Gone Fishin': Teachers, Use Your Summer Wisely

Pop quiz:

On my summer vacation, I . . .

• A. Slouched in a plastic chair in a stale gray classroom and took Botany 201 for recertification credit.
• B. Enjoyed blue skies and fir-scented air in Maine's Acadia National Park and drew pictures of native plant species for recertification credit.

If B seems more like skipping school than taking class (and if you're already blaring Alice Cooper's "School's Out" during the commute), then the Summer Courses for K-12 Teachers at the College of the Atlantic (COA) may be for you.

Situated on scenic Mount Desert Island in Bar Harbor, Maine, COA offers just one major: human ecology. Students do more than slap "Mean People Suck" bumper stickers on their Subarus; they learn to change the world by developing creative solutions to problems in communities everywhere.

During the one- and two-week summer courses, teacher-students join experts for field studies that may include excursions on the RV Indigo, the college's research vessel; weekend trips to Grand Manan Island in Canada; or walking adventures through the coastal mountains, forests, bogs, and bays of Acadia National Park.

Program participants stay in dorms on the COA campus, where many of the buildings reflect architecture characteristic of turn-of-the-century summer cottages. Meals are included, although fabulous cafés, restaurants, and lobster pounds are within walking distance. With such idyllic surroundings, you may even find yourself tempted to play hooky. We won't tell.

Out-of-state tuition for one ($693) or two ($1,385) weeks does not include book or lab fees. Contact Jean Boddy at 800/597-9500 or jdb@coa.edu for more information.