Teacher Overboard (1950s)

off 25th Street on the east side of Manhattan lies a ship that never goes anywhere she's the SS John W brown and for 400 nautically minded boys this full rigged Liberty ship is classroom the school day aboard the John Brown begins when the flag is run up today is a special day for the youngsters officials from New York City's Board of Education are visiting them showing them around is Dr Franklin J Keller principal of the Metropolitan Vocational High School it was Dr Keller who decided that the city needed a practical School in which sea Hungry Boys could learn to be Sailors he got the John Brown from the government and today the Liberty ship is a very popular Annex of the school students are divided into three groups deck engineering and stewards these are the three departments on most Merchant ships here a group of students learn the maritime art of scaling and chipping note the belts and the protective glasses as on any vessel the rule aboard the John Brown is Safety First any young salt who hopes someday to be an old salt had best learn his ropes and Knots as soon as possible this knot is the Bolan the one most frequently used there are nine instructors on the John Brown and each one has an an impressive Maritime background five of them hold Master's licenses three are chief engineers and one is a chief steward an army May travel on its stomach but merchant seamen do all right at the Chow table also in the John Brown Steward Department every phase of kitchen strategy is taught to these future cooks and Bakers here's a youngster who be a help to his mother none of the food is wasted the boys see to that they eat it themselves [Music] now let's see what makes a liberty ship tick after a briefing the engineering class goes below decks the first step is firing the oil burners the oil burning system is always carefully watched for signs of breakdown and is quickly repaired if anything's wrong down in the engine room an instructor demonstrates the reversing wheel which shifts the engine from forward to reverse and the countless dials and gauges complicated to a land lover soon become as easy to understand as a simple clock two of the youthful engineers get the electric generator operating and in just a few seconds the John Brown's powerful main engine goes into action oiling this giant cros head and crank shaft bearing isn't as easy as it looks the oiler has to hit the proper spot at the proper time the different parts of the complicated mechanism are numbered to help the students remember [Music] them by the time these boys graduate each of them will be well qualified to take a job in America's growing Merchant some will go on to study at the Merchant Marine Academy the state Maritime College or the main State Academy and someday the best students May proudly wear the gold braid of a ship's [Music] Master no matter what department a student's in one class that's a must for everyone is Lifeboat drill before taking the boats the boys get a thorough review from the instructor [Music] and there's the alert just like their big brothers in the Navy and Merchant Marine these shipwise youngsters know their way around when the boats have to be [Music] lowered and the school day winds up with a demonstration of practical seamanship by these teenage tars and watch the world salutes the New York board of education for its Splendid work in supplying America's Merchant Marine with well-trained sailors la