How an Ocean's Journey Inspires One School | Edutopia

How an Ocean's Journey Inspires One School | Edutopia:

Bob Lenz is chief education officer and co-founder of Envision Schools. Lenz has served public education as a teacher, a student-activities director, a school-reform leader, a consultant, and a principal.

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Aloha! This past year, our new division, Envision Learning Partners, has been partnering with educators in Hawaii to bring education, Envision Style, to the youth of the islands. Along this journey, I became connected and inspired by the work of the Polynesian Voyaging Society(PVS) and their leader, Nainoa Thompson. As the group's website explains:

The Polynesian Voyaging Society was founded in 1973 for scientific inquiry into our history and heritage: How did the Polynesians discover and settle small islands in ten million square miles of ocean, geographically the largest "nation" on earth? How did they navigate without instruments, guiding themselves across ocean distances of 2500 miles? In 1973-1975, we built a replica of an ancient double-hulled voyaging canoe to conduct an experimental voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti in order answer these questions. The canoe was designed by founder Herb Kawainui Kane and named Hokule'a, Star of Gladness.