OSR (Ontario School Record)

After 18 hrs of sailing, we found St Maarten which was probably a good thing since I didn't have charts of Africa. As soon as we arrived at 7:30 a.m. the Coast Guard came by and boarded our boat for inspection. The officers were very polite and it was a very pleasant experience. More about St Maarten in the next blog - just wanted to let everybody know that we arrived safely and the Heineken Regatta just happens to be on this week!

When any student starts school in Ontario a file is opened on them for their entire school years. In the old days (my time), there were lots of anecdotal comments in them so you can imagine what my file looked like. Now-a-days it's more factual, mostly report card and assessment information. During my 30 year teaching career, I chose to never look in an OSR for any student as it was my choice to treat the student as he presented himself to me and not based on anyone else's assessment. I wanted to use this philosophy when going to the US Virgin Islands and not having any preconceived notions of the islands. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to go in with no previous knowledge or opinions. When Trevor was down at Christmas the radio stations were promoting all kinds of family activities at beaches and parks. The announcers always finished off on a personal note telling the listeners to please leave their weapons at home for the holidays. While reading one of the cultural books on the BVI's, the author noted that one year they had a homicide and some years they didn't, while St Thomas had 23 homicides for the month of March that year.

We spent almost a month in the US Virgin Islands and had a wonderful, safe experience. Now, it should be noted that we are not night owls and much of the crime happens after dark and we were already back on the boat most nights before dark. Living beside the United States, it is easy to forget how well they do things. The history in the BVI's has disappeared and only exists in the printed form. The USVI has the same history but it is very well preserved and documented for presentation to the public. The national park of St John is done to that same standard as all the national parks in the US mainland. The park system can easily tap into the expertise that exists on mainland USA.

The BVI's best attribute is that it caters to the cold weather (northern) tourist who want sun, beaches and booze - to let loose one week a year or more if you're retired like us!