Teaching Maritime Studies

Ross Willmot is Executive Director of the Ontario Association for
Continuing Education.

The origin of this book as well as of the 34 essays therein is of interest to students of educational politics. The essays, originally presented at a conference with the same name as the book, were an attempt to break down institutional barriers. The Council of Maritime Premiers had decided a new course on “Maritime Studies” would be introduced into the school systems of the three Maritime provinces. The various departments of education normally responsible for designing provincial curricula were not consulted. The Conference was organized to bring together academic specialists and teachers and administrators from the public school systems.

The papers, covering Maritime geography and history, ethnicity, women’s studies, political economy, folklore and legend, and environment, reflect a wide diversity of views and approaches toward teaching this course. However, it is generally agreed the course should be interdisciplinary and regional in approach.

Most of the essays stress the need to avoid comparisons with the rest of Canada that are based upon a stereotyped view of Maritimes development and society. Partly for political reasons, the editor writes, the course is likely to ignore the economic and social problems which students of the region must be trained to confront. Some of the essays show that racism, ethnocentricism, and sexism have flourished in the Maritimes as elsewhere in Canada.

Many of the writers/presenters suggest the course must involve local materials and a hands-on approach in which the students are encouraged to engage in original research. The influence of the teacher in the classroom, it is agreed, is critical so they must be given proper pre-service and in-service training.