Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham was the Newbery Medal award winner in 1956. The book is a biography about the man who uncovered and made available the secrets of sea navigation to the common man. Without Mr. Bowditch's efforts and determination, the mysteries of navigation would have remained mysterious and elusive to the common man. Knowledge is power and strength. Thanks to Mr. Bowditch many sailors were given practical knowledge about navigation (and mathematics) and with that knowledge they attained power and strength to become what they dreamed....Captain's of their future.
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is a detailed biography of the life of Nathaniel Bowditch (a.k.a. Nat). The authors takes you through his childhood well into his adulthood. At an early age, Nat's family realized he would not follow the footsteps of his father and grandfather. A sailor needed to be big, strong, and healthy. Nat was none of those. He was good with numbers but his parents could not afford to have him go to school. His family was poor and struggled to put food on the table and cloth the family members. At the age of twelve, Nathaniel was indentured to two men with a shop in town. He was to be their book keeper as well as work the store for a total of nine years.
During his time as an indentured servant, Nat learned how to use his talent with numbers. His love to learn and discover was the fuel that taught him to read, learn Latin, learn French, learn astronomy, and learn everything there was to learn about ships at sea.
Soon the shop was sold and with it his indenturedship. The new owner kept him through the end of his term. When his service was served, Nat was becalmed. He didn't know what to do. As time passed, he found himself on a ship as the ship's navigator. Soon Mr. Bowditch learned to take lunar readings on the sea. As problems with taking lunar readings presented themselves, he began to resort to the logic's and consistencies math provides. He discovered a new way to take a lunar without occulting the moon. This new discovery continued to fuel the fire of learning new ways to keep sea-traveling men safe.
As Nathaniel travels on the ships, he utilizes the sextant to take readings but during the remaining hours he would study the "Moore" charts as well as teach the deck hands how to take readings. Nat was consumed with numbers and verifying that the charts were accurate. During his voyages he discovered many errors and these discovers bothered him to the core. When Nat was not studying the charts or taking a reading, he was graciously spending his time with those deckhands who "wanted" to learn how to take readings. These men took to learning as a thirsty traveler takes to water. They were thirsty for practical knowledge.
Eventually, Mr. Bowditch gained enough experience to command his own ship. He traveled to ports on the other side of the world to buy and sell cargo. His knowledge of sea routes, navigation, mathematics, French, astronomy, Latin, and deep understanding of human behavior were valuable assets in his travels.
Mr. Bowditch traveled around the Cape and into the eye of a hurricane at sea. He navigated his ship up stream with head winds. He even traveled home in fog thicker than pea soup through areas that have been littered with ships at the bottom of the sea. These feats were all done because of his extreme faith, his extreme belief in the benefit of math. He was a man who saw the power of mathematics. It is consistent, dependable, and reliable. One does not need to see if he/she knows his math. One can simply get from point A to point B if he/she simply follows the mathematical path and does not resort to his/her vision or feelings. Mathematics and the love of learning filled the sails of Nathaniel Bowditch.
TWO CENTS WORTH:
It's no secret, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was a biography of a man who faced a wide variety of obstacles, yet he overcame them humbly and purposefully. Here was a man who could have gave up early in life and many would have justified his actions. At an early age it was already determined he would not follow in the family footsteps of becoming a sailor. His mother passed away and he was indentured at the young age of 12. Nat's talent with numbers was noticed by many influential people but he was never able to attend a prestigious school (i.e. Harvard). His first love married another man, his first wife passed away, his brother's died at sea, and many of the sailors did not like him. All of these things he overcame, he kept pushing forward.
Mr. Bowditch was a master teacher. He took difficult concepts and made them simple and easy to understand. The common sailors, whom were viewed as unable to learn, were his students. many of them learned to navigate and soon became valuable members of other ships. He was a man who knew if he could teach these sailors to understand navigation, he could teach anyone. Soon he wrote down what he taught so that anyone could navigate a ship utilizing the reliability of math. The book is still used today and can be found in many captain's personal as well as professional libraries. The American Practical Navigator or the Sailor's Bible is the name of the book Mr. Nathaniel Bowditch wrote.
This is a book that can be used in the classroom of any math teacher as well as any teacher trying to communicate to their students (especially those who are faced with multiple economic and social barriers) that with dedication, determination, tenacity, and a love of learning will have a positive impact on your personal, professional, and social life.
I highly recommend this book. It is a journey well worth the time and effort to take. May the wind always come from behind and fill your sails. However, if the wind stops and the fog sets in, the laws of mathematics may be your path to safety.
P.S. There were a ton of tier 2 and tier 3 words. As I read through this book, I kept a dictionary close to my side. The tier 2 words were easy to identify and the context in which they were embedded assisted me with their definition. However, the context that surrounded the tier 3 words did not help much. Although the dictionary was opened frequently with some of the tier 3 words, I still had to consult a few sea-worthy individuals to bring those words to life.
AR QUIZ: 100%
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