For the past two decades, Jon Richer has worn multiple hats. Richer has been a math teacher, dean and assistant principal in the Fieldston Middle School. While it’s clear his professional specialty is all aspects of education, his passion is actually boats. “Years ago, I built a kayak and a canoe from scratch with a few students for their student project,” Richer recalls, “And I witnessed firsthand what an unbelievable sense of satisfaction a student can get from learning how to turn a pile of wood into a functional, sailing craft.”
At a time in history when phones and computers rule the world, Richer’s passion project points to something critical from the past that we very much need to keep in our present and future: true self-sufficiency. Richer’s boat building also gets students out of the classroom. “It’s honestly nice to imagine putting your phone and computer away in favor of creating something with your own hands. When students go out into the real world and they have the confidence to use raw materials to create something on their own, it’s empowering in a way that connects the intellectual to the physical aspects of learning,” marvels Fieldston student Patrick Kisling.
In addition to getting students outside and using their hands, there is also an opportunity to take what’s learned in the classroom and use it as the building blocks for creativity. Richer builds boats simply by beginning with a plan and then arriving at a solution through a sequence of steps. Richer’s process seems to actually make use of those seemingly useless word problems students encounter over and over again in math classes. As a seasoned math teacher, Richer wants to show students how to actually enlist math to create something! How about those neverending data charts from science class? Also useful in making a hypothesis or creating a method and then conducting an experiment to see if it works. These classic classroom problem solving skills are applied to make something tangible and utilitarian. The result: beautifully hand-crafted boats. “I have adopted the process to build what we call a ‘skin-on’ frame boat,” Richer explains, “So, we begin with a hand-built wooden frame then stretch and sew a waterproofed ‘skin’, usually made of nylon, over the boat’s frame.” Richer compares the boats to kayaks and canoes that are small enough to manage but also very efficient and fast-moving.
This past semester, the Fieldston sophomore class visited a few American historic sights, one of which was Walden Pond–after reading Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. Walden Pond remains a sacred site and homage to history where nature and tranquility prevail. The students could envision a life there spent foraging for food and building things by hand, like a home or even a boat. It’s a far cry from getting your lunch from the cafeteria while you’re playing Roblox and simultaneously texting your friends, emailing a teacher and typing a paper on your laptop. Richer wants students to share in his passion and graduate with some fun skills. The sense of place that the students experienced at Walden Pond can almost be recreated and brought to the community because this specific type of frame boats were historically used in the areas surrounding Fieldston.
Considering there are so many means of transportation that exist in modern times, boats are usually perceived as a source of recreation and not a vital means of getting from point A to point B in everyday life. “I model my boats on the plans of the original Adirondack Guide boats,” Richer details, “And these boats were the workhorse means of transportation of the Adirondacks before trains and roads opened access to the interior lakes.” Richer definitely applies the advantage he has growing up with a father who shared a love of the outdoors. As a kid, Richer canoed and camped regularly, nurturing an early love for the beauty and tranquility of nature. With technology ruling the roost, it’s less likely kids will organically get that type of exposure in New York City life.
In addition to teaching classes at the Yonkers Paddle and Rowing Club and at the boat school at The Hudson River Maritime Museum, Richer gets genuine satisfaction from his passion. “I love when students build a boat and I see the opportunity unlocking their inner potential,” he says, “and it’s also cool to ride a boat that was genuinely made in New York!” Fieldston used to have a woodworking shop at school and the students would build, among many things, boats. If Richer has anything to say about it, students should consider making a case to bring this artistry back to the engineering workshops at school. Artistry, engineering and creativity all under one roof in a classroom? Seems that’s just the type of activity that a multi-layered and faceted Fieldston would welcome with open arms.
