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Developing A Community Education Program
Community Education programs are available in most communities. Typically they are administered by a small department embedded within the local school district. Course offerings commonly include things like ethnic cooking, sailing, ballroom dancing, beginning German, and the like. Why not use such a one-night introductory course to promote soaring and the SSA?The following program developed by Bob Wander was published in SOARING several years ago. It has helped grassroots soaring activists in a number of markets across the country develop and present an introductory Community Education course about soaring. It includes everything you need to know about designing, promoting, and presenting such a course. Naturally, once you present the course, make sure you invite all participants to visit your gliding operation ... and to join the SSA. Remember to bring SSA membership applications with you to class.
COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND GROWING THE SPORT OF SOARING
Topic: "Introduction to Soaring" Community/Adult Education programs.Object: Growing the sport of soaring and growing the membership rolls of the Soaring Society of America
Method: This paper describes the steps necessary to develop, promote, and present an Introduction to Soaring course in cooperation with your local Community/Adult Education program.
INTRODUCTION
The sport of soaring has an image problem. Our image problem is that we have no virtually no image in the minds of the general public. We are nearly invisible to the population of the country at large. This impedes growth in the sport - growth which is necessary to provide the resources to assure a place in the sky for motorless flight for many years to come.
Community Education programs (also called Adult Education programs) provide an effective means of educating the public about the sport. Community Education catalogs receive wide postal circulation within each district. The catalogs attract the attention of people who are motivated to look for something new and challenging to learn. The cost of taking a course is usually less than $15 - a price low enough so that even a simple, one-night presentation on soaring is virtually guaranteed to satisfy the customer.
BACKGROUND
For a number of reasons, these community education programs offer a ready-made forum for promoting awareness of soaring. First, in order to keep their course catalog from going stale, most program directors are always on the lookout for a new and different course to offer - something a little bit out of the ordinary. A one-night Introduction to Soaring course is just what the doctor ordered. Second, the cost of promoting the soaring course is borne by the community education program which prepares, publishes, and distributes the catalog. In many markets, this means that the catalog will be distributed to many thousands of households - all at no cost to our sport. Third, the program director will see to it that you can arrange a decent, comfortable classroom equipped with a TV/VCR to enhance your presentation. Fourth, the program will take care of registering all students. Fifth, in most cases, they will actually pay you a small stipend for teaching the class.
The following impressions are worth making:
- Soaring is a sport with a distinguished history.
- Soaring is done by ordinary mortals; you don't have to be Superman or Superwoman to enjoy it.
- Soaring is a sport that youngsters can participate in. A boy or girl can solo at age fourteen and license at age sixteen.
- You do not have to be an airplane pilot to become a glider pilot.
- Standards for glider certification are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
- Standards for glider pilot certification are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
- Soaring is done locally in your area by friendly and interesting people.
- Sailplanes are not just downhill sleds. They can fly for hours on end, and fly hundreds of miles cross-country. They are marvelously efficient flying machines.
- The dollar cost of soaring is not out of line with the total cost of other sports such as boating, golfing, downhill skiing, etc.
- The Soaring Society of America is an excellent national organization with a 60 year history of advancing motorless flight.
- SSA membership and SOARING magazine are a great way to explore the sport at minimum cost.
HOW TO PROCEED
STEP 1: Preparing a syllabus.
There are as many ways to do this as there are teachers. The following syllabus is offered as a guide. It has been successful in several markets for a number of years.
INTRODUCTION TO SOARING
INSTRUCTOR: (your name and telephone number)
A. A Short History of Soaring.
[The Wrights...gliding advances in the 1920s and 1930s...military gliding in World War II...Schweizer Aircraft Company...the 1950s and 1960s: transition from wood and fabric to fiberglass...the 1970s: the quest for speed and performance...the 1980s: advances in structures (carbon fiber, Kevlar), instrumentation, and motorgliding.]
B. How Gliders Fly
[Basic aerodynamics...stability...the flight controls...the atmosphere...sources of lift: ridge, wave, thermal...signposts of lift in the atmosphere...launch methods...landing methods.]
C. The Gliding Organizations and Activities in your Local Area.
[Local soaring sites...local gliding clubs, the name of an officer in the club, and a phone number and address...local commercial operators, with name, address, phone numbers...local flight training opportunities...information on the frequency and location of local soaring activities...local soaring events of note (regattas, Regionals, Annual Banquet, etc.)...flight accomplishments of local pilots.]
D. The Soaring Society of America.
[Member services including: SOARING magazine...publication and merchandising of materials such as Joy of Soaring and Soaring Flight Manual...government representation on a national level...the ABC Badge program...Bronze, Silver, Gold badges...sanctioned competitions...how to become an SSA member including distribution of SSA membership application...Affiliated organizations and interests: homebuilding, women's pilot association, the 1-26 association, collegiate soaring, self-launching, antique sailplanes... Annual National SSA Convention.]
E. How To Become A Glider Pilot.
[Ground instruction...flight instruction in two seat gliders...FAA standards for pilot certification and flight instructor certification...the cost of flight training...the first solo...the Private Pilot License...the fun and excitement of cross-country and badge flying.]
F. What Your First Glider Flight Will Be Like.
[How to drive to the gliderport...cameras...comfortable, suitable clothing for flying...what to expect...the sensations of flight...bumps...pattern and landing.]
This syllabus will suffice for a presentation of anywhere from one and a half to three hours' duration, depending on the detail with which each topic is developed. I recommend that you make copies of the syllabus and give one to each member of your class. This allows them to follow along and take notes, and also allows them to take it home with them so they can keep the names and addresses of local soaring contacts and soaring sites. Include your name and phone number on the syllabus. Your students will know that you are interested in helping them connect with the local soaring scene. In addition, distribute an application for SSA membership with each syllabus, and take a few minutes to point out that SOARING magazine will make an excellent and cost-effective vehicle for them to learn more about the sport in the coming months.
STEP 2: Preparing a Course Description for inclusion in the Community Education catalog.
The course description will be edited as necessary and approved by your local program coordinator, but something like the following sample will probably be pretty close to the mark.
INTRODUCTION TO SOARING
Flying in a sailplane has a magical appeal. This course is about soaring flight, from its beginnings to the present day. Learn how sailplanes fly for hours on end without an engine, what weather soaring pilots like best, how to arrange for a glider flight, how to become a glider pilot, the identity and location of local soaring organizations, the services of the Soaring Society of America, and more.
The effectiveness of the course description will be enhanced tenfold if you can arrange for a picture or photograph of a glider to be included with your course description in the course catalog. It adds a nice cachet to the catalog and catches the eye of the reader. Nothing sells soaring like the sight of a long-winged sailplane. In addition, a picture or drawing of a sailplane helps the catalog reader know that you will be talking about sailplanes, not about ultra-lights or hang gliders.
STEP 3: Procuring audiovisual support for your presentation.
Soaring is essentially an action sport, not a passive sport. It is about the beauty of silent flight and the excitement of constant decision-making. Communicating this excitement in the classroom will be much easier if you include in your presentation an exciting video of soaring. There are a number of video cassettes available from SSA merchandise (Running On Empty, The Quiet Challenge, etc.). Perhaps you have one of your own or can borrow one from a friend. If you have a video camera you can even make one of your own at the local gliderport. But, however you do it, show a video - it does a great job of getting people excited about the sport. The SSA also provides a complete set of color slides mounted in a carrousel slide tray for ease of use. Included with the slide set is a description of what the slides show, which makes your presentation pretty easy to prepare.
STEP 4: Identifying and persuading your local Community Education Coordinator to include your course in the catalog.
Identification is easy - just call your local school district and ask for the name and phone number of the coordinator. If you have lots of local school districts, call them all. Then call the coordinator(s) and make an appointment for a personal visit. During your visit with the coordinator, emphasize that you have a syllabus, that you have a course description, that you have audiovisual materials (the videocassette you intend to show). If you have prior public speaking experience on any level, emphasize that too. This is evidence of the thoroughness of your preparation, and will assure the coordinator that you can be counted on to present a well-organized and exciting program which will satisfy the customers. Satisfied customers make coordinators happy.
What if the program coordinator offers objections to including your course in the catalog? The objections below are followed by solutions.
- Objection: What about liability?
- Answer: You are offering a classroom course only, not demo rides or flight instruction. And besides, soaring is a pretty safe sport.
- Objection: This course is for men only.
- Answer: No way! many women soar - they even have their own national organization. Many juveniles soar also - in fact the minimum age for solo is fourteen years, two years younger than the minimum age to operate a car safely!
- Objection: recreational flying is only for the economic elite.
- Answer: Not true. Grassroots soaring pilots (80% of the sport) come from all age groups and walks of life. Recreational flying is in fact a great social equalizer.
- Objection: The course will be expensive to offer.
- Answer: On the contrary, it is inexpensive to offer. All it requires is a classroom, a TV, and a VCR. You will take care of preparing and distributing the one or two page handout.
- Objection: Only a few people will register for the course, and it will have to be canceled as a result. Cancellations are costly and irritate customers.
- Answer: If the registration is small, offer to teach the course for free. If that is unacceptable, offer to mail information about the sport to those people who did register, so that they will feel well treated by the program personnel.
People who take your soaring course will be eager for further information about soaring. These people are excellent candidates for membership in the Soaring Society of America. PLEASE DISTRIBUTE SSA MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS TO EACH ATTENDEE! Emphasize the beauty of SOARING magazine (bring samples with you) and the many articles it contains. SSA Membership guarantees them twelve issues of SOARING magazine, and that means they will be thinking about soaring all during the coming year. Ask for their permission to include their names on your local mailing list of people who have taken your course. Send them an occasional announcement of local soaring events such as club meetings, regattas, annual soaring banquets, and the like. Invite them to attend. It makes a difference!
CONCLUSION
I have followed these methods for a number of years in my region and have had excellent results. It is fun, you will be proud of helping newcomers find out about the sport and get involved, and you may even be paid a small stipend by the Community Education organization. I hope you will give it a try in your community and stick with it for a while - it really is satisfying and a lot of fun...and it certainly is good for the sport.
Safe soaring,
Bob Wander
