Anywhere Learning: The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

As I wander around this world, I often think about all of the places I visit that could make outstanding learning spots for kids – space that could, if they wanted to, take the place of under-performing schools that are injuring young learners, especially black, brown, and poor learners, on a daily basis.

One such place exists in Vergennes, Vermont. It’s the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM). According to its website, LCMM opened its first building, a historic stone schoolhouse, in 1985 with the mission to preserve and share the cultural and natural heritage of the Lake Champlain region. Today, the Museum serves a broad community throughout the Champlain Valley and beyond, working to connect all people with Lake Champlain through learning experiences, exhibits and collections at its 3-acre waterfront campus, digital engagement, boat building, underwater archaeology research projects, and more.

LCMM’s professed values align well with a place that focuses on making young learners smarter and stronger. LCMM believes in “the power of history,” “the power of connection,” and “that all people are history makers.”

Most recently, LCMM offered learning opportunities for young people focused on boat building, archeological camps, teen expeditions, and fishing camps and clinics.

I’ve visited LCMM and it’s a fascinating place.

There are lots of kids who benefit from visiting a place like the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, but are places like LCMM attracting kids that might benefit the most from this type of learning experience? Are there kids nearby who are struggling in traditional school and could benefit from spending more time, or all their learning time at LCMM?

Are there kids and families from urban areas like New York City, Hartford, or Boston that would choose to relocate to Vergennes, Vermont just to have the chance to learn at a place like LCMM? Vermont is always looking for strategies to attract young families to the state. Maybe offering a spectacular learning experience for their kids would attract moms and dads to the Green Mountains.

Are there other places like LCMM that could play a bigger role in making young learners smarter and stronger? Based upon my observations during my travels, there are thousands of organizations that could become more important to the teaching and learning process than just the traditional school.

True, a couple of important steps would have to be taken to make this dream a reality.

First, places like LCMM would have to qualify for financing through education savings accounts or other tax-based resources to pay for additional staff, most notably learning coaches who have expertise in literacy and numeracy.

Second, states would have to expand their vision about how vouchers can be used beyond the normal Republican Party play of transferring public funding to private schools and then call it a day.

Finally, states will have to approve and provide credit for learning opportunities that occur outside of places called schools. Learning occurs everywhere today, and young learners shouldn’t have to show up at a school campus to receive credit for becoming smarter and stronger in reading, writing, and problem-solving.

The next time you are traveling, notice how many spots could make outstanding learning centers for our young learners. It’s time to expand our vision a bit and reward those places who are already helping kids to define, plan, execute, and evaluate their own learning that isn’t a traditional school campus.

Friday News Roundup tomorrow. Til then. SVB