Teachers Connecting The Dots With Aviation

By Dan Billingsley

The room was alive with the sound of teachers meeting others who hold similar visions… bringing aviation into the classroom to spark interests in the hearts and minds of our kids. Held at the AirVenture Museum, Teacher's Day 2010 was hosted by Build-A-Plane, who has placed over 150 planes into schools to date. The entire morning of Monday the 26th was packed full with special guest speakers who brought messages of inspiration and purpose.

As a high school teacher of 18 years, I know only too well of events that seem to "spin the proverbial wheels" ... but this gathering wasn't one of those. First up to the plate was Congressman Sam Graves who got started in aviation as a kid and was "fortunate to have the airport across the street from where he grew up". "I use to collect aluminum cans as a kid to make money towards getting my pilots license." Graves strongly supports aviation education and only wishes one of his teachers would have used aviation to teach him with. He encourages all teachers to use airplanes in the classroom and actually made himself available to call for guest speaking engagements.

Rep Sam Graves

If someone told you they would be willing to give your school a million dollars "with no strings attached" would you be interested? The Real World Design Challenge is an annual high school competition that is funded by private and public organizations. The program provides software, teacher training and technical support and it is directly tied into the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) coalition. "The teacher training and the software are completely free" said Dr. Ralph Coppola, Director of PTC who is the key player in getting this program started. James Brough with the FAA Aviation and Space program was also there directly supporting and involved in this excellent program.

(L-R) James Brough, Dr, Ralph Coppola

This teacher gathering lasted the better part of the day with many breakout sessions for everyone to get involved. Many things are now out there for a teacher to plug into whether you are in elementary or secondary. The dots seem to be coming together but there is much more that needs to be accomplished and meetings like this are just what the doctor ordered.

FMI: www.buildaplane.com , www.aeroscholars.org , www.ptc.com