24 month internal/external AE roadmap?

[Holding Pattern]

I'm helping build out the 24 month roadmap for a new CAP squadron. I've got the Cadet Program part down and I'll be able to build most of the ES part from my documents, but AE is my weakest point.

Here is my starting point:

https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/aerospace-education/for-educators/aehome
https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/aerospace-education/for-educators


But I really don't want to build from scratch from a position of ignorance.

[TheSkyHornet]

So my first recommendation is this:
- Incorporate Cyber
- Incorporate STEM

Bear in mind that the Aerospace Education program is more than just airplanes, it includes the two items above. Many units often forget that, and doing so will keep many opportunities and doors closed that can have a real impact in the future: lack of competition team interest, lack of NCSA interest, lack of general technology/engineering career field interest. CAP is much more than just flying.

Whatever your roadmap ends up being, make sure that it's impactful to the program your unit wants to have and not just "activity fillers" because you need to meet that 1.5-hour requirement...

One of the common issues I see with a unit's aerospace curriculum is that it's often not designed (interesting, or comprehendible) for the age group of the cadets partaking. Not every activity is meant for 17-year-olds; not every activity is meant for 12-year-olds. You have to find some balance in your program. The same logic applies to teaching leadership principles: it's not just about the rank of the individuals being taught; some people just don't understand more advanced material at the early juncture.

All the above said, I'm an aviation/aerospace junkie. This has been my passion since I was a little kid. Combine it with the military-style training program of the CAP Cadet Program, and this is an ideal chance for me to share my passion with others. BUT...remember that this program exists to excite and educate youth about aerospace/STEM/cyber, not to share only the things that you're interested in. It's a downfall of many Aerospace officers in CAP to program only what you're interested in and not to get a feel for where your cadets are and what they're actually engaging toward. If it isn't something you'd enjoy, they surely won't enjoy it. And just because you enjoy it doesn't mean that they're really "get it."

Be very open-minded, and don't be afraid to try new things out. If you mess it up, try it again but a little differently next time. But pay attention: Did they actually enjoy this? How can we step it up a notch next time?

If you really want to wow your cadets:
- Be bold
- Be different
- Put the work into it

It's a LOT of work to facilitate a quality aerospace program. Get yourself a team to help. I encourage coordinating your aerospace activities with your unit Activities Officer and Leadership Officer to really see how to best align all of the key aspects of the Cadet Program into the aerospace class:
- What is the training goal for the activity/topic?
- What can we teach them that they probably never knew?
- Is the cadet staff involved in the planning? Why or why not?
- What are the leadership training objectives?
- What can we do to make this interactive and not a lecture?
- What is practical about the activity?
- What are we about to do that nobody else has ever done before?

Finally, make sure that your curriculum is progressive. I would strive for a quarterly program as a starting point, or maybe even a 4-month approach. Your first class should be a preparatory lesson  for the next class, and then the next class, and so forth. There should be a point to all of it, not just "the lesson of the week" where next week's topic has nothing to do with this week's topic. Little training goals should build into big training accomplishments in the end.

[Luis R. Ramos]

Incorporate the Aerospace Education Award for Senior Members, where they study the book Aerospace: The Journey of Flight, then take the Yeager test. After passing the program, they can wear the Yeager ribbon. The book can be downloaded from the AE section.