Each spring he goes into the middle schools and asks a simple question :
“ Who are the kids who like to build stuff and fix stuff ?” To those kids , he says , “ I ’ m your guy .” “ When they get to me , they ’ re at all the different levels ,” he said . “ I ’ ll collaborate with anyone who wants to . We can train up somebody who wants to show up on time and work hard . What we ’ re doing here is trying to put kids in the yards , get some bodies into the marine-service field .”
McKiernan ’ s collaborations are not just with the students but also with the businesses that may one day employ them , businesses like Hinckley Yachts , Safe Harbor Marinas , Bristol Marine , and others . “ The communication between the schools , instructors , and the industry is absolutely necessary to put these techs in the right position with the right company to succeed ,” said Russ Clearo . “ It ’ s a sharp learning curve , but those students who stick with it are greatly rewarded .”
The Educator of the Year award is one of several projects and initiatives that underpin ABYC Foundation ’ s support of marine-service education . In addition , the foundation hosts an Educator Training Course throughout the year , provides scholarships for marine-service students , and manages the Marine Trades Accreditation Program .
long as I have known him is on the student ― trying to help that specific student excel at the areas they are strong in , and get more confident in the areas they are not .”
Kevin McKiernan has been teaching at North Providence High School for six years . Before that he taught the Marine Systems program at IYRS School of Technology and Trades in Newport , R . I . Between graduating from the IYRS wooden boatbuilding program in 2002 and later teaching there himself , McKiernan worked at Oldport Marine , the local Yanmar dealer and builder of Oldport 26 launches .
“ I was pretty impressed with the teachers at IYRS ,” McKiernan said , “ and I kind of realized that ’ s what I want to do .”
At North Providence High School , McKiernan ’ s students learn Marine Tech alongside their other academic classes . “ We have a three-year program where we really shoehorn a career technical education ( CTE ) program into a traditional high school ,” McKiernan said . “ There ’ s no plumbing , no automotive , no carpentry , so as far as what we ’ d consider trades , I ’ m the only one at the school .”
The Marine Tech classroom includes a spacious woodworking shop where students build small boats . “ Next to that , we have an attached classroom where we do electrical , engines , a little bit of air-conditioning , and some basic systems stuff ,” McKiernan said .
McKiernan ’ s Marine Tech program is almost entirely hands-on . “ My kids don ’ t want to learn out of a book .” The one exception ? “ I use big blue ,” he said , referring to ABYC ’ s Standards and Technical Information Reports for Small Craft . “ I print out Standards E-11 and E-10 . And when we get to plumbing , I give them H-27 . They learn to do things like sizing wire , and they need to learn how to use that book as a resource .”
While McKiernan would prefer class sizes of 18 , he said he ’ s had as many as 27 kids in his class . “ I ’ ve had the valedictorian in my class , and I also have kids who are a bit more on the reluctant learning side ,” he said .
Tim Murphy is the ABYC education project manager , a BoatUS contributing editor , and the author of Adventurous Use of the Sea ( Seapoint Books , 2022 ).
www . boatingindustry . com february 2023
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