That’s Life: U.S. Army opens prep school

In amongst all the doom and gloom about the failed lending institutions and the high cost of fighting wars worlds away, comes a story about the U.S. Army needing recruits so badly that now, at South Carolina’s very own Ft. Jackson, a prep school has opened.

Near the end of August, I found an Associated Press story online touting the new program as an answer to the need for more soldiers. Simply put, the story says that though children have dropped out of high school, for whatever reason, they can become an asset to their country by being trained as a soldier. The story used examples of young people who left school to begin supporting themselves because of sick parents and of high school drop outs who believed that after hours jobs were more important than their educations.

“But the U.S. Army, eager to fill its ranks amid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, doesn’t see them as dropouts. They are recruits who only need a GED before they’re ready to begin basic training…,” the story said. Col. Jeffrey Sanderson, Ft. Jackson’s chief of staff, was quoted in the story as saying “Our studies show that with only three out of every 10 people of military age being capable of joining the Army, we are going to have to do something different.”

The offering of a GED is a pilot program, and the story said about 60 soldiers will enter the month-long program every week. “Their day begins in uniform at 5 a.m. with physical training. Then they attend about eight hours of academic review classes, followed by homework each evening. An hour of marching drills and military discipline is thrown in for good measure.”

This is also what the story said “”It’s a tough, structured day. Some of them have sat on the couch for 18 years, but I haven’t heard any howling yet,” said social studies instructor John Solis, one of 14 certified teachers on hand. “By and large, they are chomping at the bit; they are ready to go.”” I would hope that after sitting on the couch for 18 years some of them would be ready to go, but that’s another story altogether! I’m more interested in the fact that one, our children are not finishing high school; that two, the military needs mega numbers of recruits; and three that the federal government is now offering GEDs in exchange for military service.

These three things are indicative of an education system that is failing us all and a foreign policy that is robbing us of our children. The story goes on to say that Sanderson said the U.S. Army “prefers those who graduate from high school on their own, because it demonstrates “tenacity.” But the reality of current graduation rates has the Army pressed to find an alternative.”

And by the way, these aren’t necessarily South Carolina dropouts. One recruit cited in the story is from Oregon. Here’s that recruit’s quote. “There’s no jobs out there, nothing. It’s just horrible. And it got hard just trying to support myself and go to school at the same time,” Holden said.

Military service has been an alternative to jail, for some minor offenses, and now it appears it will be made an alternative to staying in school. “With the small classes, hovering teachers and a disciplined schedule,” another recruit was quoted in the story as saying he’s learning quickly.  Perhaps those are the keys to getting a good education anywhere. Those entering prep school have signed on for a two- to four-year stint, just like any new recruit, the story said.

There are two missions of the program, according to Capt. Brian Gaddis, quoted in the story: To have recruits get the GED and to prepare them physically and mentally for basic training.
Sanderson said in the article that the need for recruits is high and the U.S. Army’s studies have shown that only three in 10 of those between 17 and 24 are eligible to enlist. Health or legal issues or the failure to earn a high school diploma or equivalent bars the rest, he said in the story. Gaddis went on to say that his students “might have quit high school, but believes that shouldn’t be held against them. He added that the school is a move to reach those who have been left behind, not to attract those who are less qualified or lower than the Army’s standards.”

Against the backdrop of failed banks, an economy with few new jobs, and the high cost of fighting the war on terror, Ft. Jackson has opened a prep school to help high school dropouts get their GED in exchange for service. I suppose it’s a sign of the times when we move from offering military service in exchange for college tuition payments to offering the GED.