Calling CAPTalk Geeks Again: Star Trek for Leadership Classes

[Luis R. Ramos]

Thanks for posting the Thomas Hudner message...

[JeffDG]

The only thing on leadership I learned from Star Trek is "Good will always win over evil."

Then I started working, reach adulthood, etc.

And you learned that Spaceballs was closer to the mark:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7XVcqZodAM

[Luis R. Ramos]

Well, no.

But Spaceballs is a good tool for learning Operations!

[Spam]

Oh, absolutely. That's where I learned basic SAR patterns - how to comb the search area.

Cheers
Spam

[LSW]

I might suggest one, I believe named "Tapestry". It made a difference in my life during a dark time and deals with "Time travel" which is a favorite subject of mine. It touches leadership in a way, but also the idea you are who you are because of decisions you make.

Captain Picard has an artificial heart due to a bar fight while a Star Fleet Cadet. He dies from an assassination attempt that would not have killed him with a real heart. Q saves him and send shim back in time so he can not get in the fight, which he does. He returns to the Enterprise to discover he is not captain, just a low ranking junior officer nobody "Sees".

The point they make is that like a tapestry, if you go back in time and change something... it is pulling a thread that makes all after it fall apart. A small decision far enough back makes major changes further in the future.

Picard talks to  Reiker I believe about why he is not a higher rank, Reiker tells him "I don't know you, you have never done anything to earn respect, you are not willing to take risks". So Picard realizes that what made him get in the fight is what made him captain of the Enterprise, saving his heart changed who he was because he then always played it safe, did not take initiative and no one really even noticed he was on the crew. He goes back again, gets stabbed and back on the Enterprise he is captain again.

So you see it is not directly about leadership or ethics, but it is about being who you are and embracing your past and decisions you've made good and bad. None of histories great leaders became those great leaders by just toeing the line and being cautious. The same drive that killed the 7th Cav and Custer also is the same drive that won Gettysburg when Custer turned back Jeb Stuarts charge on the Union left flank. Remove that drive and the North could lose Gettysburg, but Custer would not be the man he was and likely would not have had the command he got and the 7th Cav would likely not be destroyed and we would have a different history today.

So it may be an episode worth considering... and the above example with Custer is off the top of my head from something I read 20 years ago and I don't have time to fact check the exact details, it is just meant as a quick example I thought of while typing. There are many more examples out there.

[wacapgh]

Oh, absolutely. That's where I learned basic SAR patterns - how to comb the search area.

Cheers
Spam

And how to set access codes - "1, 2, 3, 4, 5!"

[JC004]

Serious question:  Do you really think cadets will relate to or are interested in Star Trek? 

It's really for an older person's generation and even then it's a rather "niche" crowd.  Honestly, I don't foresee many cadets getting excited over it, let alone even knowing what it is (the lack of cadet interest in this thread may be an indicator).  Just my $.02.

Yes.  Star Trek went off the air in regular episodic television in 2005.  It is not their grandparents' TV.  There have been several successful Star Trek films in recent years (including the latest this month), Star Trek is currently available on streaming services, and to the surprise of some, I have found they are watching it.  On top of all that, in just a few months, there will be a fresh series from CBS (Star Trek: Discovery).  So there will be new Star Trek episodes coming out while we're running these.

When I mentioned that I was working on this with a couple people I know from Star Trek cast and crew, there was a much more immediate and excited response than I originally expected, finding that some are already fans of the TV shows.  That night, we ran the first one -- starting with a moral leadership, then using a tied-in leadership class, then watching an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that took place at Starfleet Academy -- thus directly addressing CADETS.  It had excellent leadership themes, after which I told them what I just mentioned.  I see how they respond to different classes, whether it's navigation, aerospace current events, whatever -- and they responded excitedly to this. 
Episode Reference:  http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/The_First_Duty_%28episode%29
Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE084EfLGeI

The aerospace theme excites them.  The cadet element and military-type atmosphere makes it something to which they can relate.  It is inherently optimistic and progressive, as is there generation.

I asked some seniors to ask THEIR cadets, since I am now aged far out of knowing any cadets personally like that, and that informal polling got interest.  The seniors have asked me to send the outlines as they're completed.

My cadets are, of course, additionally excited at the possibility of talking to some cast or crew directly, so they have that added benefit.

Of course, as with all of CAP, interest varies from unit to unit in a whole RANGE of things -- from Color Guard/Cadet Comps to ES to rocketry.  You'll see units everywhere that have a ton of cadets who love, for example, Cadet Comps, ES, marksmanship, whatever, and those units focus on those things.  This is a small element of a larger local leadership program.

I really question using Star Trek for leadership classes.

I was a Star Trek fan.

The only thing on leadership I learned from Star Trek is "Good will always win over evil."

Then I started working, reach adulthood, etc.

I listed a bunch of specific episodes above.  They're available in streaming services.  I suggest you watch a couple of those listed.  Films used in education don't, by the way, always "pop" out until they're used in the classroom, you do discussion points, etc.  But Star Trek episodes SPECIFICALLY deal with themes like ethics, command (find a current TV show that covers that), leadership, management, etc. 

Check out the Star Trek: Voyager episode on my list: Episode:  "Nightingale" (Star Trek: Voyager) – Season 7, Ep. 8.  This one is SPECIFICALLY heavily about command and the nature of leadership.  It is about an inexperienced, eager officer getting a command for the first time.

And if you believe Star Trek is really about "good will always win over evil," try Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which covers a number of complex and dark themes.  It goes into things like genocide, fascism, greed, conquest, colonialism...

First things first - I hope and pray that your medical situation is improving. Get well, stay well, live long and perspire (grin).

Next, I'd like to suggest a selection process to apply, to arrive at max benefits from using TV shows and movies:

On the ST age issue, I think a root problem is that ANY series will have limited applicability to todays cadets if the selected episode requires back stories and fan experience to appreciate the underlying character details and backgrounds.  It wouldn't matter if it was a war series (e.g. "Rat Patrol", "Combat!") or an SF series, or a Western.  So, while I've been recently surprised to see a couple of 17 year olds go to a 'con dressed as one of the robot girls from TOS "Shore Leave" (fuzzy bikinis and all), the vast majority of our cadets just haven't sat through the mass of required reading to get many of the points. We need to keep "STANDALONE EPISODE" in mind throughout, I would submit.

Then, I have to say, using shows and episodes which don't impose a distracting cultural shock is ideal. Asking the below average young teen to not be distracted by the aliens/costumes/SFX is asking a lot (even when they're laughably poor by todays standards... spending time laughing at the foam boulders or the rubber masks distracts from appreciation of the main leadership point, right)? So, pick a "low strangeness" quotient.

I'm sure there are many other factors to apply... just thought I'd submit a couple to help narrow the criteria between so many decent shows, if that's the way people want to go.


For me, I still like AE themed flicks which I can annotate AMC style, e.g. "The Bridges at Toko-Ri", which I've done for over a decade with a slide deck pointing out Michener's story basis on the real Jesse Brown and Medal of Honor winner Thomas Hudner, which is a story of leadership, defiance of segregation and prejudice, and also has AE historical elements (and is a good flick):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Hudner_Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_L._Brown

"The guided missile destroyer, aptly named USS Thomas Hudner, will join the fleet in 2018. Its crest will feature the tail numbers of Hudner's plane, 205, and Brown's plane, 211 – symbolizing their unyielding comradeship".
http://www.people.com/article/91-year-old-korean-war-vet-gets-heartwarming-surprise


I remain an old school ST fan, but why not just use real world examples?

Thank you.  The situation is....complicated.  I am seeing various doctors, getting tests, etc. a lot, so it will take some time to shake out.  I have to get a couple surgeries. 

I agree on standalone episodes.  But in any educational use of film (or mostly television in this case), you often have to give background and all.  I've factored that in, with the idea of keeping it simple, like explaining just the most essential elements of a character's background so they can remember easily.

I also agree about special effects and all.  That's why I am not using a lot of The Original Series.  Their generation has learned to be critical of CGI and all, so The Original Series can be distracting for them in many cases.  The Next Generation (I'm using remastered, so the CGI has been re-done anyway) and all are fine as far as special effects, in most cases (we'll be selective about the first 2 seasons of TNG, though).

I'm definitely going to look through your links, but to answer your question -- we are dealing with a generation that isn't especially all in the "real world," and is heavily into entertainment.  I always look for real-world examples in leadership classes.  I'm thinking about the Medal of Honor program, and getting a MOH recipient to come in.  Problem is....with the dying-off of the WWII generation especially, MOH recipients may be harder for me to get than just asking one of the Star Trek cast or crew.

I might suggest one, I believe named "Tapestry". It made a difference in my life during a dark time and deals with "Time travel" which is a favorite subject of mine. It touches leadership in a way, but also the idea you are who you are because of decisions you make.
...

I agree.  You'll see that I listed Tapestry on my draft list.  One thought I had about this already was leading discussion about real-world leaders with the episode.  Patton, MacArthur, etc. (of course I can do those movies too)   I'd definitely be interested in suggestions for leaders to include in the discussion.

[JeffDG]

Oh, absolutely. That's where I learned basic SAR patterns - how to comb the search area.

Cheers
Spam

I sometimes wish our 182s had ludicrous speed.

[JeffDG]

Well, no.

But Spaceballs is a good tool for learning Operations!

Also OpSec...my WiFi Password is now 1-2-3-4-5

[Papabird]

Well, no.

But Spaceballs is a good tool for learning Operations!

Also OpSec...my WiFi Password is now 1-2-3-4-5

That is the same combination that is on my luggage!   

[USACAP]

Do cadets, kids under 18, relate to Star Trek, TNG?
I can just imagine groans and eye-rolls...
Why not pick one of a million vignettes from military history?
The rolls of Medal of Honor awardees is a great place to start.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Do cadets, kids under 18, relate to Star Trek, TNG?
I can just imagine groans and eye-rolls...
Why not pick one of a million vignettes from military history?
The rolls of Medal of Honor awardees is a great place to start.

If you actually read the thread...http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=20464.msg390890#msg390890

[USACAP]

Yes. I did read the thread.
The enthusiasm is clearly on the part of the OP, not the cadets.
I am reading paragraphs of projection and justification.
It's a volunteer organization, we can't pick and choose the cool kids.

Do cadets, kids under 18, relate to Star Trek, TNG?
I can just imagine groans and eye-rolls...
Why not pick one of a million vignettes from military history?
The rolls of Medal of Honor awardees is a great place to start.

If you actually read the thread...http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=20464.msg390890#msg390890