Ideas for Getting Students interested in Aviation
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This is what one school has been using successfully for several years.
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1. Start the process early
2. Include aviation applications in science and math courses
3. Aviation expo is an excellent way to expose kids early on to aviation.
4. Students in high school need to be in a pathway that includes advanced
science courses and aviation courses. We offer students 4 elective credits
and they take 4 sciences and 4 math classes.
5. Expose students to mentors in the industry
6. Provide opportunities for students to earn certifications, when possible.
7. Have industry professionals teach the courses.
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Another school is doing this to start their Aviation Program
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I'm in the beginning stages of starting a high school program. The first step was to start an after school club, then offer elective courses. I started the "Drone Club" this fall at the beginning of the school year. The plan was to seek out those students who were interested in aviation but had no where to explore this interest at school. Now that I have a good idea who is interested, I will recruit those students for courses I plan to teach next fall.
The results are trending towards the desirable. I say trending because the club is mostly freshmen (14 year olds) who want to crash their $50 toy drones. My upper classmen were scared away when they saw all the freshmen in the club. I think a lot of freshmen joined the club early because I did a better job promoting the club in my freshmen science classes.
Now, attrition has left me with a core group of students that want to improve their knowledge and skills. We are talking about how to avoid accidents and how to repair broken aircraft. The students are upgrading to bigger a better drones that can fly in windier conditions.
Next year, veteran club members will be sophomores and eligible to take "Introduction to Aviation and Aerospace"
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An Outside Group Doing Aerospace and Aviation Exposure
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I went to the Aerospace and Aviation Exposure at The Place on 22 October.
The Place is a part of the T. D. Jakes Ministries. The Church is called The Potter's House. It is located
in a predominately black part of the County of Dallas, TX. This area's people don't seem to think that
Aviation is a viable option for a job. The Place is trying to change that. Their overall program goals
are as follows:
- Educate the target group and the public on Aviation and Aerospace Careers and technology
- Provide an open Forum to educate under-represented and the minority community on emerging entrepreneurial
and career opportunities within the drone industry
- Create a space to promote employment in the aviation and aerospace industry to millennials
- Build relationships with aviation/aerospace professionals and vendors for future engagement.
They had people from the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees (NBCFAE), the FAA,
RM6 Aviation (a drone group), Perceptive Engineering, Express Jet, and Southwest Airlines.
About 250 people - parents and kids - attended.
They are also having nine workshops to fill out the rest of the 2017-2018 school year. Things like
"Into to Drones and Drone Certification," trips to a couple of aviation museums, a trip to the DFW airport,
and a trip to a local airport for plane rides.
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Other URLs for Help and Ideas
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Facebook Links for Texas CTE Teachers
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Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEagriculture
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Architecture and Construction
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEarchitecture
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Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEartsAVTechComm
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Business Management and Administration
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEBusinessMgmtAdministration
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Career Development (Middle School)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTECareerDevelopment
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Education and Training
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEeducationTraining
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Finance
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEfinance
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Government and Public Administration
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEGovtPublicAdministration
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Health Science
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEHealthSciences
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Hospitality & Tourism
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEHospitalityTourism
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Human Services
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEhumanservices
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Information Technology
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEInformationTechnology
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Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTELawPSCorrectionsSec
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Manufacturing
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEManufacturing
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Marketing
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEMarketing
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Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEstem
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Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTETransportDistribLogistics
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Mentor Group
(for mentors who have completed CTE Mentor Training)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTEMentorGroup
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Texas CTE Teacher Network
(for CTE teachers with more than 3 years of experience)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTETeacherNetwork
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Airplane Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has a lot of information on
their web site. They have started a four year high school Aviation Program
with class setups and lesson plans already done for you.
https://www.aopa.org
AOPA Aviation STEM Curriculum Outline
The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) has many books about aviation from Kindergarten thru
12th Grade. They also have a program for teachers: the Aviation Education Member
(AEM). AEMs have the ability to get kits to use in the classroom.
https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com
The flyer for the kits follows.
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Carolyn Bitner-Collins Aerospace Foundation
402 Kingston Dr
Grand Prairie, TX 75051
972-262-0423
info@aeftx.org
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