Educational opportunity for students at EAA Aviation Center
A free motivational and guidance course is being co-sponsored by EAA Chapter 1077, the Timken Foundation and Jack Timken. It was designed by Robin Stoddard, of Tucson, Ariz., a retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, and is aptly named Wright Flight (after the Wright brothers). Wright Flight is a nonprofit organization, working with schools that use the motivational power of aviation to help kids improve academically in school. The program consists of nine two-hour lessons (once a week from 5-7 p.m.) on the history of aviation. In each lesson, the students learn how the pioneers of aviation set goals and then had to overcome obstacles to reach those goals. Then it teaches the students to set goals on their own.
The heart of the Wright Flight program is the contract the students bring home. On this contract, the students set goals and list the steps needed to reach those goals. The goals must be challenging, yet realistic. A preferred goal is to raise a grade in school. For example, “Raise my grade from a D to a B in math,” which is often a chosen goal. Other academic or behavioral goals are acceptable if appropriate. An important part of the goal setting is for the students to discuss and set the goals with the help and advice of their teachers and parents. After the goals are agreed on, the contract is signed by all concerned.
If the student meets the goals, passes a test on the lesson material with an 85 percent grade, and honors a pledge to remain drug, alcohol and tobacco free, they earn the Wright Flight aviation reward.
The Wright Flight aviation reward, called Graduation &/or Fly Day, gives the student an amazing opportunity... the chance to fly an airplane. The student will fly in a light aircraft with an FAA licensed and qualified pilot. The student will have the opportunity to handle the controls, under this pilot’s supervision, and fly the airplane for about a half hour.
Wright Flight works because it is an earned reward. The mind-blowing concept that a student as young as 12 or 13 years old can fly an airplane is a powerful motivator to the participating student. But, Wright Flight is not about kids flying airplanes ... it is about motivating kids to do better in school. In a recent survey, 96 percent of students who participated responded that they learned how to study better, learned how to set goals and achieve them and learned that if you want something, you can work hard and make it happen.
The next class is scheduled to begin Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. To learn more about the program, parents and students may stop by EAA Chapter 1077’s Educational Aviation Center, 1802 E. High Ave., (Harry Clever Airport), New Philadelphia, on Saturday, Jan. 14, from 10 a.m. to noon. Or call Glenn Davis at 330-934-0249 or Terry Henry at 330-340-2999. Email applications can be requested at: truckworldins@sbcglobal.net.
The heart of the Wright Flight program is the contract the students bring home. On this contract, the students set goals and list the steps needed to reach those goals. The goals must be challenging, yet realistic. A preferred goal is to raise a grade in school. For example, “Raise my grade from a D to a B in math,” which is often a chosen goal. Other academic or behavioral goals are acceptable if appropriate. An important part of the goal setting is for the students to discuss and set the goals with the help and advice of their teachers and parents. After the goals are agreed on, the contract is signed by all concerned.
If the student meets the goals, passes a test on the lesson material with an 85 percent grade, and honors a pledge to remain drug, alcohol and tobacco free, they earn the Wright Flight aviation reward.
The Wright Flight aviation reward, called Graduation &/or Fly Day, gives the student an amazing opportunity... the chance to fly an airplane. The student will fly in a light aircraft with an FAA licensed and qualified pilot. The student will have the opportunity to handle the controls, under this pilot’s supervision, and fly the airplane for about a half hour.
Wright Flight works because it is an earned reward. The mind-blowing concept that a student as young as 12 or 13 years old can fly an airplane is a powerful motivator to the participating student. But, Wright Flight is not about kids flying airplanes ... it is about motivating kids to do better in school. In a recent survey, 96 percent of students who participated responded that they learned how to study better, learned how to set goals and achieve them and learned that if you want something, you can work hard and make it happen.
The next class is scheduled to begin Jan. 16, at 5 p.m. To learn more about the program, parents and students may stop by EAA Chapter 1077’s Educational Aviation Center, 1802 E. High Ave., (Harry Clever Airport), New Philadelphia, on Saturday, Jan. 14, from 10 a.m. to noon. Or call Glenn Davis at 330-934-0249 or Terry Henry at 330-340-2999. Email applications can be requested at: truckworldins@sbcglobal.net.
Published: January 8, 2012
