The National Flight Academy – a subsidiary of the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola – shows the rising nation the joys of flight, and the math/science that underlies it:
The National Flight Academy is designed to address the serious concerns of declining Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills and standards in our country. The Academy’s mission is to inspire and students who subsequently return to their parent schools and seek out the more challenging courses in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Disciplines will include aerodynamics, propulsion, navigation, communications, flight physiology and meteorology, along with core values, teamwork, and leadership skills development. In addition to the in-residence program, the NFA will offer a web-based Distance Learning Program for both students and teachers.
The National Flight Academy development team currently includes the best and brightest from the entertainment industry as well as leaders in education, simulation and training. Our immersive simulated environment, coupled with the most revolutionary methods in instruction, will foster cooperative learning and inspire young people primarily in grades 7 through 12 to pursue the math and sciences today that open the door to science and engineering degrees and careers of tomorrow. This vision for today’s youth and tomorrow’s leaders is the guiding purpose of the National Flight Academy.
I don’t think we understand how serious this proble is. I’m an accounting major so probably was at the forefront of the transition from technical to administrative degrees.
Having said that, I attended the graduation of a nephew at UNC Charlotte a few years ago and was astounded to discover that ALL of the Phd’s in science were awarded to candidates from Asia. The only two PHD’s awarded to US candidates were in the field of education. We better realize that we are in a war for minds and talent and we better win it.
My Dad has been talking about this Academy a lot. It’s the talk here in Pcola. We’re hoping my 2nd son can go. He’s my son that wants to be an engineer. We’re ever so gently coaxing NROTC.
One might do well to keep in mind that China has nearly 1.5 Billion people. We have about 350 million. That’s a 5:1 in their favor, so chances are we’re going to see more PhD candidates from them than we will us at universities where a PhD still means something.
That said, I remain convinced that kids will not take a liking to math, physics, chemistry, or other hard sciences unless their parents are involved and teach these things at a young age and encourage them to explore. Likewise, I am also convinced that until the teachers, unions, and the school administrations are there for the education of the kids and not to rule their little fiefdoms the small percentage of students who want to explore will be discouraged in the classroom.
Above all, it takes the parents, and that is a societal problem. Then it takes the schools. I can’t fix society, but I can fix sending my kid to a bad school. I can sell my home and move, or you know all that tax money I spend for schools? Just let it follow my kid. Simple. Make me a consumer with a choice.
Think about it, if you were considering purchase of a home on 10th street and were told that you had to shop for groceries at the 10th street grocery store, and in fact they’d take $100 every week from your paycheck and send a bus around to haul you there and home, but you cannot shop at the 12th street grocery store, who in their right mind would sign up for that home? Who would even agree to that restriction on their grocery shopping? What incentive does the 10th street grocery store have to even try competing with the 12th street store? With you locked in as a customer, they’ve not even an incentive to please you — you can’t go anywhere else, and they already have your money.
I maintain that if parents have choices, those parents who encourage their kids and are serious about their education will place their kids in the schools that most suit them. Parents who do not make an effort will default to the local school, and their kids will pay a price, but at least that will be the fault of the parents and not the law or the school.
Particularly good post Max. I could not agree more. Parent’s responsibility and involvement are the building blocks, the core.
Unions, school bureaucracies and social trends are the enemy in that the goal of the first two is self-preservation and enlargement, not, as it should be, that the child is educated.
Social trends enhance and are augmented by Unions and School Bureaucracies -thereby preventing the competent teachers from providing children from receiving an appropriate and socially/community functional education.
Jerry’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy applies: ”In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely.”
I met Dr Cannon-Bowers in while at CSMTT. That time was for TADMUS (Tactical Decision Making Under Stress) scenario development. Then again in the 94 time frame when her project was absorbed into the BFTT Realm. Spent many an hour in a room with her and 5 other Industrial Psychology PhD s….all to discuss the human mind in a teamed environment. Outcome is the story for another day. I will say she was happy to use the Fleet as a bunch of lab rats to get her her data. Chaffed under the conglomeration of her project into BFTT, constantly telling us scenarios had to be just so to develop and maintain the stress levels, and the data collected for analysis (by her & company). Under TADMUS, oh, yes…great concept. Under BFTT, I constantly told her they needed to formulate a “dial-an-intensity” function for when the ADM said “Hey, run a BFTT scenario!” She didn’t comprehend a new crew could be overwhelmed in moments, and a practiced crew be taking a coke break, and in either case, it wold be a waste of time in that uncontrolled environment. Worse yet, there was precious time allotted for such training, and to waste it was out of the question, by not being able to tune it to the current level of training. I was dis-invited to the meetings after that.
Anyone have a read on the outcome of how BFTT worked (or not) in this way? I was with gray ID by the time it got put to sea.
On re-watching, the comment about using computers to help learn, takes me back to the Apple II days with a game for pool, that allowed changing the coefficient of friction for the felt, the mass of the billiard balls and gravity – all to teach kids physics.
Someone is behind the power curve. And, the Nintendo guys began showing up at DoD Mod/Sim meetings in the mid-90s (my BFTT Project Officer came in from one telling me about it, because the found out the military was trying to figure out how to make virtual worlds for training….they have been working together all these years, cross pollinating information all these years…your tax dollars at work!
Funny you should mention that, XFormed. While cleaning the basement last summer I happened upon my original Apple ][+ and spent a bit of time waxing nostalgic, wondering if it was actually worth anything as an antique. It is, but not much.
"Sign on, young man, and sail with me. The stature of our homeland is no more than the measure of ourselves. Our job is to keep her free. Our will is to keep the torch of freedom burning for all. To this solemn purpose we call on the young, the brave, the strong, and the free. Heed my call, Come to the sea. Come Sail with me." -- John Paul Jones
"Pardon him, Theodotus; he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature" --George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra"
"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."--Friedrich Nietzsche
"A kind Providence has placed in our breasts a hatred of the unjust and cruel, in order that we may preserve ourselves from cruelty and injustice. They who bear cruelty, are accomplices in it. The pretended gentleness which excludes that charitable rancour, produces an indifference which is half an approbation. They never will love where they ought to love, who do not hate where they ought to hate."--Edmund Burke
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”--General Sir Charles Napier
NFA have asked for input from makers of the new improved ‘FCLP Missions pack vol.2′ which has a much better IFLOLS & stuff (for FSX):
http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?DLID=155351&CatID=fsxmsn
To a lay person, though biased, this appears to be a good program.
I don’t think we understand how serious this proble is. I’m an accounting major so probably was at the forefront of the transition from technical to administrative degrees.
Having said that, I attended the graduation of a nephew at UNC Charlotte a few years ago and was astounded to discover that ALL of the Phd’s in science were awarded to candidates from Asia. The only two PHD’s awarded to US candidates were in the field of education. We better realize that we are in a war for minds and talent and we better win it.
My Dad has been talking about this Academy a lot. It’s the talk here in Pcola. We’re hoping my 2nd son can go. He’s my son that wants to be an engineer. We’re ever so gently coaxing NROTC.
One might do well to keep in mind that China has nearly 1.5 Billion people. We have about 350 million. That’s a 5:1 in their favor, so chances are we’re going to see more PhD candidates from them than we will us at universities where a PhD still means something.
That said, I remain convinced that kids will not take a liking to math, physics, chemistry, or other hard sciences unless their parents are involved and teach these things at a young age and encourage them to explore. Likewise, I am also convinced that until the teachers, unions, and the school administrations are there for the education of the kids and not to rule their little fiefdoms the small percentage of students who want to explore will be discouraged in the classroom.
Above all, it takes the parents, and that is a societal problem. Then it takes the schools. I can’t fix society, but I can fix sending my kid to a bad school. I can sell my home and move, or you know all that tax money I spend for schools? Just let it follow my kid. Simple. Make me a consumer with a choice.
Think about it, if you were considering purchase of a home on 10th street and were told that you had to shop for groceries at the 10th street grocery store, and in fact they’d take $100 every week from your paycheck and send a bus around to haul you there and home, but you cannot shop at the 12th street grocery store, who in their right mind would sign up for that home? Who would even agree to that restriction on their grocery shopping? What incentive does the 10th street grocery store have to even try competing with the 12th street store? With you locked in as a customer, they’ve not even an incentive to please you — you can’t go anywhere else, and they already have your money.
I maintain that if parents have choices, those parents who encourage their kids and are serious about their education will place their kids in the schools that most suit them. Parents who do not make an effort will default to the local school, and their kids will pay a price, but at least that will be the fault of the parents and not the law or the school.
– Max
Particularly good post Max. I could not agree more. Parent’s responsibility and involvement are the building blocks, the core.
Unions, school bureaucracies and social trends are the enemy in that the goal of the first two is self-preservation and enlargement, not, as it should be, that the child is educated.
Social trends enhance and are augmented by Unions and School Bureaucracies -thereby preventing the competent teachers from providing children from receiving an appropriate and socially/community functional education.
Jerry’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy applies: ”In any bureaucracy, the people devoted to the benefit of the bureaucracy itself always get in control and those dedicated to the goals the bureaucracy is supposed to accomplish have less and less influence, and sometimes are eliminated entirely.”
I met Dr Cannon-Bowers in while at CSMTT. That time was for TADMUS (Tactical Decision Making Under Stress) scenario development. Then again in the 94 time frame when her project was absorbed into the BFTT Realm. Spent many an hour in a room with her and 5 other Industrial Psychology PhD s….all to discuss the human mind in a teamed environment. Outcome is the story for another day. I will say she was happy to use the Fleet as a bunch of lab rats to get her her data. Chaffed under the conglomeration of her project into BFTT, constantly telling us scenarios had to be just so to develop and maintain the stress levels, and the data collected for analysis (by her & company). Under TADMUS, oh, yes…great concept. Under BFTT, I constantly told her they needed to formulate a “dial-an-intensity” function for when the ADM said “Hey, run a BFTT scenario!” She didn’t comprehend a new crew could be overwhelmed in moments, and a practiced crew be taking a coke break, and in either case, it wold be a waste of time in that uncontrolled environment. Worse yet, there was precious time allotted for such training, and to waste it was out of the question, by not being able to tune it to the current level of training. I was dis-invited to the meetings after that.
Anyone have a read on the outcome of how BFTT worked (or not) in this way? I was with gray ID by the time it got put to sea.
On re-watching, the comment about using computers to help learn, takes me back to the Apple II days with a game for pool, that allowed changing the coefficient of friction for the felt, the mass of the billiard balls and gravity – all to teach kids physics.
Someone is behind the power curve. And, the Nintendo guys began showing up at DoD Mod/Sim meetings in the mid-90s (my BFTT Project Officer came in from one telling me about it, because the found out the military was trying to figure out how to make virtual worlds for training….they have been working together all these years, cross pollinating information all these years…your tax dollars at work!
Funny you should mention that, XFormed. While cleaning the basement last summer I happened upon my original Apple ][+ and spent a bit of time waxing nostalgic, wondering if it was actually worth anything as an antique. It is, but not much.
Far easier: http://www.virtualapple.org/
– Max