Does the military belong in public schools?

I think you may remember my son went from the Galileo JROTC straight into the Army. And yes, the uniforms, the drill team, the parades, all had something to do with his decision.

On the other hand, he was always fascinated by uniforms so I can't blame the whole thing on JROTC.

I agree with you in principle but I can remember at least 3 of Jim's friends whose lives were turned around with their JROTC involvement. They didn't join the Army but they didn't join a gang either which is where they'd been heading. There might have been others I didn't know.

If I still lived in the city, I probably would have stayed neutral on this debate. That's the problem with sometimes being able to see both sides.

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I agree with Ann for the most part. My nephew joined the Navy two years ago and it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He is doing wonderfully now in his life. He couldn't keep a job in a car wash(not that working in a car wash is bad). It's not for all but it did really change his life for the better.
I am not familier with this program but I can't see the harm if it's a class you volunteer for. How can an opportunity to learn something new and different be bad? I think all learning is never lost and only improves oneself.

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We didn't have JROTC. That was for city-kids. I've had limited contact with it as an adult, so I don't know the particulars, but the general idea is certainly fine. It's an elective, it serves to feed into good citizenry and it has pulled an awful lot of kids off of the ledge of a destructive life.

I wonder what the statistics really are for kids who went from JROTC into the military.

It's a recruiting tool, to be sure, but it is also good for kids like Roger to learn an important lesson before the contract is binding. (I'm sure Roger also learned about being on a team, personal responsibility, pride in a job well done and quite a few other, less tangible lessons.)

I'm sure it's not a perfect organization. There's hazing in sports, theater groups, marching band, AV Squad and I'm sure just about any other club out there.

Having the military so visible on high school campuses also serves to introduce and reinforce the idea that you can be a part of something bigger than just yourself without necessarily having varsity sport skills. The mundane tasks and inspections are just a tool for teaching self-discipline, not martial skills.

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humm, I wonder why it is that people want the military, just not any reminders of it?? I wonder what is wrong with learning discipline, organization, and yes how to take care of ones appearance? I have to ask myself what the people of this country would do if the military were to go on strike.. Just stop protecting people. No National Guard to help during the hard times, no active duty members to fight for freedoms..
A great quote from a Marine "You sir or madam have the right to stand behind the first amendment, I choose to stand in front of it".
http://thirdculturekidsrmine.blogspot.com/

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I am writing to you in response to my 10 YEAR OLD son bringing home a flyer from the "Young Marines".

I cannot even begin to communicate to you my utter horror and revulsion at the thought of the right-wing militarism of this government trying to propagandize my young son and pre-recruit
him for some future, disastrous mission into foreign lands where we do not belong.

Since the participants in this group can be a young as 8 - I can only assume this
went out to the 3rd and 4th graders as well. SCARY. I wonder if they recruit at the private schools in town? I truly doubt it.

During a time of peace and an administration with a less militaristic foreign policy,
my feelings would be more muted about this, and given the good that can be done to instill the qualities of responsibility, commitment, and discipline for kids, I may have felt differently, but
given the proximity and reality of possibly losing my son in a future war where the primary benefactors are not the American people, but large oil companies and the defense industry, I cannot in my right conscience bring myself to condone this sort of activity. It is abhorent
and revolting that the Marines would even attempt to pre-recruit children so young, and
just as bad for the ACSB and Littlewood to participate in this kind of activity.

And as for your blip at the bottom about "this activity is neither sponsored nor endorsed
by the ACPS" - that is a blatant contradiction. Just by distributing the flyers to our young chidren
you are participating in this and thereby DIRECTLY sponsoring this activity - all the lawyerspeak aside.

Please do not send any more of this kind of "advertising" into my home.

Most Sincerely.

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The military does not protect our freedoms.
The main thing the military protects is the national interests; like the interests of Exxon-Mobile and Conoco-Phillips in Iraq.

The Constitution and the citizens of this country protect our freedoms. It is obvious that this administration, with the passage of the Patriot Act, is not interested in protecting our freedoms in the least.

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