[W2LJ via rec.radio.amateur.moderated Admin]

W2LJ QRP .... Do More With Less

///////////////////////////////////////////
Ham Cram Results

Posted: 04 Apr 2017 06:50 AM PDT
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/feedb...medium=emai l

Let's just say I was expecting and hoping for better results and leave it
at that. I drove home Saturday afternoon disappointed and a bit
depressed. It's hard on the instructors when candidates fail to pass the
license exam. In my case, I immediately wonder, "What more could I have
done?" My personal problem is that, since I love Amateur Radio so much, I
assume that every one in the class wants their license as badly as I wanted
mine. So when they fail, I tend to internalize the blame.

But there was a clear division between the two camps. There were the people
who wanted their license and actually studied the material diligently and
there were the others who may have cracked open the license manual once or
twice, if at all. Listening to some of the comments from the folks who
didn't pass, I was surprised at how little they applied themselves.

Let's face it, the Technician Class license exam is not the hardest exam in
the world, but you DO have to study and you DO have to want it. Going to
class because your good friend talked you into it; or because your
supervisor thinks it would be a good thing to have a license is not good
enough. There has to be some personal motivation driving the effort. As
my RACES Bureau Chief said to me as we were leaving the building, "Just
remember Lar, you can lead a horse to water; but you can't make him
drink". He's 1000% correct, but maybe there's more we can do to make
drinking more enticing.

So where do we go from here? While I am still wary of the Ham Cram
process, I am willing to give it another shot. I still think the full
blown eight week class concept works better, but I do realize that less
than perfectly motivated people are busy and have lives, and are not
willing to give up that much time from their busy schedules. I think with
a couple of tweaks, the Ham Cram route can be a successful one.

Two changes in particular that I would like to make:

1) Ahead of the next "home study cycle", I would like an accurate head
count of all the participants. I would like to order their ARRL license
manuals ahead of time and have a meeting with the candidates BEFORE the
front cover of the manual is even opened. I would like to take that
opportunity to hand them their manuals, study guides and point blank tell
them, "If you fail to study over the next month, or wait until the last
minute to study, past experience indicates that you will not pass the
exam." I think it needs to be impressed upon the candidates how important
the home study portion of this process is; and that without it, there's
really no point in continuing on. It would also be an excellent
opportunity for Marv and I to introduce ourselves and give the students our
contact information - so if they have any difficulty whatsoever, they know
there's someone they can reach out to for help.

At that same meeting, there's an excellent video on Amateur Radio that we
use for the first session of our eight week class sessions, that I would
like to show. It comes in two versions, one 30 minutes long, the other an
hour. Both go into a lot of the "fun" aspects of the hobby. For those who
are getting a license just for CERT and EMCOMM purposes, if they see the
fun they can have once they're licensed, I'm willing to bet that it might
be easier to get them to take a good, long drink.

I know that time is precious, but between handing out the manuals and study
guides and then giving a little pep talk and then showing the video, we can
keep that introductory meeting to less than 90 minutes. I am coming to
believe that this may be a crucial step in the process. If you're not
willing to come to a meeting to get your manual and get a little pre-home
study guidance, there isn't really a point with continuing on, is there?

2) A change of the Ham Cram review material. We used the W9PE Power Point
last Saturday. While it is complete and comprehensive and very good, I
think it is more geared to the prospective Ham who is into getting a
license for the hobby aspect of it. I was given a Power Point produced by
Alan Wolke W2AEW of YouTube Ham Radio videos fame. His presentation is
ideal for presenting to those who are coming to the Amateur Radio world
from the First Responder world. It is more visually appealing with lots of
graphics; and as a result, I think it will be more successful.

I think if we make these two changes, our next Ham Cram venture will be
more successful. Now all I have to do is pitch this to the "Powers That
Be".

72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!