NMEA
News
Volume
22, Issue 4, Winter 2006
Gamming
with Rosanne Fortner
Twenty-nine and
counting…
Not my age, I confess, but years of involvement in NMEA! I’m
a proud fossil representative of PaleoNMEA. What an exciting time
it was at the New York Conference to reconnect with the history of
this grand organization and remember how it has influenced my life
and career. The story is one that says to young people how valuable
it is to network with those you wish to call your colleagues, to listen
to their ponderings and see where your vision might fit into theirs.
Here is where the story originated, and what it suggests to NMEA members.
Growing up as a coalminer’s
granddaughter in West Virginia, our annual family trip to the seashore
was an event to be anticipated for months and remembered with an inner
glow for equally long. The allure of the shells, the power of the
waves, and the warmth of the sand combined into sensory magic, always
to be sought, never to be forgotten. Little wonder then that when
I chose courses for degrees, they were the sciences that could combine
in studies of the sea. I developed an inland oceanography course for
the middle school where I first taught, took a course from Will Hon
at Skidaway Island, and learned from him the connections I would always
put into sea teaching—not just science, but the arts and literature
as well. From these early forays into marine education, I knew I had
to seek a dissertation topic that would get me a job at the sea. That’s
where NMEA enters my life.
Amidst the turbulent life
of a young family with babes and unfinished degrees and uncertain
future, my wonderful, supportive husband, Richard, saw on a bulletin
board an announcement of the second annual meeting of the National
Marine Education Association, to be held in Newark, DE. Unfunded,
unknown, and timid, I went to learn what marine educators were doing
and what kinds of research they might need. It was my first professional
conference ever, but the group was welcoming and helpful. On a field
trip bus I talked with a professor who recommended some possible topics
for research that would be useful in the profession. Imagine! A profession
that was marine education!
In the ensuing year, I
did that research, and figuring that a group with research ideas might
also have jobs to offer, I returned to NMEA’s next meeting at
Evergreen College in Oregon. Indeed, there were jobs to be had, but
the only one that required a doctorate was being offered by the professor
I had met on the bus the previous year, Vic Mayer. In 1978, I accepted
a position at The Ohio State University in central Ohio. It wasn’t
the beach I’d been looking for, but to my delight, the sweetwater
seas were as inspiring as the salty ones. With the challenge of developing Oceanic Education Activities for Great Lakes Schools, the
first Sea Grant project for Ohio, I grew to feel the reason the French
Voyageurs spoke of the lakes as l’eau douce, sweet
water.
Since that time, the Great
Lakes have been my seas—the North Coast, my classroom. And even
though in retirement I have found that precious coastal Carolina home
of my dreams, my heart and mission remain bound to the sweetwater
seas as I work with the COSEE Great Lakes! NMEA brought me to this
place. Here is what it should say to you as a current member:
-
NMEA has
a sea treasure ready for sharing, and the more it gives away, the
more the treasure grows. As Mr. Fish said in his Gamming article,
it’s the people. Among this group you will find mentors, colleagues,
and friends. Ideas, inspiration, and insights flow through meetings.
There are no sea monsters or sharks here, but lots of sea stars
and a few clownfish among us!
-
NMEA grows
through marine education research. We had a research committee from
1988 to the early 1990s. There is still a need, as evidenced by
frequent contacts with young graduate students looking for guidance.
Shouldn’t we consider a research revival?
-
When you
think of marine and aquatic education, make sure that the North
Coast and Great Lakes are part of what comes to mind. Consider how
the language of Ocean Literacy, like the Ocean Blueprint for
the 21st Century, can reflect the importance of Great Lakes
learning. If you don’t know the Lakes yourself, come and see
what an ocean vista you can achieve there, or contact a GLEAMS member
for some personal gamming!
-
Ohio State’s
legendary coach, Woody Hayes, was often quoted as saying, “You
can never pay back; but you can always pay forward.” If NMEA
has been important to you, consider how you can serve the organization
or its mission by doing something that brightens the future seascape.
Can you serve on the Board, present at a conference, invite new
educators to chapter and national meetings, serve in an elected
office?
As I walk the beach now
every day, I can relive the childhood magic through the explorations
of my grandchildren. I’ve reveled in the opportunity of passing
on that wonder as a career, and life as an old fossil is shaping up
too! Thanks, NMEA. Let’s go do some interesting research!
Rosanne Fortner is
a Life Member of NMEA and served as President in 1988-89. Since her
retirement from The Ohio State University in 2005, she has been the
Director of COSEE Great Lakes. She can be reached at: fortner.2@osu.edu
The revival
of Gamming in NMEA publications marks an absence of more than sixteen
years. NMEA’s President’s Circle, made up of former presidents
and leaders, contribute to this feature. Gamming is meant to 1) inspire,
create, and pass on wisdom; 2) give recognition to unsung stars; 3)
pass on stories, ideas, and dreams: 4) give meaning to our work as
marine and aquatic educators; 5) learn from seasoned and experienced
marine and aquatic educators. Comments may be directed to President’s
Circle Coordinator Bill Hastie at: hastieb@wvi.com
Gam (gam)
1. a social visit; 2. an exchange of visits between the crews of whaling
ships at sea.
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