mtv wrote:Sorry, but you simply can't generalize on this stuff. We are all individuals, with very individual skills and learning styles. And passions.....a huge factor in how we function as well.

I've had students who were extremely smart in school with straight A work in tough majors, and we're also very gifted and fast learners in flying. I've also had students who were very smart but really struggled to fly well. And, yes, a few not straight A students who picked up flying fast.

But again, a lot has to do with the individual's passion and desire to do something. A lazy individual may cruise through flight training, but still wind up a lousy pilot if they don't have the passion to really learn everything they can about flying.

MTV

+1
I was a C- student in English, writing, math, science. Straight A in shop. I have found I can learn good if it is something I want to learn.

An interesting read that speaks to some of the reasons certain people do well who we wouldn't expect to and vise versa is "David and Goliath" by Gadwell. Adversity can be our best friend. An easy road may not be.

I think that they should maybe come up with some kind of test... tell a kid that ok here is how you have to get your PPL, show up to the airport sweep out all the hangers wash these planes cut the grass weedeat then come in and go through ground training for a hour. By the end of the day you should be able to clearly tell who really wants to fly. I can tell you that when I was starting my training I would have done anything to fly more.

cstolaircraft wrote:I think that they should maybe come up with some kind of test... tell a kid that ok here is how you have to get your PPL, show up to the airport sweep out all the hangers wash these planes cut the grass weedeat then come in and go through ground training for a hour. By the end of the day you should be able to clearly tell who really wants to fly. I can tell you that when I was starting my training I would have done anything to fly more.

I agree. My son had a mountain bike race 60 miles away yesterday so after I dropped him off I went out to the airport to check it out. I had a nice long chat with an 87 year old aviation nut who was there working on his glider. He had an appointment later to show some 15 year old kid from my town the homebuilt airplane he built years ago. That kid convinced his dad to drive 60 miles to look at an airplane. Not sure what his grades are, but he is definitely keen to be an aviator.

As an aside, I can't say for sure whether or not pilots are good students but I am surprised at how well forum members here write. For people, some of whom didn't do well in english, there is generally a very high standard of written communication. That says something.

albravo wrote:

cstolaircraft wrote:I think that they should maybe come up with some kind of test... tell a kid that ok here is how you have to get your PPL, show up to the airport sweep out all the hangers wash these planes cut the grass weedeat then come in and go through ground training for a hour. By the end of the day you should be able to clearly tell who really wants to fly. I can tell you that when I was starting my training I would have done anything to fly more.

I agree. My son had a mountain bike race 60 miles away yesterday so after I dropped him off I went out to the airport to check it out. I had a nice long chat with an 87 year old aviation nut who was there working on his glider. He had an appointment later to show some 15 year old kid from my town the homebuilt airplane he built years ago. That kid convinced his dad to drive 60 miles to look at an airplane. Not sure what his grades are, but he is definitely keen to be an aviator.

As an aside, I can't say for sure whether or not pilots are good students but I am surprised at how well forum members here write. For people, some of whom didn't do well in english, there is generally a very high standard of written communication. That says something.

That's because on here we aren't graded for the length of a paper. We just say what we need to say and put it how it is. That was my biggest problem in English. I'd write a paper but it would be half the length it needed to he because I was no good at filling in half the length with nothing...

A1 Skinner,

You should have had me for English. I had to take "Dummy English," my freshman year of college, because I couldn't spell good enough for the Minimum Essentials Test. Later I was teaching traditional Navajos, who had not been taught their native language because their parents listened to the government that said learning Navajo would make it harder to learn English. I had to use the principal of war KISS with non-lingual students who had to pass the New Mexico State High School Competency Exam.

I used a word skeleton to sentence skeleton to five paragraph paper that told the reader what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them. Oh! I learned to teach in the Army, not in education classes.

Contact

contactflying wrote:I used a word skeleton to sentence skeleton to five paragraph paper that told the reader what you are going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them. Oh! I learned to teach in the Army, not in education classes.

Contact

That is VERY Army! We still use this method for briefings.

I was never able to convince my peers and administrators that a unit, or class, or basketball team, was as good as the weakest man. In the Army we knew if "Delbert" got it we were good to go. And "Delbert" was often the guy who earned the Medal of Honor.

I've tested bright, won a scholarship to private school, and was blessed with parents who taught at Bryn Mawr and Penn State which enabled me to go to the very pricey Stanford University (reciprocal tuition and, with two, that will cover room and board, sort of).

In college, I was a very poor student only interested in girls, volleyball (where girls played), and soccer: that private school was male only while I was there. In college, I did not take advantage of an abundance of opportunities but I did meet my wife and I am very happy with my life. Because of her I did wind up finding my niche of software at Stanford Linear Accelerator and I was a fish introduced to water and was an exceptional student there working side by side with professors that taught at Stanford.

34 years later when I am going for my PPL, I leave no stone un-turned: King's course, Sporty's course, anything and everything I will do to get my PPL. I have no thoughts that I am a great pilot (insurance claims would certainly prove otherwise over the last 10 years) but I am definitely motivated to be the best that I can be.

In summary, the appeal of the subject drives me; I know others that innately enjoying learning; I realize I am not one of that elite crowd.