Says here the Army’s considering it.
I am an Army brat, though my mother opted out of the military life (and her marriage) when I was quite small, and so I didn’t experience the multiple moves of so many other military brats. While I may be hard-wired to appreciate soldiers, I have a real problem with starting military training this young — which is already happening in places like Wichita:
The Wichita school district in south-central Kansas is one of a few nationwide offering middle school programs based on the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps curriculum. Top Army officials are studying its programs to see if they could be a model for others nationwide.
Dating Jesus 
Middle school is too early for that type of indoctrination. Public monies should be spent on education not indoctrination. I find it troubling ROTC is allowed in public schools at all.
Let’s parse this out: You find it troubling that programs to create officers for military service (funded by tax dollars) is allowed in publicly funded schools.
I guess you are not interested in accountability and producing the best officers in the most efficient way possible? Geez, every increase in efficiency that saves a single tax dollar generates a tax dollar that could be used for universal health care.
Liberal thinking at its best.
Thank you, Humphrey. Not sure who that is addressed to, but I have always been uncomfortable with this particular branch of the government getting a free pass into the schools. Why not the Peace Corps, as well?
The Peace Corps does not train officers and it is also tiny.
From the wiki: “Since 1961, nearly 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps, serving in 139 countries.”
At any given time, there are 15 times as many men and women actively serving in the American military and reserve. ROTC offers training to develop a corps of leaders and managers.
In point of fact, as of May 2009, there were 224,000 officers in the active military alone…more officers than volunteers in the entire near 50 year history of the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps is important….but apparently a lot more Americans would rather make a living and/or kill people.
The Peace Corps, with the appropriate resources, could be something more than tiny. And what if we trained people within that organization on building wells, running remote schools, etc., the way we train people to fight as soldiers?
I agree but Humphrey’s right (did I just say that? I’m afraid it’s not the first time) people have to get paid. But I’m all for encouraging more volunteerism in our students.
I actually wouldn’t have a problem with paying Peace Corps workers what we pay soldiers. In fact, I couldn’t volunteer as I wanted to when I was younger because I couldn’t afford it. I had to work.
I’d be happy to pay them I just don’t know how, we already can’t pay our soldiers.
I think that if the Peace Corps was to actively recruit, they would certainly be allowed in schools.
I’m just throwing it out there. It makes sense to wage peace as effectively as one wages war.
Be careful, Humphrey.
You lump me in with Liberals like that they’re bound to get pissed. And before you know it, they’ll be all over you apologizing for being pissed. I think they call it bipartisanship.
But start here. Take a Left to here. Continue Left, hard Left, to here. I’m in there somewhere. There’s a bucketful of brands at your disposal. I don’t think Liberal is in there anymore.
It’s all about accountability, isn’t it?
This gives me an idea for a blog post, because I am completely out of ideas, myself. Thanks, Leftover.
Leftover, liberals getting pissed at me, or conservatives for that matter, is nothing new. And it really is about accountability.
–for schools
–for teachers
–for legislators
–for governors
–for presidents
–for parents
–for students
We have schools that fail groups of students because we ignore true accountability. It is next to impossible to hold congress or a state assembly accountable as a whole as you can’t penalize them. The same as true for govs and the president. But it is only next to impossible…and it might as well be impossible if we aren’t going to try.
Every person involved in providing and funding education must be held accountable for their action or inaction…not just the students and the teachers.
Freedom costs and I would rather have a larger Peace Corps than a War Corps, but we aren’t willing as a people or nation to fund or staff that idea. The Peace Corps is left primarily to recent college graduates…the military to low-performing high school grads and college drop-outs.
Soon there will be no Peace Corps because too few students will be able to afford it because of college debt.
So our number one instrument of peace will go back to being the Army Corps of Engineers…not a stellar history there.
The throwing around of the labels here is making my eye twitch. As though all liberals are a certain way. Ick.
Ditto. No one marches in step with any one group, as far as I can tell.
They don’t *have* to do it, right? Parents can opt them in? I have no issue with that.
This is completely anecdotal and I’m certain it’s not indicative of ROTC in general but the only two ROTC kids I ever knew personally were both waaaayy messed up. One went on to skip out of the army with a buddy and murder a preacher for what he had in his pocket. The other went to Iraq, killed his first person and said that he had done what he went out there for. THAT was the experience he had been chasing.