More than 175 years ago, a group of concerned Boston citizens established a unique educational institution for indigent boys on Thompson Island, located just one mile from downtown Boston. Since then, the island has served continuously as the site of innovative programs that have profoundly influenced the lives of many young people, and American education as a whole. This vision of the original founders remains dramatically consistent and powerful: a safe place where city youth come to learn by doing. In 1988, Outward Bound was invited to carry on this important legacy as the Island’s steward.
Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center traces its educational roots to 1941, when the well-known European educator, Kurt Hahn, founded Outward Bound. “Outward Bound” is a nautical term describing the moment a ship leaves the safety of a harbor and its crew commits to the challenges of an ocean journey. Thompson Island Outward Bound programs are based on the belief that young people learn and grow when they leave the safety of the everyday experience and challenge themselves in new ways.
No program for developing character is more widely acclaimed and imitated than those operated around the world by Outward Bound. For over two decades, Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center has successfully adapted Outward Bound’s outdoor challenge methodology to the needs of youth throughout Greater Boston. TIOBEC is Outward Bound with an educational purpose.
As we move into our third decade of service to urban youth we have the responsibility to meet the emerging needs of today’s young people. Our Youth Empowerment Initiative provides a continuum of opportunities for Boston’s young people to engage in experiential learning that promotes essential attributes of character and citizenship and exploits their natural love of learning outdoors to develop enthusiasm for critical academic disciplines.
Specialties
Environmental Education, Place-based Learning, Middle School Youth, Outward Bound, Experiential Education, Leadership
