American troubadour Pete Seeger reflected on what he loved most about music, “What matters is not how good the song is, but what the song is good for!” What often carries people across the most challenging of times, and inspires the most important change, is the plying together of many voices into one inspired collective expression of what we most value.
Jim always believed that “traditional education isn’t for everyone” and that Washington County needed a place that would promote experiential learning. When he heard of the initial conversations about creating a place to provide responsive educational opportunities that ultimately led to the founding of CCLC, he knew he could offer his skills.
Rachel is a founding member of the CCLC. She remembers the roots of CCLC emerging from a living room conversation: “We asked ourselves broad questions about the nature of learning and community, what type of dynamic education one could engage with over the course of a lifetime. The CCLC became our collective answer.”
“Cobscook is really good at bringing people together to accomplish a goal or to help each other,” Augustus said. “It’s shaped my outlook on how I treat other people. The two biggest impacts I experienced at Cobscook were problem-solving skills and critical thinking. I will always remember CCLC fondly for how it treats its students and community members.”
A recent visit to CCLC made Ron an even stronger believer in what Cobscook is accomplishing. He described seeing a group of obviously bright teenagers who are on track to meet their goals “in an educational atmosphere where they can have every expectation to succeed.”
“Learning by doing” is core to experiential education. Cobscook Experiential Program’s hands-on experiences allow for reflection and skill growth, yielding academic knowledge and much more. Here’s a glimpse: Cobscook’s fall expedition focused on regional history in the 1600’s. Students explored Salem, MA to understand what led to the Salem Witch Trials; learned from the Wampanoag people about their history and experiences today; explored the economic factors driving Europeans to colonize North America; and visited Plimoth Plantation, a hands-on living history site.
Maria White, principal of Milbridge Elementary, said that a critically important cornerstone of the TREE model “is that they are providing the mental health supports to help meet even more needs here.” Kandi Robertson is TREE's mental health provider there.
“TREE is making waves in the trauma-informed school space with its asset-based approach and particularly its development of student-empowered social-emotional learning. The hope that is created when teachers see students as people with agency and the ability to make meaningful choices about their lives and learning is incredible.”
Amy Wooliever is the superintendent of a small, rural district in California. When Amy met the TREE team and started learning about Washington County and TREE’s goals toward re-envisioning rural education through trauma-sensitive approaches, she recognized an immediate kinship between the two communities.
Sherry grew up in Lubec with the idea of making pottery on her childhood bucket list. “So many of us in this region are lifelong learners and CCLC provides the opportunity to expand and enrich that tendency by providing a richness and diversity of educational options to choose from.”
Lindsay Seward and Erik Blomberg are co-instructors of a University of Maine Wildlife Field Survey course, which is based at CCLC’s campus for two weeks each May. Experiencing the many assets of the region has led several students to careers here.
CCLC’s multicultural identity, and its welcoming and well-equipped retreat center, informed MITSC’s decision to locate its new office adjacent to CCLC.
DOORS ARE OPEN to our newly completed and expanded campus! Three bright new rooms now seat an additional 130 people for professional workshops, immersion learning opportunities, messy group projects, family reunions and more. Added to our 50-bed lodge, commercial kitchen, cozy dining room, timber frame amphitheater and outdoor pizza oven, miles of trails, and a range of program offerings—we are ready to host!
The impact and growth reflected in this Cobscook Currents only happens through the generosity and support of CCLC’s celebrated circle of donors. Donations of any size fuel our ongoing impact. If you are a member of CCLC’s circle of support, thank you so much for your part in CCLC’s growth. If you have not contributed in the past, please join us now, and help launch CCLC into its next 20 years.
Copyright 2019 Cobscook Community Learning Center.
Front cover photo and Design by Dylan Pardue.
Editing and Project Coordinating by Hazel Stark.
