Really need a sympathy or acknowledgment flag rather than ‘like’.
3 Likes
Ditto, we are a little bit worried - it’s looking very much like we won’t be returning until well into the year - potentially seeing us go an entire year with no cadet activities if not back before March, which I doubt.
2 Likes
Upon return to F2F, we plan to keep our VPN’s going as a classifications night. We only parade once a week usually and you find that there’s not enough time in one day to cover a lot of the activities you want to do so hopefully this way it’ll free us up a little bit
Could some of the teachers we have on here show how we could use Teams as a virtual lesson and just go through a power point with notes and then questions. From my mates in school they have some teachers who do a recorded lesson, running through a powerpoint and using a variety of online tools and platforms for lessons, tests etc. One of them who is in a large trust said they have had some teachers “teaching” live simultaneously in several schools. How effective it really is, no one really knows…
1 Like
I’m not sure how well pre-recorded type stuff would work with our age range. I think this would work okay for university style lectures, but not secondary school level. I feel there needs to be a decent amount of ‘student feedback’ in the sort of lessons we deliver.
Although with that said, there is ample opportunity for the cadets to log into Ultilearn and look through the powerpoints them selves in their own time. We’ve had a couple of keen beans (not a bad thing!) who have done exactly this and I’ve happily added the exams for them.
An acknowledgment flag is a brilliant idea.
2 Likes
@Paracetamol & @AlexCorbin While I don’t disagree that we will see some rationalisation over the next year, as I’ve said before cut too much and does the AIr Cadets need such a large management structure. At work we lost regional offices from the mid 90s and consolidated their functions to a couple of offices at Head Office, which itself was ‘replaced’ with a much smaller building in the early 00s. All of these changes resulted in job losses in middle and just above management (equating in our case to Regions) and a lot of clerical workers. So would there be a need for so many Gp Capts as a start?
What we really need though is the “something special” about being in the Air Cadets, which we sadly no longer have. If numbers are cut in terms of sqns, what do those remaining, have to sell the idea of being a cadet in the Air Cadets. Historically we did well from kids who’d done the junior side of Scouting and wanted something different. We’ve had a number come to intakes over the last 3-4 years and seen what we have on offer, doesn’t really look any different to what they’ve been doing and they are expected to do more. When it comes to flying, experience flights seem so much more accessible now, we’ve had cadets come to intakes who have had them as their birthday or Christmas present. Which when you consider what you can pay for a ‘gadget’, the £90+ for an experience flight is nothing really.
Also cutting sqns, ergo staff, will mean holes in the activities available, where we have to piggy-back or collaborate.
Oh you mean that age group currently doing this sort of thing for GCSEs and A Levels. I doubt the materials and resources used in schools are as poor as what’s on ultilearn.
I don’t know of any schools using pre-recorded lessons for online work. All of my 4 friends who teach secondary were just doing normal live lessons, trying to keep it as similar to the classroom as possible.
Also to add, new year 2021, looking forward to a new learning platform!
As an OC my 2021 Resolutions are;
- Attend more parade nights at my sqn than I managed in 2020 (1.5 as took over the week preceding lockdown)
- Support the application and development of my 2 Commissioning Candidates (1 CWO + CivCom Member)
- Support development of AT Qualifications of at least 1 member of Sqn Team
- Deliver L144 IWT & LFMT to Trained Shot Standard for 18 Cadets from the Sqn/Sector
4 Likes
I’m.not sure if you’re setting the bar high or low…
1 Like
It’s slightly tongue-in-cheek
What an absolute rant for the sake of it.
Combining the Cadet Forces would be an absolute travesty, that would be like combining all our Forces.
As long as there is a Royal Air Force, there should be an Air Cadet organisation continuing traditions and learning of all things Air Force.
There are other youth organisations if you want ‘be prepared for life’!
Per Ardua
Would that really be a bad thing? Trim the upper echelons and cut down on the duplication and associated bureaucracy? The Navy already have a military arm (RM) and a flying arm. Other than tradition I seriously don’t see why we shouldn’t combine
4 Likes
Are you an ex-Rock by any chance?
1 Like
To be fair, he’s got a valid point. It’s not as if the CCF doesn’t already exist, and that seems to do OK.
Realistically, both the ACF and ATC (and presumably the SCC) will be suffering from staff shortages, low cadet numbers, and a restriction on what activities we can offer. Amalgamation is one way we could combat those issues.
2 Likes
I’m not particularly fussed about whether the orgs are formally combined - although I can certainly see a prima face argument that pretty much everything that happens above Sqn/detachment level is duplication and wasted resource - but I’d very much like to see some mechanism whereby county/wing structures could support mixed units in locations (overwhelmingly rural locations with no public transport and little else for kids to do) whose pool of potential CFAV couldn’t support single service units.
In short… yes.
All the issues you mention are challenges to say the least but should be addressed in an appropriate and clearly protracted manner, by definition bureaucracy!!
But, and it is only my humble opinion we should never dilute or worse remove who we are and where we have come from.
A cadet in the early 80s, on a squadron that still paraded in a hut used by BoB pilots, a career in the RAF and then the Police Service which I am immensely proud of I still remember my ATC days and how I was forged. Learning radio skills on a Lancaster bomber radio, flying open cockpit gliders and drill and associated activities such as being inspected were all great days.
And know I didnt become a pilot but following my parents and grandparents meant a huge amount.
If you are not interested in the RAF or flying arms of other military arms then areas such as the scouts et al may be more appropriate.
Lord Trenchard would be turning in his bed
I’m a historian and love tradition. I have a strong interest in the RAF and aviation. But I’m also a pragmatist and wouldn’t object at all to a single service, provided tradition is accommodated somewhere to remember where we came from.
1 Like