Earlier this week as I was watching some renters de-rig their boat while a class of 11-15 year old boys ware practicing capsize recovery on the Atlas dock. Groups of two were getting in and out of the water and capsizing then righting their boats, while the rest of the group looked on from the dock without much interest. Most groups seemed to be doing this without much direction from their instructor and with fairly little trouble. The last group, however, had a tougher time of it. One student in particular was having trouble hoisting himself up onto the centerboard in order to right the boat. After a few minutes this camper was beginning to get frustrated and was losing confidence. Just when it seemed that he was about to give up and climb back on the dock in defeat, his co-campers began to offer words of encouragement and instruction: “Try going feet-first,” “Use all your muscles!” “You can do it!” Pretty soon, they were even chanting his name. It still took a while, but he was finally able to right the boat. This camper may have been able to do it on his own, but I think it was the encouragement and support of his fellow middle schoolers that gave him the confidence to finish his task.
