Everywhere is a classroom on the T/S Empire State
By Johnathan Thayer, Cruise B Ship Librarian
There are “normal” classrooms on ship, in addition to a full-fledged simulator room, but I have also seen cadets “in class” on deck, squatting in boiler rooms, and seated at long benches in the mess hall in front of instructors teaching them what they will need to learn in order to become professional mariners.

Work orders move fast here. If you notice that a door handle is not working properly, you can bet that by the time next time you walk through someone will have fixed it. Cadets are constantly working even out of the classroom: hosing down, chipping, cleaning, painting. Electricians work on fussy appliances, carpenters craft new fixes to old problems, and engineers disappear below deck for hours on end, at work to keep us moving.
Cadets and Mates speak often of “Qs,” oral exams conducted in groups on site around the ship, crash tests in acquired knowledge about the vessel’s many moving parts. Cadets study and sit for traditional exams as well. I interpreted the library’s relatively subdued atmosphere last night as evidence of this, as texts books and hunched concentration over notepads replaced the typical board games and conversation.
Even a simple walk between decks is a lesson in shipboard life. Opening and clamping shut heavy doors, navigating narrow walkways while carrying ladders, mops, and electrical equipment. All of it done with safety a priority on this crowded, crowded ship.

This is an example of what educators would call “experiential learning,” or what other people might call “learning by doing.”
Life on the Empire State is an immersive experience. What better way to learn?
