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Cadet Program Philosophy and Requirements PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 21 March 2009 12:59
The JGCAP Philosophy

Our Philosophy

    While growing up on a three hundred and twenty acre dairy farm, Travis Stewart spent most of his free time wandering in the woods. Stump shooting, hunting, and exploring were the ways he learned about his world and the relationships between humans and natural world. At that time, he never thought he would be teaching in an urban, low income school district in St. Paul, where his reality and the students he teaches are worlds apart. Many of these students get their sense of reality through the video games they play, their paint ball games or other virtual reality activities. Although thoroughly engrossing, these activities rarely help children understand their place in the world and seldom help them to define the relationships that connect them to the natural world. Many times these students’ misperceptions of hunting and shooting sports are due to this virtual environment. These misperceptions lead students to believe that food comes from the grocery store and heat comes from the furnace, which are two of the dangers modern civilization faces as described by the father of modern conservation, Aldo Leopold. These misperceptions betray their need to create a connection with their natural surroundings.

    Students growing up in this urban environment need an invitation to get involved in activities that foster concepts of conservation, expose them to the cycles of life and the role humans play in managing systems that we have negatively affected in the past. Students learn these things through active participation in fun hobbies embedded with theses concepts. The JGCAP's goal is to get kids interested in archery as a tool to expose them to concepts important to shaping their core values and the view of the world around them.


The Cadet Program

    The JGCAP created the Cadet Program as a leadership training program for youth interested in learning advanced skills and passing those skills on to the next generation and the community. Cadets are chosen each year after the Youth Bowhunt. Cadets must be nominated by a current cadet and must display three qualities that are the pillars of the cadet Program:

  • Integrity in the face of peer pressure
  • Responsibilties to the community they represent
  • Willingness to serve their community

    Being accepted as a candidate does not guarantee a young person a position as a Cadet in the JGCAP. The first year of their membership is provisional. Mentors and mentor candidates will be trained and evaluated on their abilities as teachers, peer leaders and archery technicians. The training will also include skills of accuracy with a bow, tracking, scouting, stand placement, and ethical shot placement.

    The Cadet Propgram is a service organization where youth will be giving more than they will receive. Cadets donate their time at the JGCAP’s annual youth hunting, archery and fundraising events. They are expected to teach lessons and model both shooting/hunting skills as well as appropriate behavior. Below is a list of events Cadets are expected to participate in:

  • Assist in either the winter or spring after-school league
  • Become NAA level 1 equivalent Certified Archery Instructors
  • Learn basics of equipment repair and maintenance during a In-services
  • Participate in JGCAP Cadet Fundraisers
  • Help organize and run the Winter League Banquet and Fundraiser
  • Instruct and chaperone during the JGCAP Bowfishing event
  • Teach at least one lesson at the Youth Bowhunter’s Bootcamp Course
  • Lead work crews during their 4 days of service work
  • Guide youth hunters during the JGCAP Youth Archery Hunt

    All mentor candidates must have their own bow/hunting gear and gain experience as a guides for the youth hunt. In exchange for their service, the JGCAP offers Cadets opportunities to get the equipment and skills they need. Cadets do not have to purchase the most expensive clothing or the newest equipment to be competent and professional. I encourage mentors to become effective teachers, role models and hunters with the technical and interpersonal they possess, rather than impressing others with the equipment or clothing they have. The JGCAP also organizes hunting events to help them gain experience in the woods that include outings for Rabbits, Turkey and extended bowhunting dates for Whitetails.
Last Updated on Saturday, 04 April 2009 20:18
 
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