"Children must be taught how to think, not what to think." Margaret Mead
Learning while having fun.
Sailing is the ideal environment for learning and the growth of critical thinking skills. It is an environment in which most variable are constantly changing, and in order to sail the boat well, you have to make the necessary adjustments to those changes. This process takes introduces most of the ideas of basic Physics, which is what we refer to as boat speed and sail trim. Now, add the ideas of speed and trim to a racecourse (a fixed area) and we call on the students' knowledge of math and geometry, and without telling them, start them down the path of learning how to think critically. This skill will benefit them every day for the rest of their lives.
Who has the right of way? What is "right of way"?
It's not all about sailing, but that's where we start. We not only teach the kids how to operate small sailboats (dinghies), we also teach them how to operate larger sailboats, small and medium sized motorboats, as well as a number of paddle-craft as these are becoming more prevalent today. When all of these crafts come together on the same spot of water at the same time, who has the "Right of Way?" When driving, most of us know the answer to this situation, but on the water, there rules are different. This is all part of the critical thinking and growth we try to instill in the kids. By putting them in these situations and allowing them to solve it themselves (under our watchful eyes...), they are learning how to solve problems on-the-go, here and now.