So what you’re saying is never tell anyone what they could do on the basis that for the minority it might not fit their life exactly?
As adults you accept the fact you won’t get to do half or less of the things the glossies say, yet when it comes to youngsters it’s better not to promise in case you can’t manage it. There will be people who say it’s all about aspiration, which can soon turn into exasperation.
It’s a lesson you soon learn when your children are growing up and they have mates whose parents are able to afford things that you cannot. Our son’s class had three children whose parents were a lot better off than the rest of us and the birthday treats became a urinating up the wall exercise for them and for some to almost hock their children to pay for. It was a game we weren’t prepared to play and did things our way. The kids still had fun, went home happy and our bank balance wasn’t decimated to pay for a couple of hours.
So using that as the basis putting up posters etc promising things that might never happen is wrong. Anything to do with flying in the Corps should not be displayed. I don’t talk about flying or gliding when I speak about the Corps anymore, which strikes some as odd and some of the other stuff is so uninspiring, you are better off ensuring your cadets have a good experience.
I imagine that HQAC look at the holiday ads showing holidays in the US or Australia or Canada and showing pictures of things that are thousands of miles apart and unless you will be there for several months you would need to spend most of your 2-3 weeks travelling, aside from getting there and back initially.
I officially only get 5 flying slots every three months and I understand flying is still a problem for some, but I have managed to get 28 flying slots so far this year, with 24 of them actually resulting in a flight. This has meant accepting some weekday slots at my local AEF (Cosford) and I am lucky to have staff (and 18+ cadets) that are available to supervise and take cadets, as well as supportive schools who value the work we do. I have also had cadets on standby to fill in last minute dropouts from other units as needed. That’s the most that I’ve had for a number of years, especially from a flying unit that has traditionally been unable to provide many flights because of a range of issues over the years.
I get your point about the ages and advertising certain activities, but if they were just grouped into one list then I feel I’d have even more disappointed cadets who would find out they couldn’t complete an activity because they weren’t the right age. I like to offer everything but explain that some activities have limited places from the outset.
We’ve always had age and in my day classification and rank limited activities, they were known about and always flagged when they came up, there weren’t posters and if there were I don’t remember them or even looking at them.
I tend to find that if cadets want to know something they ask. We have posters for a number of things and the cadets never look at them, judging by the questions.
I drive past advertising hordings every day and someone asked me if I’d seen one that had been up for a few days and I hadn’t, even noticed it had changed as it is just part of the everyday background. Which is the problem with posters, they are ultimately just wallpaper and to that end ignored. Someone may look at them once of twice and after that you could take them down and no one would notice.
I’d suggest putting one of these up and one about something like Star Wars, Marvel or DC etc, leaving them there for a couple of weeks, take the cadets into another room and ask them via a questionnaire about the information on the posters. Do not bring it to their attention at any point before this. If more than one or two can accurately recount the ATC information I would be surprised but the others more so.
Does the pre-DofE badge have any relevance now that the DofE has reduced the starting age to anyone as long as they are in school Year 9?
Which seems to have come about pretty much in the same way that we went to a school year, so that friends could start at the same time and I imagine that in schools where they run DofE, makes it much easier.
Depends on how and where you recruit, we have plenty of Year 8 Cadets so it still makes sense for them.
Personally I always felt the pre-DofE was a bit forced so as to put 4 levels in everything. But since you barely have to do anything to get it bar running a few Sports sessions with your new recruits it makes sense to do it,
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Some schools dont start DofE until year 10. Our squadron has decided to stick with the original ages, just because we seemed to have a couple of intakes who were shorter than the average and ditzier than usual!
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What has that got to do with anything?
Does being short preclude you from DofE?
Does being “ditzier than normal” preclude you from DofE?
We have had a number of kids join who have started DofE with school and some of those use the ATC as their volunteering to complete Bronze then transfer to us for Silver. The schools in our area seem good at expeds as they just send the kids to one of the local outdoor centres.
Just making a point that’s all. Didnt say that being short or ditzier precludes at all, just that for those particular intakes, bearing in mind cadet welfare, that’s the decision taken. That and the fact that the pre DofE gives the opportunity to prepare them for Bronze. Unfortunately, these days, there can be a whole world of difference between a 12-13 year old and a 13-14 year old. Some are more mature than others, granted, but it’s still something to consider.
We’ve not seen any problems at all, other than the usual goldfish concentration levels. But then that includes everyone.
I’ve got one cadet who is less than 5 foot and prepping for a Bronze actual at the end of April. Admittedly they could almost live in their rucksack, they did their practice and did really well.
I would say yes.
A lot of my recruits are in year 8, and will achieve the badge before next September. I also think that’s it’s a good motivator to get the youngsters to commit to bag packing!
I was a bit sceptical about it at first, but my cadets seem happy enough to get the badge.
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I wouldn’t worry, Teflon seems to revel in belittling any idea that is new or isn’t his.
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Not really. The new DofE badge was introduced as the cadets starting in Yr8 couldn’t probably start DofE for say 18 months. But now the age has been reduced by DofE to Yr 9 it seems to have lost its relevance. We can start cadets on the DofE proper, at around the time they’d start looking at doing the badge. The cadets we had start 2 weeks ago will all be of age in September and just finished their Basic cadet training.
If people still want to do the badge, that’s up to them.
The badge could be done and dusted in the first 6 months of their training - before they even finish first class. I get that some cadets will start a little older, but it will still take them at least 6 months to complete the Bronze award.
Just because they are enrolled in the D of E, doesn’t meant they’re not eligible for the Blue Badge. Realistically, unless they are enrolled through school, it it is unlikely that new recruits will finish their bronze award before their first class anyway.
DofE is open to all and it’s not for the Squadron to decide who they will and won’t offer it to. If the cadets are in year 9 they should be offered the opportunity to take part.
We have a cadet who has physical special needs, due to complex needs he is unable to walk and find other people to walk the length of time on a Bronze D of E. He is very grateful for getting his blue badge.
Calypso,
would strongly discuss this with your wing DofE officer.
there is allowances for people with special requirements you listed and they then
may find an alternative way to complete their DofE.
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You might find this link useful:
Speak to your Wing DofE Officer, disability is no reason to write someone off for DofE. I k ow of a group where 6 out of 7 were able-bodied who all did their walking Expedition in wheel chairs.
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there are other options to walking - DofE can be done on bikes or water (canoe)
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