THE GREAT, GREAT
LAKES
LIGHTHOUSE TOUR
For the past several years,
Harding University, under the leadership of Dr. Tony Finley, Dean of the
School of Education, has taken a bus load of teachers on national
tours. The groups have traveled to the Northeast, the Rocky
Mountains, the Southwest, and most recently (June 5 - 16, 2000) to the
Great Lakes Region. The trips are largely funded by an Eisenhower
Grant and they have enabled teachers to travel to see new parts of the the
United States. The tour is not just a tour, however. Each
teacher is required to take photographs, keep a journal, write and present
short monographs, and develop lesson plans. In years past, teachers
have been required to develop a web page where their experience was made
accessible to others. This year, each teacher was required to
develop an "electronic" lesson plan with material gathered on the trip and
their photographs.
Because six teachers, who are members of the
Arkansas Geographic Alliance, went on the Great Lakes tour, I was invited
to participate and gave a few lectures and assisted Dr. and Mrs. Finley.
The trip was an exceptionally well organized experience. I learned
things about the Midwest and the Great Lakes Region that I had not
previously known. This site is devoted to the trip and contains
information and photographs divided into four categories: 1) People,
2) Places, 3) Baseball, and 4) Lighthouses. I hope you enjoy the
tour!!
I. PEOPLE
I don't have a great collection of photographs with very many members of the group. There were forty-three of us. The top photo shows the Harding University bus and Dr. and Mrs. Finley. The bus was very comfortable and outfitted with TV monitors, a VCR, and a portible microphone. During the tour we watched several videos pertaining to various segments of the trip and each teacher presented their monographs to the rest of the group. We learned a great deal about the Great Lakes Region and that portion of the Midwest. The bus had a very large luggage carrying capacity as well. Under the bus were our suitcases and food for six meals, snacks, water and soda. The trip was so well organized that when we ate lunch off the bus, we were back on the bus and traveling within an hour. We all had plenty of good food to eat and snacks to snack on.
Of the forty-three "trippers," only five were male. That meant that at restroom stops, the men were in and out quickly but the women often had to stand in line as shown in the photo to the left. At times, when conditions were just right, the women were able to use the men's restroom.
Each teacher was required to take a digital camera on the trip. Many purchased their own while others barrowed from their schools or Educational Coops and Dr. Finley loaned a few. Some of the teachers had used digital cameras before, but many had not, so they did need to learn how to use them. At our first lunch stop at Elephant Rocks State Park in Missouri, many of the teachers began to experiment with their cameras as shown at the left. Our lunch stops were organized so that there was a lunch preparation team which prepared and cleared away lunch. They ate first, then the rest followed. While lunch was being prepared, the others could explore, visit, etc.
I do not want to overdo the restroom stops, but this stop (shown at the right) illustrates the long "female" line headed to the restroom. Despite having to wait, I cannot remember hearing any grumbling.
One of the highlights of the tour for me was the day we spent on Mackinac Island. The trip on the ferry to the island was great and the fudge on the island was great. While on the island, I rented a bike and rode eight miles around the shoreline road. It was a great trip. I have photos of it on other pages. At the left is a photo of me on the bike that one of the teachers took.
The photo at the left was taken in the Ford Museum in Detroit. With me in the old car is Kay Ryan and Mary Cook, two of my Ryazan, Russia Seminar buddies.
