

At Lockheed Martin, Armstrong looked for more than technical proficiency when hiring the 80,000 engineers working at his firm.  Job seekers with strong critical thinking skills, excellent communication ability, and depth of understanding about the country’s past were most likely to get the nod.