Cadets "failing" encampment

[Eclipse]

This year will be the first complete season where all encampments are held to the new curriculum and
performance standards, as well as cadets being at risk to not graduate due to poor performance on the required tests.

As some encampments ran things using the new standards last year, I'm curious to see if anyone had to deal with cadets who
failed to graduate ad if there was any fallout from mom and dad.

[Eclipse]

I've got a PM about a cadet being "voted off the island" due to behavioral issues - that has always
been and remains an Armageddon-level option when necessary.  I recall having to do a couple of those myself.

However what I'm referring to are the new requirement to complete the various session tests as
well as the final exam at 80% or higher in order to receive credit.

[Live2Learn]

This testing criterion for passing a cadet encampment and receiving credit is an interesting idea I've not seen applied (yet).  From watching cadets struggle with poorly crafted online courses (Intro to CAP Safety is one of the all time worst) I guess I'd have to wonder how cadets will fare if the encampment material is poorly presented.  If presentation is well done, 80% seems like a reasonable and attainable criterion.  If poorly done, then the "instructors" better teach to the test with significant hints.  The concept of accountability for performance and credit is appealing... with caveats.

[CadetSnuffy]

The only cadet at KS winter encampment who was sent home left for medical reasons. I think that national should back off on the classroom requirements though. This year cadet basics had about double the classroom hours than last year. The flight sergeants were complaining because their flights weren't getting enough drill time. We also had to skip the trip to the cosmosphere. 

[Майор Хаткевич]

The only cadet at KS winter encampment who was sent home left for medical reasons. I think that national should back off on the classroom requirements though. This year cadet basics had about double the classroom hours than last year. The flight sergeants were complaining because their flights weren't getting enough drill time. We also had to skip the trip to the cosmosphere. 

No one said that the curriculum had to be "classroom" and PowerPoint.

[CadetSnuffy]

I was told that it was mandatory to have specific classroom sessions, apparently enough that a significant amount of time was taken up.

It also helps to not have a paper airplane contest take up an entire afternoon.  I didn't make the schedule

[Eclipse]

I was told that it was mandatory to have specific classroom sessions, apparently enough that a significant amount of time was taken up.

There has always been a number of curriculum hours to meet, however the program is much more specific now about
how the encampment must meet them.

The paper airplane contest likely fulfilled some of the AE requirements.

[a2capt]

We also had to skip the trip to the cosmosphere. 

Lucky visitors.. the people that were there that would be day..

I totally hate being there when it's overrun with a bunch of screaming kids. I can only figure the cadets would do a -lot- better.. but still. ;-)

There's plenty of ways to tie an activity as such into curriculum. As for the 'fail' vs. 'pass', I got the impression that they went over the weak areas with cadets in a final session. Face it, there are some that just blow at that type of testing combined with a packed schedule that they're not normally accustomed to.

[Eclipse]

Might as well teach some fishing...

This year cadet basics

Participants in the CAP encampment program are referred to as "students", not "basics".

had about double the classroom hours than last year.

That sounds about right. The new curriculum is much more specific in regards to what counts, and the emphasis is significantly higher
on hands-on AE.  The actual contact hours (i.e. structured or "billable" time) has only increased by about 15%, but within that are
also requirements for personal time, as well as required rack time.  Many encampments were squishy with those blocks and
either pushed cadets much later in the evening then is now allowed, or took completion credit for what was really just "milling about".

The flight sergeants were complaining because their flights weren't getting enough drill time.

Which means they were probably getting more then enough.  Encampment is not supposed to be a drill clinic.
Yes, there is plenty of time for marching "up and down the square" etc., but drill is not why you are there.

We also had to skip the trip to the cosmosphere.

You're also not there for this kind of thing - yes, wandering around a museum and watching a Pink Floyd laser
show is a fun way to kill a day, and that's all it does, kill a day.  A precious day in a precious week in what is
for some cadets a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Going to places which are open to the general public 365
days a year may have been a nice way to "band camp" a day during a harsh KS winter, but the time is much better
spent on CAP specific activities with the unique resources that a wing brings to an encampment.

With that said, if Buzz Aldrin is sparring in the Cosmosphere gym that day, that's a different story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wptn5RE2I-k&t=0m47s#

[Eclipse]

As for the 'fail' vs. 'pass', I got the impression that they went over the weak areas with cadets in a final session. Face it, there are some that just blow at that type of testing combined with a packed schedule that they're not normally accustomed to.

I'm not sure how that's possible within the new structure as there are a number of times where objective testing with
a minimum score are required, including a final exam, and I don't see any allowance for "correct to 100%".

I think this is a first for CAP - an activity which is important to progression, for which the participants pay, and which
has an objective completion criteria that one could legitimately not meet, and further, there's no "finish it up at home" -
the only alternative is another encampment.

This is one of the reasons I asked the question, because as we plan for 2015, it's clear that testing and inspections
are going to take a significant amount of resources, and cadets and staff who participated in encampments last summer
have commented that it was a fairly significant resource challenge to do the testing, grading, 50's, and get the information
back in a coherent manner in time for corrections.

If NHQ says the number is "80" (or whatever it is), I have no issue non-completing cadets who stall at 79, but if that happens,
I need to make sure our ducks are in a row and we have a clear, coherent system.

[UWONGO2]

This is one of the reasons I asked the question, because as we plan for 2015, it's clear that testing and inspections
are going to take a significant amount of resources, and cadets and staff who participated in encampments last summer
have commented that it was a fairly significant resource challenge to do the testing, grading, 50's, and get the information
back in a coherent manner in time for corrections.

Yes, the paper chase created a number of problems, not all of which we solved during the week. All the inspections, tests, and CAPF 50s caused a number of scheduling problems, we too will have to consider holding fewer hands-on activities because they typically take more time than classroom sessions. Unfortunately when it comes to feedback, more hands-on activities always tops the list. We also saw our printing budget explode.

One thought is to add more cadets to the admin staff or designate a senior member as the paperwork person.

[lordmonar]

One thought is to add more cadets to the admin staff or designate a senior member as the paperwork person.

Heresy! 

[CadetSnuffy]

More Admin? Every time I had a conversation with any of the Admin staff they were always complaining about having nothing to do, they mostly hung around HQ and messed around... in the PAO office Then again, maybe it's really difficult to find well qualified cadets who want to spend their entire week doing paperwork. I got the impression that Admin was the place to put cadet staff who had no other position.

[CadetSnuffy]

With that said, if Buzz Aldrin is sparring in the Cosmosphere gym that day, that's a different story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wptn5RE2I-k&t=0m47s

:clap: :clap: :clap: In a way I feel bad for Buzz Aldrin. Having to deal with all of the conspiracy nuts. I would go a bit crazy too.

[UWONGO2]

One thought is to add more cadets to the admin staff or designate a senior member as the paperwork person.

Heresy!

I guess I left myself open to be mocked, my mistake. I should have mentioned that we have limited space which limits the number of cadets on staff. Adding to one area like admin means stealing from other areas (PAO, logistics, etc). Additionally, we tend to have just enough seniors to get by with running an encampment, adding one more sounds great but is no sure thing.

[lordmonar]

One thought is to add more cadets to the admin staff or designate a senior member as the paperwork person.

Heresy!

I guess I left myself open to be mocked, my mistake. I should have mentioned that we have limited space which limits the number of cadets on staff. Adding to one area like admin means stealing from other areas (PAO, logistics, etc). Additionally, we tend to have just enough seniors to get by with running an encampment, adding one more sounds great but is no sure thing.

Sorry not mocking you......just pointing out that if the new requirements add admin overhead to your encampment....then of course the obvious fix is to add more admin staff.
Will adding admin staff mean you stealing from other areas?   

[Майор Хаткевич]

One thought is to add more cadets to the admin staff or designate a senior member as the paperwork person.

Heresy!

I guess I left myself open to be mocked, my mistake. I should have mentioned that we have limited space which limits the number of cadets on staff. Adding to one area like admin means stealing from other areas (PAO, logistics, etc). Additionally, we tend to have just enough seniors to get by with running an encampment, adding one more sounds great but is no sure thing.

Sorry not mocking you......just pointing out that if the new requirements add admin overhead to your encampment....then of course the obvious fix is to add more admin staff.
Will adding admin staff mean you stealing from other areas?

We're using Stan/Eval for all of the paperwork required.

[C/Cool]

More Admin? Every time I had a conversation with any of the Admin staff they were always complaining about having nothing to do, they mostly hung around HQ and messed around... in the PAO office Then again, maybe it's really difficult to find well qualified cadets who want to spend their entire week doing paperwork. I got the impression that Admin was the place to put cadet staff who had no other position.

This is how it is... At our last encampment the C/admin was busy the first two days, processing "in" cadets, and was busy the last two days, getting ready for out-processing. Everything in between she was gopher.

[PHall]

One thought is to add more cadets to the admin staff or designate a senior member as the paperwork person.

Heresy!

I guess I left myself open to be mocked, my mistake. I should have mentioned that we have limited space which limits the number of cadets on staff. Adding to one area like admin means stealing from other areas (PAO, logistics, etc). Additionally, we tend to have just enough seniors to get by with running an encampment, adding one more sounds great but is no sure thing.

Sorry not mocking you......just pointing out that if the new requirements add admin overhead to your encampment....then of course the obvious fix is to add more admin staff.
Will adding admin staff mean you stealing from other areas?

We're using Stan/Eval for all of the paperwork required.

What is this "Stan Eval" you speak of? They're not authorized anymore.

[Eclipse]

What is this "Stan Eval" you speak of? They're not authorized anymore.

Not quite.

http://www.capmembers.com/media/cms/Encampment_Manual_June_2014_1F6A5D093CD05.pdf

d. Inspection Party. Inspection is an inherent function of command.
Accordingly, encampments will not create a permanent inspection party,
sometimes called standardization and evaluation teams, for stand-by
inspections. In a cadet environment, the cadets' youth and the short duration
of the encampment necessitates their receiving as much individualized
attention as possible. Flight and squadron commanders are best positioned
to provide that personalized mentoring and therefore they lead the inspection
party, not a stan/eval team.

(The italics are actually from the manual.)

"To achieve both goals, the suggested best practice is to have a stan/eval team conduct an inspection without
students present, being careful not to disturb anything in the dormitory. Later that day, commanders would
conduct their actual stand-by inspections. If this dual approach is impractical, encampment commanders are
free to forego use of a stan/eval team."

The issue of "benevolence" in the inspections has been raised by any number of people at various
levels, and continues to be seen as a challenge in a competitive environment, so as suggested
by the guide, there will be inspections focused on training everyone, including the flight staff,
and inspections by disinterested parties for the purpose of the competitions.

In our case, the (Whatever we wind up calling it) Team is going to be focused on the administrative side
of the problem opportunity.  The amount of data to collate, process, and return is not trivial, and if it's to
be used in a coherent way, it needs a team of cadets and seniors to insure it stays on track.

[Майор Хаткевич]

^+1 what my boss said.

[SilentPhantom]

I was told that it was mandatory to have specific classroom sessions, apparently enough that a significant amount of time was taken up.

It also helps to not have a paper airplane contest take up an entire afternoon.  I didn't make the schedule

But at least the classroom time gave line staff some time to decompress and have meetings in the break room. And almost got my head taken off by one of those paper airplanes haha

[Eclipse]

So after a pretty deep dive (finally) in the new curriculum, things aren't quite as concerning as I
had feared, but also a somewhat telling indication that a lot of people haven't actually read the text or
worked the problem yet.

Beyond the typical "core values, attendance, etc." we're all used to, there are actually only 5 points of
objective written tests that could cause a cadet to fail the encampment.  These are four leadership classes
and an A3 on air power.  These will all have to be graded and tabulated, but considering they are multiple guess
quizzes, if they pay remote attention, there should be little issue.  We are, however paying close attention to
the instructors here as we want to insure the information critical to the quizzes is properly presented.

These are the required classes which have a quiz.
L10 Wingmen & The Warrior Spirit
L11 Discipline: Your Key to Success
L12 The Leadership Concept
L13 Teamwork for Performance
A3 Military Airpower

Beyond that are the initial assessments, which are done to ascertain a cadet's actual
core knowledge, and to provide data back to the wing and units which may indicate...ahem..."benevolent" unit programs.

And then the CAPF 50-5 Advisories which are completed near the end of the activity by the CFs in conjunction
with the TOs, and which, although they do have a place for the CF and TO to sign off encampment credit,
these are not actually pass/fails, though they again provide good data to the wing and encampment staff(s)
as to emphasis items for next year, etc.

Since we have two in-process cycles, we're considering doing the ISAs twice, with an eye for mid-week improvement
and with the intention that the CFs should be sending their cadets home with something correctable and seeing
if it is really corrected.

Otherwise, the only other grading and inspections are for Honor Flights, etc., and that is subjective and not related to
encampment credit.  As suggested in the guide, we will have two levels of inspections - the team building and mentoring
level conducted by the CFs and other line staff (up/down/left/right, fix your collar, tuck in your blanket, move on) and the
more detailed inspections performed by SET for the purpose of grading and competition.

On a related side note, we realized last night that beyond the nametapes, there are no longer any other patches which are
required on the BDUs, so for cadets who cannot easily get things corrected mid-week, simply removing them is a viable option,
and of course pin-on grade is easily corrected (even if the unit CC puts it back incorrectly because "it looks cooler that way" BTDT)

[CadetSnuffy]

I was told that it was mandatory to have specific classroom sessions, apparently enough that a significant amount of time was taken up.

It also helps to not have a paper airplane contest take up an entire afternoon.  I didn't make the schedule

But at least the classroom time gave line staff some time to decompress and have meetings in the break room. And almost got my head taken off by one of those paper airplanes haha

The PAOs got hit several times. Myself included. I learned a valuable lesson that day, it is impossible to get clear action shots of twenty different paper-airplanes mid-flight.

[SilentPhantom]

I was told that it was mandatory to have specific classroom sessions, apparently enough that a significant amount of time was taken up.

It also helps to not have a paper airplane contest take up an entire afternoon.  I didn't make the schedule

But at least the classroom time gave line staff some time to decompress and have meetings in the break room. And almost got my head taken off by one of those paper airplanes haha

The PAOs got hit several times. Myself included. I learned a valuable lesson that day, it is impossible to get clear action shots of twenty different paper-airplanes mid-flight.

Oh yeah I remeber that lol. Given my position, I was a bit of a prime target haha

[CadetSnuffy]

I was told that it was mandatory to have specific classroom sessions, apparently enough that a significant amount of time was taken up.

It also helps to not have a paper airplane contest take up an entire afternoon.  I didn't make the schedule

But at least the classroom time gave line staff some time to decompress and have meetings in the break room. And almost got my head taken off by one of those paper airplanes haha

The PAOs got hit several times. Myself included. I learned a valuable lesson that day, it is impossible to get clear action shots of twenty different paper-airplanes mid-flight.

Oh yeah I remeber that lol. Given my position, I was a bit of a prime target haha

At least the PAOs weren't required to go through the obstacle course. Camera+mud=disaster
I was fine just watching.
https://kswgencampment2014.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/img_58751.jpg
Line staff was pressured into going through it. Looks like they had fun

[Capt Thompson]

Depends on the camera......a decent SLR should be sealed well enough to handle a little mud.....sounds like a few wimpy PAO's!

[CadetSnuffy]

Depends on the camera......a decent SLR should be sealed well enough to handle a little mud.....sounds like a few wimpy PAO's!

Hey, it was cold out there. Besides we had to take pictures of the cadets. (good all-purpose PAO excuse)
Duty comes before mud.

[Capt Thompson]

Hey, it was cold out there.

http://jrc-miprepzone.smugmug.com/NH-Oct-31-Romulus-at-Trenton-MT/i-6jbFr3f/A

Sideways freezing rain....you're argument is invalid 

[Eclipse]

At least the PAOs weren't required to go through the obstacle course. Camera+mud=disaster
I was fine just watching.
https://kswgencampment2014.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/img_58751.jpg
Line staff was pressured into going through it. Looks like they had fun

Line staff shouldn't have had to be "pressured" - unless they had a duty which precluded participation,
they should have been leading the line from the front.

[CadetSnuffy]

Hey, it was cold out there.

http://jrc-miprepzone.smugmug.com/NH-Oct-31-Romulus-at-Trenton-MT/i-6jbFr3f/A

Sideways freezing rain....you're argument is invalid 

I stand corrected. I'm fine with being a wimp.

[CadetSnuffy]

At least the PAOs weren't required to go through the obstacle course. Camera+mud=disaster
I was fine just watching.
https://kswgencampment2014.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/img_58751.jpg
Line staff was pressured into going through it. Looks like they had fun

Line staff shouldn't have had to be "pressured" - unless they had a duty which precluded participation,
they should have been leading the line from the front.

By pressured I mean all the students started chanting, "Sergeant! Sergeant! Sergeant!"
In my opinion the obstacle course was the best team building exercise of the week, everyone loved it.

[stitchmom]

How much writing is required? Our packing list includes a 3 subject notebook. Writing is not my son's strong suit. 

[SarDragon]

How much writing is required? Our packing list includes a 3 subject notebook. Writing is not my son's strong suit. 

Define "writing".

Putting words on paper? Taking notes? Writing essays?

At an encampment, notebooks are generally used for taking notes associated with the various aspects of training.

[CAPDCCMOM]

Stichmom, read CAPR 52-15, 5-5. Cadets with Special needs can be accommodated on testing and other academic requirements. If your cadet has a defined learning disability, contact your Squadron's Deputy Commander for Cadets and share this information. Ask that person to contact the Encampment Commander. If you have a copy of your cadet's IEP, it will detail academic accommodations. CAP will use these accommodations for your Cadet. I am the Deputy Commander for Cadets of my Squadron, I notified the Encampment Commander for my cadets that one of mine has dyslexia. He assured me that the accommodations would be made with no problem at all.

Hope this helps out

[CAPDCCMOM]

CAPR 52-16 Sorry. Typo

[abdsp51]

Cadets under the new curriculum are not graded on how well they write.  They are graded on the tests they take and assesments by their flt leadership and TOs.