Community Based Instruction is a program designed to support upper classmen as they transition to the post-secondary community. Curriculum includes content in economics, vocational preparation, and living in a community. For seniors, academic and senior portfolio support is offered. Emphasis is on the practical aspects of living in a community. Instruction, discussion, hands-on activities, and local field trip comprise most of the coursework. Journaling is used as a way to chronicle field trips and to develop strategies to obtain goals. Currently, we have a cottage industry, The CBI Greeting Card Co., where we make and sell cards to practice our economic vocabulary and earn money for field trips. CBI Students also run the food concession at the Girl's Basketball games

 

Great Bay Community College and Town of Exeter Field Trip
March 10, 2008

On March 10, CBI headed east to explore Great Bay Community College. Visiting the campus helped demystify the idea of post-secondary education. Community colleges are becoming more popular with the rising cost of a college education. Their more liberal admissions policies, less expensive tuition, and smaller enrollments make them very attractive.

The rest of the morning, we may have appeared to be playing hooky but learning often occurs while we have fun. One year long project has been to explore Main Street, NH in its many different flavors.

Exeter proved to be as interesting as any city we have explored. Most students come to CBI as consumers who shop the Anywhere USA corporations. By getting out to the Main Streets of our cities, students can see first hand the role that independent American enterprise plays in our culture and our economy. All of the shopkeepers took the time to engage us in discussions not only about their wares but also about the community. We also took lessons from their example for our own developing cottage industry.

Incorporated in 1635, there is a lot of colonial history in this town. We admired the well maintained older homes and the erudite Philips Exeter Academy. We ate, surrounded by local artwork, at the Loaf and Ladle whose stone foundation was built centuries ago in the Squamscott River. We enjoyed soup and bread made on the premises and learned why the owner needs to charge more now for bread with wheat prices on the increase. We browsed in Serendipity and heard about the value of a local, made in USA and Fair Trade inventory. We practiced spending within a budget, which did include a splurge on some homemade chocolate, not a bad end for a wonderful winter morning.

 

Manchester City Field Trip
Tuesday, January 22, 2007

On Tuesday, January 22, 2007 CBI sampled the flavor of NH¹s largest city, Manchester. We posed as tourists, stopping first at the Airport diner for breakfast. Here we practiced working within a budget and eating to our hearts content. We then did a short car tour of the downtown and north end of the city. Elm Street stills boosts some of the most beautiful older homes in the state, including General John Stark¹s old homestead. We saw him gallantly atop his horse in a park on the ridge.

By special arrangement, the Millyard Museum was opened especially for our class. We thoroughly enjoyed the docent-led tour. The renovation of the Amoskeag Mill buildings has allowed the essence of its Industrial Revolution days to shine through. At one time, as many as 17,000 people were employed as textile workers here. This museum is fabulous and artifacts span from 11,000 years ago to present day.

We enjoyed contrasting Manchester's history with Dover¹s. We had visited the Woodman Institute and learned that Dover was settled only 3 years after Plymouth , MA. In contrast, Manchester was not settled for another hundreds years. The reasons why this is so, really brings alive all those lessons from US History Class.

We ended the field trip at the Manchester Airport. With a special focus on observing the kind of jobs available at an air terminal, we were impressed with how this airport has become a competitive, world class facility. We did not fly anywhere other than in our imaginations. We arrived back at school in time to debrief, print photos and do entries in our journals.

 

Portsmouth City Field Trip
This report was written by the CBI class.
December 12, 2007

As part of our “Exploring New Hampshire Cities” program, CBI visited Portsmouth on December 12, 2007. CBI had an amazing day. First, we went to Somersworth to find picture frames for photographs, some of which we took in class. We worked within a budget and gave them to family members for the holidays.

Then we went to Portsmouth. In the harbor, we saw several different kinds of boats: tugboats, the Coast Guard frigate and cutter, a pilot boat and a lobster boat. We walked a around the commercial district and browsed in several shops. We enjoyed all the brick sidewalks and activity. We had an expensive but delicious snack at Popovers. Everyone should check out Portsmouth!

 

Dover City Field Trip
Dover, New Hampshire
November 9, 2007

We did not let the overcast weather affect our spirits as we headed off to Dover on Friday November 9, 2007. Our first stop was at One Washington Street, a renovation of the old cotton mills along the Cocheco River. It now houses stores, offices and artists studios. Melinda, a jeweler, welcomed us into her shop and gave us a brief tour. It was interesting to see her cottage industry in action as we are running our own, the CBI Greeting Card Co. Next, we climbed the Garrison Tower and were able to see Mt. Agamenticus to the east, Blue Job to the west and the White Mountains to the north. We took pictures of the rooftops of the city of Dover.

With the profits from the first 10 weeks of school, we were able to buy lunch out. Each student had to order within a budget. We enjoyed the brick oven atmosphere of La Festa.

The piece de resistance was the visit to the Woodman Institute. Where else can you see a four-legged chicken, irredescent butterflies, Lincoln’s saddle and a carousel horse from the old park at the Weeks Circle? Dover was settled just three years after Plymouth, MA. Three buildings house an extensive taxidermy exhibit of wildlife, historical memorabilia and the Garrison house that dates back to 1675. The students were so engaged that we actually got to see an exhibit of artifacts that is usually under lock and key.

We returned in school with enough time to print out photos and write in journals. The students asked great questions and proved that education and fun are a great combination.

 

Concord City Tour
October 10, 2007

The rain did not keep us from going on our Concord City Tour. With an early start, we were able to take the CAT (Capital Area Transit) from Walmart to Eagle Square. Becoming familiar with options for transportation was one of the purposes of the trip. We learned how to read schedules, made sure we had exact change and enjoyed the cultural opportunities (we met a Somalian family).

First stop was the State House where there were three large fire engines to greet us at the arch: not a fire, but Fire Prevention Week! Students enjoyed seeing the Revolutionary War dioramas, the Senate, the House and the Governor's office. New Hampshire has the oldest state house still being used as government offices and we really appreciated both the beauty and function of the choice materials of which it is made: granite, marble and mahogany. We have had class discussions about taxes so it was good to see the seat of the state government.

Next on the tour was the NH History Museum which was only half open and so they charged us half price (which allowed us to stay within our budget and have hot chocolate). Exhibits included a Native American lodge, a tree boat, arrowheads, and beadwork as well as war memorabilia, fine art and a stage coach from the Concord Coach Co. The general store piqued the student's interest and will serve as a tangible reference in our consumer unit as we explore changes in commerce over time. It's a long story, but Mrs. Savage ended up setting off an alarm. No harm was done. The students reported my embarrassment as their favorite part of the trip.

Window shopping in a town that was new to a few of the students capped our trip. Photographs were taken by students during the day for journals and greeting cards.

 

Lighthouse Tour Field Trip
York and Kittery, Maine
August 28, 2007

On a lovely end of summer morning, CBI took its first community exploration field trip of the school year 2007-2008. We prepared by studying the place of the lighthouse as a cornerstone of the colonial economy. Another focus has been the character of the keepers who provided the important service of warning of the "savage rocks" that made docking in Portsmouth Harbor and other locations a hazard to ships. They lived a life of solitude, punctuated by rescue operations for shipwrecked sailors.

How these landmarks are still used today and their value as symbols of our New England coast was also part of our education. Cape Neddick, perhaps the most famous lighthouse in the world as it was chosen to be a part of the Voyager projection project, was purchased by the town of York twenty years ago.

Currently, the beautiful if dilapidated, Whalehouse Light, in Kittery, Maine is for sale. Do you have $27,000 you do not know what to do with?

Our picnic at Fort Foster allowed us to view four lighthouses all at once in Portsmouth Harbor:

Portsmouth Light, Newcastle
Whaleback Light, Kittery
Boon Island Light, Portsmouth
White's Island Light, Isles of Shoals

Lighthouses still warn navigators traveling the Labrador /Gulf Stream Superhighway with their automated lights. They are functional but romantic as well as, contributing to the character of Seacoast New England.

April, Arts Month for CBI.

On April 3, 2008, we did another trip to the Capital City. This time, we attended a national touring company production of Romeo and Juliet at the Capital City Center for the Arts. It was Shakespeare with a modern twist. Guerilla camou clothes, hypodermic needles, a female Tybalt and a black Juliet heightened our appreciation of the themes of the play that still resonate 500 years later.

We also took advantage of the free admission of the reopening of the Currier Art Gallery in Manchester...as did hundreds of others in New Hampshire! It was a quick run-through but a long enough visit to appreciate the fabulous blending of the wonderful old archietecture (marble stairways, mosaic floors) with the new (lots more space, glass everywhere, solarium in the center). The Currier is now able to show much much more of its fabulous collection to the public.

We do these trips in part to expose students to the wide cultural variety New Hampshire has to offer. Having just completed a unit on map reading, it was also a good opportunity to realize the accessibility we have through our major highways.