Cadet Program Suggested Schedule

[RADIOMAN015]

  Those of us senior members new to ES & Comm are a bit confused about the suggested quarterly schedule.   In reviewing CAPR 52-16 IF ES/Comm decided to run a training exercise we would basically be limited to 50 minutes on a meeting night.  The schedule doesn't appear to allow flexibility to ES/Comm to use almost the entire meeting to run an exercise or comprehensive training session.  I guess what I'm trying to figure out is that if you look at a 13 week cycle what are the total number of minimum minutes required overall in the core curriculum areas:  Achievement Tests, Aersopace Education, Charcter Development, Leadership, & Physical fitness? and IF you meet the hour requirements in each area each 13 weeks are you meeting the intent of the regulation versus the model program in CAPR 52-16.   Also Does the Special training available each week allow cadets to choose  one of the specialty training areas (ES/Comm, Rocketry, etc) that is offered during that 50 minute period each week?

Some of us feel that the program is set up to much like school (that the cadets attend all day long) and would like to ensure we get some practical fun training in at every meeting.  If we have 6 cadets that are very interested in ES, can we than put than in an ES track and run a 13 week ES Special training cycle emphasizing this?  (our squadron commander has told us that much of the ES training needs to be held at other than normal meeting times?  Comments?

RM       

[IceNine]

It is ineffective to try and do all ES and Comm training during meeting times.  You need to look at it like this.  The Meeting times are designed to fulfill the requirements of our Cadet Programs and AE missions, not Emergency Services.

However, the schedule listed in 52-16 is a Suggestion.  As long as you meet the hours required in the required areas you are ok to juggle the amount of time each week to what fits your needs

[jimmydeanno]

You know, the great thing about a "suggested" schedule is that it isn't "mandatory."  Which means it can be modified to meet your squadron's needs.

The suggested schedule offers a good mix of activities and such and covers the required items for the cadets.  As long as you meet the requirements you can do whatever you'd like to the schedule.

Our squadron doesn't use the suggested schedule to a "T." Also, just because you have a block during the meeting doesn't mean that the lesson needs to be lecture style in a classroom. 

Our ES night during the month covers the entire meeting (two blocks of instruction).  We try to pick a skill to develop, like map reading or something.  We teach them how to use a map [mix of lecture and hands on doing stuff] and such during the meeting and then follow that up with a practical excercise the Saturday following.

Some weeks we conduct a "mini-sarex" where we'll plant the practice ELT before the meeting and off we go for the night.  We have comm set up at the squadron HQ, someone who is feeding the cadets "updated information" and such.  It works out great.

[NavLT]

I have had a lot of laughs with the "suggested 13 week schedule" and the units that implement it as gospel.

I have found that meetings need to be something steady that the members can plan and count on.  Testing is the first meeting of every month is easy.  Testing is the 5th week of the 13 week schedule makes it pretty muddy.  If you plan on a monthly schedule there are ususally 3 months per year with an extra week(or a particular day of the week) which offer a great chance to do big special event work for a whole meeting.  We reffer to it as the 5th meeting of the month (planatarium visits, Tower tours, Paper missions ETC)

Someone who lives in a I check my calandar every minute of every day probably designed the 13week plan.

V/R
LT J.

[Pylon]

I knock out all the curriculum and administrative requirements for the month on our first week's meeting: Testing, Safety Briefing, Moral Leadership.   Third week takes care of the PT requirement: Physical Fitness or CPFT.  That leaves all of week 2 and 4 (and five if the month has a 5th meeting), and part of the first week to backfill with anything else -- Leadership, AE labs, and any other training. 

So if we needed to set aside a whole meeting night for a particular project, we could schedule that on a 2nd or 4th week and just move the other variable sessions (lead, AE, etc.) around that training.

But as was mentioned above, ES training is not likely to be accomplished in meetings alone.  You really need training activities outside of the regular meetings to get into ES stuff heavily.

[jimmydeanno]

I have had a lot of laughs with the "suggested 13 week schedule" and the units that implement it as gospel.

I have found that meetings need to be something steady that the members can plan and count on.  Testing is the first meeting of every month is easy.  Testing is the 5th week of the 13 week schedule makes it pretty muddy.  If you plan on a monthly schedule there are ususally 3 months per year with an extra week(or a particular day of the week) which offer a great chance to do big special event work for a whole meeting.  We reffer to it as the 5th meeting of the month (planatarium visits, Tower tours, Paper missions ETC)

Someone who lives in a I check my calandar every minute of every day probably designed the 13week plan.

V/R
LT J.

You have to remember that not all CAP units are all that "awesome" when it comes to planning things or being organized.  Many of them are staffed with people with little to no experience running things.  The "suggested" schedule is really designed for them, because they don't know what they should be doing in a meeting.  If your squadron is super-star awesome, feel free to not use the 13 week plan with the designated blocks.  But I think my squadron is superstar awesome and we use a modified version of the plan. 

Week 1 covers testing and PT
Week 2 covers AE and Leadership
Week 3 is ES
Week 4 is ML and Leadership
Week 5 is some sort of activity.

Of course we have some wiggle room there.  If the AE guy wants to do the model rocketry program, we knock out some of the Leadership stuff or incorporate it on a fifth week, etc.  If the ES guy wants to have something that runs "both blocks" go ahead.

Also, I don't think that planning out 13 weeks is detremental and the product of someone who checks their schedule each day.  I think it is a product of someone who thinks that people knowing what is going on in advance is a positive thing.  Parents need to be coordinated just as much as our cadets do.