The Eagle's Nest

"Where We Teach Our Young To Fly!"

After Action Report (continued)

Relevance

The course gained relevance for the students when they connected relevance to national news. They were very familiar with the Enron debacle and what brought it about. Some had seen reports about the Chicago surgeon who was terminated when he exposed the practice by associates of taking money to move candidates for liver transplants higher on the waiting list, thus causing others to die needlessly. They reacted with disbelief at the idea of Texas A & M having to buy expensive anti-plagiarism software to thwart cheating there. As part of the course, they regularly brought newspaper articles to class dealing with such ethical issues.

Materials

The beauty of the course is that it does not require many materials. The speakers themselves are the main materials, and they typically bring with them paraphernalia from their cadet and professional careers. However, each academy provided materials to one or more speakers that they then brought and distributed to the students. West Point sent a Bicentennial Booklet prepared by the history department on the history of West Point. The Naval Academy sent beautifully prepared profiles of famous graduates. The Air Force and Coast Guard Academies sent similar materials.

In addition, the public domain is full of relevant materials. Libraries stock movies such as "Patton," "McArthur," and "Twelve O'Clock High." There is probably a graduate close to almost any locale with a copy of "The Long Gray Line" that he/she would be happy to lend. PBS and National Geographic also produced specials on the academies that are available.

Finance

There was little to no requirement for added budget for the course. The teacher (Barbara) is an employee of the district, and once approval for the course was secured, was assigned to teach it. I volunteered my time, as did all of the guest speakers. The materials were supplied by the speakers.

One area of note: We were able to schedule and conduct a videoconference with West Point. Obviously, facilities for conducting the conference had to be available on both ends. In addition, there was a cost for the long-distance lines for the duration of the videoconference. I have no idea of that cost. It was paid by the school district. (Continued on next page.)