I wrote an essay about the correlation between aviation and education. What do you think?
Do you remember the little first grade boy at the supermarket running around shouting, “I’m an airplane”? More than likely, you have. As he was drawing much attention to himself, the immaturity of the boy’s statement probably crossed your mind. Surprisingly, the little first grade student wasn’t all that wrong. The little boy was partially correct without realizing it. The fact that his role as a student is similar to the systems of an aircraft never crossed his mind. While education and airplanes may seem worlds apart, many components and systems of an airplane are parallel to those of the education system.
To begin with, the teacher’s role in the classroom is equivalent to the role of fuel in an airplane because of their importance. Both teachers and fuel are responsible to keep their party functioning. Without fuel, aircraft engines are unable to function. Numerous pilots, who have had fuel starvation incidents, can account for this. The same idea can be applied to the education system. What would happen if you were to take teachers out of the classroom? There would be nobody to educate the students. The component, the main component, to “fuel” their knowledge would be absent from the education system. Also consider the importance of the fuel in an airplane. Without it, the main purpose of the aircraft is not achievable. Sure, other components like the flaps or the brakes will still be useful, but the main purpose of the machine (flight) will not be achievable. Teachers are nothing if they do not have students to educate. Additionally, students are nothing if they do not have teachers to educate them. If you were to remove the teachers from the education system, its main purpose (to educate) will not be able to be executed and the system would collapse.
In addition, the purpose of the throttle is similar to the expectations of students. On an aircraft, the throttle controls the efficiency of the engine. The more power you put in the farther you will go in a short amount of time. If you only put in 50% throttle, you’ll get to the same destination but in a much longer time. If students put in a lot of effort they’ll get there and result in a short amount of time. But if they only put in 50% effort, it will take them a much longer time to get to the same destination as the 100% student got to. The first student is the efficient one, getting the most knowledge for the opportunity. All students have the option of putting 100 percent. It is the student that takes advantage of that opportunity that will go farther in a shorter amount of time. In an aircraft, the throttle will also determine how far the airplane goes. Similarly, the end result depends on the effort put forth. If more work is put on an aircraft engine, meaning a runner at high horsepower, the farther it will go. Even though there is added stress on the engine, the result is well worth it. Back to the education system, if a student applies him or herself more, they will have a better chance at achieving their end result. In order to get this end result, they will have to work extra hard. The extra work the student put in will go a long way. To illustrate this point, there are two students competing to get into a school. They have congruent resumes and come from the same background. The first student work extra hard for four years of high school while the second student only worked hard for three years of high school. As is obvious, the first student will have a greater chance of getting accepted to the school because he worked hard.
On top of that, the function of the airplane’s instruments relates to the function of grades that students earn. All pilots know that keeping a constant check on their instruments is key to a successful flight. If anything or to cause a problem, it would be noted by the instruments. That is why keeping an eye on the instruments is necessary. Let’s say the pilot doesn’t check his instruments as often as he should. An event, such as a fuel leak, could occur and he would be unaware of the situation. Because he is unaware, and did not correct the situation early, the situation has gotten out of hand and is now a disaster. Transitioning back to education, the grades are what monitor the student’s progress. If the student doesn’t keep a constant check on his grades, they could get out of hand and he would not know it. To be successful in school, the student, much like the pilot, must keep a constant check on his situation. Not only must the situation be checked, but it must be checked constantly. It does not take long for something to go wrong. In an aircraft, it may only take seconds for something to go wrong. If the instruments are constantly checked, the chance of this situation being noticed early is greatly increased. If students check the grades constantly, they will have a better chance of noticing unacceptable grades earlier. This in turn allows the student time to bring their grade backup to an acceptable level.
Do you still believe that the little first grader in the supermarket was wrong? It may have come as a surprise that aviation and education do indeed have a correlation. Many aviation related things such as fuel, instruments, and throttles do relate to non related things such as the education system. Next time you see the little first grader in the supermarket; don’t think of him as immature. Think of him as the little boy who understood life’s interesting connections.
Anyway, thanks for reading!!!
Evan Krueger
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