Ground up aviation education
Major Tony T. Kern, 472-4727 (KernTT.DFH.USAFA_at_usafa.af.mil)
Tue, 14 Oct 97 13:21:56 MDT
Joe and colleagues
If you have been on this e-mail group for long, you have probably
heard me say what I'm going to say 10-15 times already, but here goes
anyway. I am absolutely convinced that the first step in any ab initio
education or training program should be to teach the structure and
content of the knowledge/skills that the student will be exposed to over
the course of their careers (or even hobby as the case may be). Once
the students know what the big picture is, they can self-assess and grow
based on personal levels of competence. In addition, a sound structure
provides relevance to previously disconnected (at least in the minds of
the student) pieces of the airmanship collage.
I'm not trying to sell any books here, but this thesis is contained in the
introducation and Chapter one of my last book "Redefining Airmanship"
by McGraw-Hill (ISBN 0-07-034284-9].
We here at the Air Force Academy will be offering our first-ever course
based on this thesis in the spring semester as an experimental section,
and then as a continuing offering every fall semester from now on. You
are all welcome to come by to see how it goes (Colorado Springs is nice
in the fall and is the gateway to the ski areas of the Rockies!) or stand by
on frequency and I will provide some feedback after this semester. We
call the new course "Foundations for Aviation Excellence" and it is
offered as a multi-disciplinary course (even some physics) with 6-8
instructors from different departments playing a role.