The frontiersman., 1958-03-20
URGES AVIATION
EDUCATION IN
SCH00L. SYSTEMS

HOW art we SO11S w hSSP w
with our youngsters when we
putter around in aviation educa-
ton as we are and they are
thinking in terms Of jets and
rockets?" asked Ray 0. Mertes,
director of school and college
service, United Air Lines, who
was a member of panel which
spoke in Palmer at meeting
held last night,
Merdes pointed out that the
adult trend of thought regarding
aviation is considered "old fash
ioned' by the youngsters. They
are way ahead of US in their
thinking and are not interested
in the past Fl. ;. they are living
for today and tomorrow, he adj
ded.
Today, we have an opportunity
to do. something for the first
thine. Aviation education is be-
coming part of living, the speak
err stated. He reported that one
out of Is airline passengers are
children and that one out Of 20
Eare infants their sphere is
| the world.
Robert Hall, assistant superin-
tendant Of on-base schools, Ell
mendorf ALB, stated that people
in general are still afraid of air
planes more so in the states
than in Alaska. Twenty years
ago a man was distinguished if
he learned to fly now there
is .. sort Of apathy toward flying.
Hall pointed out that the Civil
Air Patrol cadet program offers
the finest aviation education pro-
gram now availble. "The time is
right for all schools to at least
make such material available for
the youngsters.
Chester A. Allen aeronautics
and preflight instructor at the An
chorage high school outlined the
| programs conducted in the school
which offers two year program
teacher education is needed,
Allen said. THE kids are starry
ing for information" he added
G. E. PIanck, office Of infor-
nation and aviation education,
CAA, Anchorage told the audi
ence that he felt that the aviation
field offered a rare opportunity
! for the youngster who for one
treason or another would not be
! going on to college "techni-
cally trained mechanics are need
ed this vocational field is
vide open" he added.
Other comments made by the
! speakers and Ralph Farnsworth,
| president. of the local Airmens
| Association, who served as mod
orator, included the thought that
aviation education could be
worked into the school curricula1
as part of the science course
that a workshop for teachers
! should be started in Alaska thr-
ough which materials would be
made available. 1t was pointed
out that the purpose of the meet
ing was not to promote an avia-
ton course in school but to pro.
mote aviation education through
courses now being taught. AS ar
example Merdes picked an arith-
metic problem in which a boat
going up stream was used. "Why
not use an a:rplane, instead, anc
keep UP with the youngsters who
| are thinking in terms of airplanes
and not boats" he suggested
Planck told the story of two sec
I ond graders who were standing
outside their school when a jet
plane roared by IF he'd turn
on his other afterburner bet
he'd hit a mach two" said one
youngster Yeah" answered the
other little boy, and then added,
well guess we got to 60 in now
and count our beans again. This
isn't as funny as it sounds, the
CAA official pointed out. THE
kids today know more about
planes than their parents, and
| we've got to catch up with them"
Farnsworth pointed out that in
Alaska, where the entire econ
omy is dependent upon the air
plane, that it is very important
that aviation education begin to
take a prominent place in the
field Of education.
Merdes will be the keynote