Book Talk: Trying to Make It by R.V. Gundar

Dr. R.V. Gundar studied the economy of the drug trade from Mexico to the streets of Chicago.  He is a professor at Flinders University in Australia.

1.3 Life Boat Simulation

The Bell:  Listen for the silence

For this simulation, we are going on an around-the-world cruise!  How fun, right?

That is, until the boat hits a mine leftover from WWII and the cruise ship sinks really fast.  

Luckily, you survive!  There was one life raft that was saved.  

You and 15 others climb aboard or cling to the outside of it.  (Here is a printable copy of this activity.)  

Here are the people aboard the boat:

1.  Sailor Jones:  It is somewhat questionable how Jones was able to get from his assigned position below deck to the lifeboat when no other sailor assigned to the lower decks managed to escape from the ship.  Sailor Jones is in excellent health.  Not married, and no close relatives.

2.  Ship’s Officer O’Malley:  O’Malley was the only high ranking officer aboard the ship that was able to get to the lifeboat.  It is the boat that the officer has been assigned to in all of the emergency practice drills.  The officer is a capable leader on the boat, has navigational skills, and was well-liked by passenger and crew members aboard the ship.  Excellent health.

3.  Quarter Master MacDonald:  Little is known about Quarter Master MacDonald.  The QM did serve in the regular navy.  QM MacDonald did suffer injuries to both hands in the explosion of the ship.  At the present time, QM MacDonald cannot use either hand.  The QM is married and has four children in the U.S.

4.  Self-Made Millionaire Douglas:  Douglas owns and manages one of the U.S.’s largest garment industrial complexes, which employs hundreds of factory workers.  Douglas Has dedicated so much time to making the business successful that Douglas appears to be out of shape due to lack of exercise.

5.  College Student Parsons:  A college student who has been on a limited budget European vacation.  Parsons is a grand mal epileptic.  Unfortunately, while abandoning the ship, all medication was left behind.  Single—age 22.

6.  Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, Dr. Lightfoot:  Dr. Lightfoot is a minority race and questions have been raised whether the Nobel Prize was awarded to him/her due to his/her race or his/her ability.  Dr. Lightfoot is 48 years old and is in good health.  Married, with two daughters who have families of their own.

7.  Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, Dr. Singleton: It has been said that Dr. Singleton is about to release information to the world that will essentially bring about the solution to the world’s ecology problem.  Dr. Singleton is 62 years old and is in excellent health.  Dr. Singleton was born and raised in a small town in Arkansas.  S/he comes from a very wealthy family.  Single.

8. Football Player, Mr Small  and  

9.Cheerleader,  Mrs. Small:  Mr. and Mrs. Small are in their late twenties.  Mr. Small was a star football player at Ohio State.  Mrs. Small, who also attended Ohio State, was the Homecoming Queen.  Mr. Small is now a running back for a semi-pro football team in New York. Mrs. Small is eight and one-half months pregnant. The couple is interracial; Mr. Small is a minority race and Mrs, Small is not.

10.  Army Captain Thomas:  Captain Thomas was recently decorated for bravery and valor above and beyond the call of duty.  The Captain is on the way to the U.S. to personally receive the Medal of Honor from the President.  Captain Thomas is married, has two children and is in about 35yrs old.  While engaged in the action, which resulted in receiving the Medal of Honor, Captain Thomas lost a right leg.  Other than this condition which the Captain recovered from, the Captain is in good health.  

11.  Draft Evader Samuels:  Samuels left the United States two years ago in order to avoid the military draft.  The draft evader then spent two years in Sweden, from which Samuels was recently deported for dealing in illegal drugs.  Samuels is in the early twenties and in good health. Single.  

12.  Peace Corps Volunteer Davidson:  A Peace Corps Volunteer who has recently completed 2 years of work in India.  Davidson has a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering and is on the way back to Boston where Davidson is to be married in two months.  Approximately 27yrs old and in excellent health.

13.  Med Student Ryan: A last year medical student who has been vacationing in France.  Ryan is 26 years old, single, and in excellent health.

14. Elderly man, Mr. Eldridge and 

15.Elderly woman, Mrs. Eldridge:  An elderly couple, both in their late 60’s and on their way back to their native New Jersey after a one month tour of Spain.  Mr. Eldridge is suffering severely from arthritis and is not capable of walking without the aid of a cane.  The couple will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next week.  They have 8 children and 29 grandchildren and are all living in New Jersey.  

16. Traveling Poet Carpenter:  A 30 year old traveling poet in excellent health.  Carpenter has never had a permanent home since running away from a New York orphanage 15 years ago.  Carpenter spent 4 years in the Navy and acquired a taste for sailing and since leaving the Navy has made several solo sailing voyages in the Caribbean.  Carpenter has been divorced three times and is currently separated from the 4th spouse who resides in Paris.

The boat is crowded :-(  but This should be sufficient as long as a storm does not develop. 

 

Uh-oh! Guess what? [THUNDER!  LIGHTNING!]  Yep - a storm.  

Part 1:

This overcrowded lifeboat will not survive unless 7 people get life preservers and are set adrift from the lifeboat.  Your job is to choose who stays and who goes.  You must choose 7 people to be set adrift and save the other 9 people.  Mark your choices on the packet.

Part 2:

If you are not on the boat, you should read part 2 of the handout.

Part 3:

After the simulation is over, answer part 3 on the handout.

Once everyone has finished responding to the prompts on the packet, I will tell you  

What really happened

This activity is based on the real-life events that were portrayed in the movie Abandon Ship! (1957).

The real story of what happened was based on the movie Abandon Ship, also known as Seven Waves Away.  Here is the full movie on youtube.

In the real-life incident, all of those aboard turned to the highest-ranking person (ship’s officer) to take command.  He had a sidearm on him.  When the sea got too rough, he called everyone’s attention and he chose who would go/stay.  He kept only the strong, able-bodied who were strong enough to survive a long row.  On the last day, they were rescued and the captain was put on trial for murder.  He was declared guilty, but received a minimum sentence of only 6 months in prison because of the unique circumstances.

Individual Reflection: 

I have been doing this activity since 1999, which means students have done this more than 70 times. 

1. Who do you think has never been kicked off the boat ever?  Why?

2.  Who do you think has been kicked off the boat the most?  Why?

3.  Were your individual choices different than who you answered in questions 1 and 2 above?  If so, how and why? What criteria did you use to make the choices that were different?

Once you have finished, click on the data analysis of this lesson here.