AFA, local teachers come together at Hurlburt

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Kelly Ogden
  • 1st SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  Freezing cold rain and cloudy skies didn't discourage 32 local educators from embarking on an Air Force Association sponsored journey to learn about aircraft and aerospace technology Jan. 26.

The 6th Annual AFA Teachers Workshop was held to inspire teachers focusing on aerospace education in their classrooms.

"This tour gave area educators an appreciation of what the Air Force is about, an opportunity to visit a military base, meet some of the active duty Air Force members and view some of the military equipment," said Dann Mattiza, AFA Hurlburt Chapter president. 

Each year the chapter sponsors at least one teacher workshop for teachers from Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties. These workshops help teachers learn about the Air Force, Hurlburt Field, and ways of introducing Aerospace Education into the classroom.

"While many of our local teachers have been around the military for much of their lives, served in the military themselves or are married to military personnel, others don't have any familiarization," Mr. Mattiza said. "The only thing they might know about the military is that we make a lot of noise shooting guns or flying airplanes while they are trying to watch television. Hopefully our tours help change that attitude."

The first half of the visit included a tour of the flight line static display aircraft to include the CV-22 Osprey, MH-53 PAVELOW, AC-130U Gunship and a WC-130J Hurricane Hunter specifically flown in for the group from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., followed up by a visit to the 19th Special Operation Squadron simulators.

"Getting into the inside sections of Hurlburt and seeing how things are really run was great," said Glenn Rutland, tour participant. "To see the planes, especially the weather plane, was incredible."

Following a working lunch, the teachers broke up into groups and were taught how to integrate aviation related items into the classroom. The teachers made model airplanes, launched rockets, discussed curriculum and received useful classroom materials to take with them.

"Getting new information and activities from the presenters will be helpful in my classroom," Mr. Rutland said. "Not only will I be working with my students on these new activities, I will be sharing them with other teachers as well."

One of the missions of the AFA is to educate the public about the role of aerospace power in the defense of the nation. One of the ways that they accomplish this on a local level is to sponsor these annual visits by educators.

"In the final analysis, students adapt the beliefs and attitudes reflected by the adults with whom they come into contact," Mr. Mattiza said. "The teacher is a major role model in the classroom, and if the teacher projects an appreciation of the military and an understanding of the role of the military, that will be passed along to the students."

The United States used to be a major leader in the development of scientists, engineers and mathematicians. However, over the past couple of decades, there has been a steady decline in the number of students interested in these classes. There has been a significant drop off of college aptitude scores, and more and more colleges are graduating people with non-technical degrees.

"By introducing science, math and other teachers to the Air Force, we demonstrate the use of science, technology, engineering and math in the workplace and show that learning math and science can be fun, as well as useful," Mr. Mattiza said. "By conducting workshops that push aerospace education, we hope to provide motivation for teachers and students to increase and expand their knowledge of those areas. Hopefully that will translate to more college degrees and careers in these areas."

(Editor's note: Dann Mattiza contributed to this article)