Pushing off the sandy ground into the water for the first time, many different emotions raced through my mind. Having grown up in Tanzania, this is my first time in the ocean—and one of the most door-opening experiences I have had so far on my journey here at Island School. With the help of the faculty and the encouragement of all my new friends, I am feeling much more comfortable in the water. My goal is to join everyone else in the run-swims in two weeks, and, even now, I can begin to see that dream come true. Everyone else was able to complete their swimming test, and had their first real taste of what the run-swims will be like. We are all excited to see how far we come on this journey together as a team.
Apart from the swim test, we had our first exploration time. Most of the students biked to the Saddle—a dredged section of the old marina—and got to snorkel around with their buddies for the first time. Looking out into the distance, several students pointed out a spotted eagle ray to each other. As the days continue, we hope to see many more fascinating organisms. There are so many other places to explore, like High Rock and Fourth Hole Beach, and we simply cannot wait to get out there and experience them for ourselves. Island School is already becoming a part of us.
Before I came to The Island School, I didn’t know what it would be like to live without a phone or Internet; none of us did. Our generation has grown up with access to both. The Internet was always a part of our lives before coming to IS, never further than the smartphones in our hands. It was bittersweet to surrender our devices immediately after landing in Eleuthera to start our semester.
The first week was surely a change for us all. I constantly felt like I was missing a piece of me. I was always so accustomed to feeling the subtle weight and bulkiness of my phone in my pocket; it felt unorthodox to lose the sensation. As time progressed, we all became more and more acclimated to the lack of Internet. After being here for over a month, the loss of the web and my phone is the last thing on my mind. Instead, it has been refreshing to disconnect from those distractions and live our daily lives like all of our parents did when they grew up. Communicating with friends now means actually finding them and talking to them.
Doing papers means taking notes in class and talking to teachers; Wikipedia is no longer a last second option after a week of procrastination. Checking the weather app is no longer necessary, as our eyes are more accurate in sighting rain clouds off in the distance than any weather radar around. Life went on before the Internet existed, and it will certainly do the same for us here. It may be unrealistic to think we will all avoid the Internet and give up our phones when we return to our lives back home, but at the same time I hope this experience gives us all a new outlook on what really matters in our lives.
After a week exploring South Eleuthera above and below the water, the students are already taking on the academic portion of Summer Term! Again, the students are quite busy, so Summer Term faculty have filled in for this blog post! We, as faculty, are consistently asking them, “How can we live well in a place?” Exploring this question, students will rotate through week long intensives focusing on three different themes: Marine Ecology, Food Systems, and Tourism & Development.
Marine Ecology: In Marine Ecology, the classroom is not a room full of chairs or desks. Instead, the classroom is a small portion of a larger coral head, buzzing with fish of all sizes and coral of all kinds. As students learn about various components of the marine ecosystem, they have the opportunity to explore what they learn in class underwater by taking the time to observe a single section of a reef. Students return to the same spot every class, each day more aware of the complex interactions that make a functional ecosystem. Students also dive into the world of Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson and participate in discussions about ethics and conservation.
Food Systems class visits Edrin’s farm in Rock Sound.
Food Systems: Understanding where our food comes from, how it gets to our table, and where our waste going after we are through are all essential in gaining a sense of place and grasping our term’s theme: living well in that place. During the Food Systems unit, students will visit farms (both on and off Island School’s campus) to learn about the challenges and techniques to growing food on Eleuthera. In addition, students will understand both our environmental and social impacts that accompany our production of waste products. After two and a half days of in and out of classroom learning about food systems and human ecology, students will take part in intensives that highlight important sustainable food systems here on the Cape. Students will break up into two groups, focusing on either the Aquaponics system at CEI or the Farm on Island School’s campus to further understand how to live well in a place with regards to the food we eat and the waste we produce.
Tourism & Development (Down Island Trip): Students explore the island of Eleuthera on a four day camping road trip. While visiting new settlements, such Governor’s Harbour, Harbour Island and Spanish Wells, student conduct interviews with local Bahamians. On the Down Island Trip, students also visit some of the natural attractions like ocean holes to swim in, or caves to climb through. Throughout the week, students conduct a variety of readings and have discussions about how tourism has shaped the development of Eleuthera. As they see the effects of failed tourism on the island, they began to discuss alternative forms of tourism and how it can be done so in a sustainable way for the island of Eleuthera. The class opens student’s eyes to how we can travel and understand a place we are visiting, as well as getting a chance to see all 100 miles of Eleuthera!
Our first Down Island Trip comes back to campus today and we are looking forward to having our whole community together this afternoon! Stay tuned for more updates from Summer Term 2013!
As another piece of the Food week curriculum, students dive the offshore aquaculture cage. The SeaStation is a 3000 cubic meter cage, presently housing roughly 1000 cobia. The following photos were taken last week when the students visited the cage and spent the afternoon cleaning the netting and learning about aquaculture in The Bahamas. Check them out!
As the culminating event of the Food theme week, each group of students spends the afternoon in the kitchen cooking an entirely local meal. Just before dinner is served, the students introduce their meal in a presentation to all of the diners. The following video is from the Week 1 food group. Enjoy!
Hello blog-readers! Check out a couple more stellar blogs from our Summer Term students. These responses are again referencing the recent two-day kayak trips and SCUBA certification courses the students have been completing during their orientation this past week.Today also marks the beginning of our summer academic rotations, in which students will spend a week in each of the three themes of the summer: Food, Ecology, and Tourism/Development. Keep an eye out for more journal entries as students delve into these themes while contemplating the central question of “How do we live well in a place?”
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Aiko Chamby
Starting yesterday, as part of our orientation week, we began SCUBA diving in the Eleuthera Saddle, and today in the Tunnel Rock. At Tunnel Rock, we saw all kinds of neat critters including a school of horse-eyed jacks and a peacock flounder. It was almost overwhelming and unexpected Continue reading →
Yesterday morning nearly all of girls dorm woke up at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise from sunrise beach. We had moments of chatter and silence as gleaming colorful sun rays peered through the clouds. We are going to more forward together even as we part. Each and every member of this community in close to my heart. Transitioning home will most likely be even more difficult than transitioning here but I am confident that with the continued support from each other and consistent Island School reunions we will continue this bond for many years to come. These students will do wonderful things, I am proud of each and every one of them. The Island School may in fact be the most wonderful place in my world, I will continue hold this place dear to my heart. March on Bahamaland. [slideshow]
Monday was a day full of Demonstrations of Learning (DOLs), a chance for all 49 of us to reflect and demonstrate what we have learned and taken from this semester. We speak in front of invited guests around campus and then answer any following questions. A chance for us to be honest with ourselves, the last 100 days, and the people that transformed it. It is filmed by our advisory and will be sent off to our sending schools. Mine was scheduled at 9:40 in the floating gazebo. I was anxious and shaky. Unsure of how my words will translate to others, I prepared a speech and simply recited it to the group. I used a slideshow of my photography from the semester to display my artistic vision and quite honestly distract the audience from my words. My observations, statements, and emotions began to pool as I became more and more in touch with the words I was reciting. Continue reading →
Like many things at Island School, advisory time is coming to an end. Thursday evening my advisory including some of our extended advisory went out for a final meal. On the car ride back to campus one of my peers turned to the van and said, “ It started with conch and ended with conch.” The whole van bursted into a eruption of laughter, as I sat there puzzled questioning why my meal of choice was so humorous. They reminded me of our first advisory time when we biked to a beach near campus and moments into the afternoon my foot was punctured by a conch and painting the beach brick red. These new faces came to my rescue without hesitation. I am honestly unsure I knew each of their names at the time but there is no doubt they would be my crutch to the finish line. Beth my advisor has been more than supportive during my variable emotional experience here at The Island School. Continue reading →
Finals week is passing by in a blur. We spent our Wednesday morning in research final oral assessment. In the beginning of the semester my research advisors Aaron and Alicia would play the daunting question game. I would often get frustrated when it seemed that just about every question I asked them was turned right around and it was required that I work through it in pieces. Although this tactic left me often impatient and boiling over time I could see a new development in my way of thinking. I had no Google, no effortless way out. Now it seems that nothing is more rewarding than answering my own puzzling questions, to know that I withhold the knowledge I never knew was present. When our final oral assessment rolled around I knew that the hard work that I have put into molding my intellectual approach to think critically had prepared me for this day. Continue reading →
