Battleships interests today's youth

[Compass Platform]

One of my remits as a teacher of Technology is to encourage young people to choose a project which has had an impact on Society. Another is to encourage them to investigate designs which have a history and evolution.
Battleships cover the above criteria. As I have always have had an interest in battleships and in particular the Battle of the Denmark Straits. I have tried to enthuse my students with this interest. It was not difficult to motivate them.
Generally speaking, young people, in my experience become easily bored. If its not on the television or a computer screen then in many cases it does not exist. I was looking therefore for some theme which would enthuse them. Something that would hold their interest for a whole year. Designing and building battleships has done the trick.
These young people were only fourteen years old at the beginning of the project. They were mixed to low ability. Possessed only basic knowledge of tools, machines and materials. Most of them knew very little if anything about battleships or World War II
First we spent a number of weeks investigating and planning how to manufacture a scale model of a battleship. Preparing cutting lists for materials was interesting. With so many parts it was difficult to keep track. Building a battleship from scratch for only two 55 minute periods a week takes a long time.
As can be seen from the link below HMS Hood was by far the most popular as she was built just up the coast from us. However, the Bismarck and the Prince of Wales has their supporters. No one yet for the Prince Eugen.
Its great to see young people enthusiastic about building these magnificent ships. Of course these are not replica models. There are inaccuracies. However that is not the point. The point is to enthuse young people with an interest in the ships, the reasons they were built and the horrors of war. One can also see them connecting the story of these ships to their country and their lives. They can also interact with their parents and grandparents about the story of the ships.
I thought the people who use your site would be interested to see these young people and the results of their hard work.

http://www.ardtech.co.uk/page125.html

Compass platform

[JtD]

Building models from scratch is a tough task!

Nicely done by these guys! What will happen if you put the models into water?

[Karl Heidenreich]

Congratulations! A great idea and nicely done! Any chance to expand this? Youth need to learn from the past in order not to commit the same mistakes that out ancestors (and us) have done.

Congratulations again!

[RF]

.....HMS Hood was by far the most popular as she was built just up the coast from us. However, the Bismarck and the Prince of Wales has their supporters. No one yet for the Prince Eugen.

Compass platform

The Prinz Eugen is one of my favourite German ships, however its a cruiser not a battleship which may explain a lack of popularity (although an earlier version of Prinz Eugen, in the WW1 Austro-Hungarian Navy, was an incomplete dreadnought). With respect to the DS battle the Prinz Eugen is often overlooked, being overshadowed by Bismarck. Yet PE in my view actually played the most significant role in the DS battle - causing Hood to fire on the wrong ship and making Schneiders job a lot easier, turning what should on paper be an RN victory into a almost complete fiasco.

With respect to teaching school pupils, I remember as a ten year old doing a school project on the Battle of Jutland, which was what fostered my interest in history and seapower. More ships involved here, my favourites were Seydlitz and Von der Tann, whereas at DS you basically have just three ships and a look in by Prinz Eugen....

[ufo]

Greetings down the Clyde!

Whow! That is a fine bit of teaching done. Respect!

Ufo

[Kyler]

Glad you are trying to excite your students with some hands on experience in learning.

Throughout school I often made models for different school projects. My teachers were always impressed with myself and other students who took the time to do so. The combination of book and hands on learning really lets the student get involved but also lets them to really learn about the subject matter.

If you are ever teaching medieval history I recommend a small catapult building contest, one of the more favorite projects in one of my history classes in high school.

[Legend]

WOW! I wish they did that in my school! All they do is make dumb C02 Cars... then have the kids in my class draw them on the computer. So... Compass Platform, you are a woodworking teacher who decided to throw in a little history lesson in there? I like it!