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The Children's Crusade

By Jennifer Wedekind, In These Times. Posted June 10, 2005.


Military programs are moving into middle schools to fish for future soldiers, training students as young as 11 to march in formation and carry weapons.

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Tarsha Moore stands as tall as her 4-foot 8-inch frame will allow. Staring straight ahead, she yells out an order to a squad of peers lined up in three perfect columns next to her. Having been in the military program for six years, Tarsha has earned the rank of captain and is in charge of the 28 boys and girls in her squad. This is Lavizzo Elementary School. Tarsha is 14.

The Middle School Cadet Corps (MSCC) program at the K-8 school is part of a growing trend to militarize middle schools. Students at Lavizzo are among the more than 850 Chicago students who have enlisted in one of the city's 26 MSCC programs. At Madero Middle School, the MSCC has evolved into a full-time military academy for kids 11 to 14 years old.

Chicago public schools are home to the largest Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) program, which oversees the MSCC, in the country. When moving up to high school, Chicago's graduating eighth-graders can choose from 45 JROTC programs, including three full-time Army military academies, five "school-within-a-school" Army JROTC academies and one JROTC Naval academy.

Proponents of the programs tout leadership training and character development. But critics quote former Defense Secretary Gen. William Cohen, who described JROTC as "one of the best recruiting services that we could have." Rick Mills, the director of Military Schools and JROTC for the Chicago Public School system, dismisses these concerns. "These kinds of programs would not be in schools if there weren't kids who wanted it, parents who supported it and administrators who facilitated it," he says.

The elementary school cadet corps is a voluntary after-school program that meets two or three times a week. Programs differ from school to school, but MSCC students generally learn first-aid, civics, "citizenship" and character development. They also learn military history and take field trips to local military bases. Once a week, students wear their uniforms to school for inspections. Tarsha describes buffing her uniform shoes in preparation for inspection days. "Everything has to be perfect," she says. During drill practices they learn how to stand, turn and salute in synchronization. When they disobey an order, they do pushups. "Only 10," says one administrator.

Joanne Young, a sixth-grade teacher at Goethe School in Chicago, recently wrote a letter to the local school council protesting the implementation of the cadet corps in her school. "I was told that it is not a military program, yet every aspect of it is military," she wrote. "This program is training our students, as young as 11-years old, to march in formation and carry guns. ... Students could be suspended for bringing something that appears to be a weapon to our school, yet we are handing them fake guns for this program." Young, like many other teachers, feels that leadership and discipline could easily be taught in other types of after-school programs.

Herman Barnett, director of Lavizzo's award-winning MSCC program, asks the public to give the students the benefit of the doubt. "They don't look at it as getting ready for the army," he says. "They're just doing it for entertainment and fun."

In 2002 the Bush administration passed the No Child Left Behind Act with a small, unpublicized provision: Section 9528, "Armed Forces Recruiter Access to Students and Student Recruiting Information," requires high schools to give all student contact information to the military. Most students aren't aware they can opt out by filling out a form.


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adp3d
Posted by: adp3d on Jun 10, 2005 3:50 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
brrr...Can you say "Hitler Youth?"

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» RE: adp3d Posted by: cushniesr
» RE: adp3d Posted by: Sakecat
Jill
Posted by: legs6_2 on Jun 10, 2005 6:07 AM   
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Makes me wonder what kind of parents would put their kids in something like this? Very scary thought.

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» RE: Jill Posted by: Iamnotafruittree
I was a Hitler youth.
Posted by: WhatNow? on Jun 10, 2005 6:25 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I went to military school for two years (7th and 8th grade). I joined the army immediately after high school too. They will try to brainwash you. I'm just too stubborn to be brainwashed that easily. I was in ROTC for maybe three or four days in high school and quickly said to hell with this crap. I had enough of it from military school. I joined the army for the money(shows how stupid I can be.) I would have made more money doing carpentry.

When I think back on all of it. I don't think it really helped or hurt me. The US army corp of engineers did make me physically stronger but military school didn't help my health anymore than bicycle riding and playing frisbee did in high school.

I wouldn't recommend any of this especially in the present climate. I think the military can do a great service in teaching people a trade but I'm thoroughly against a military for imperial conquest.

The troubles with recruitment are a fine example of how much people really approve of this Iraq debacle.

http://www.bendermandefense.org/

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» RE: I was a Hitler youth. Posted by: jeffrey7
» RE: I was a Hitler youth. Posted by: WhatNow?
» RE: I was a Hitler youth. Posted by: dandelion
» RE: I was a Hitler youth. Posted by: WhatNow?
nazi america
Posted by: jeffrey7 on Jun 10, 2005 6:53 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
how much more proof do we need before we realize we've given too much power to the 'servents' and kept none for ourselves.Quit feeling comfortable with the Status Quo.It's time for the 'Tar and Feather Commitee's' to reform

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Teri
Posted by: rinthy on Jun 10, 2005 7:00 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Let me see..medical advice which includes abortion as an option for unwanted pregnancies...and particularly teen age pregnancies...is forbidden, but military recruiters are empowered by law to pass out literature...with or without parental approval...which advocates and extolls military enrollment. Anything wrong here?

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Another reason Lakoff's book "Don't think of an Elephant" is BADLY needed
Posted by: maxpayne on Jun 10, 2005 8:48 AM   
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Having read the book, the way military recruiters advertise and market like crazy can only be explained by the "Strict Father Morality" with fake compassion deceptive framing that has plagued our nation for at least 25 years ! Buy this book at amazon.com, half.com, barnes&noble, or some online or local bookstore and learn what you can do to fight back without being violent of course before it's too late !

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We aren't the only ones to do this
Posted by: Sakecat on Jun 10, 2005 9:14 AM   
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Hmmmm. Perhaps the US has learned from the Palestinian terrorists. They train their grade school children to carry weapons. By age 14, not a few Palestianian children want to become terrorist suicide bombers. This part of the Palestinian grade school curriculum has been in place for decades. It has not changed in spite of the rhetoric of the Road Map.

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"Come On All You Big Strong. . .Kids?"
Posted by: monkeywrench on Jun 10, 2005 9:16 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm shocked, SHOCKED I say, to read that military recruiters don't always tell the truth! Didn't the film, "Private Benjamin," set the record straight? (But...but...where are the condos?...the beach?)

Frankly, though, trying to indoctrinate naturally-rebellious preteens has a poor cost/benefit ratio. Heck, why not get 'em enthused in Kindergarten? Kindergarteners know how to sit and stand in rows, only speak when spoken to, and do anything the authority says – what more do you need for the military? And if they're brainwashed early enough, they'll sail right through those rebellious teen years. . .

Back in the Vietnam era, we didn't call it "J-ROT-zee" for nuthin'.

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RELUCTANT WARRIORS, RECRUITMENT SHORTFALLS ©
Posted by: Betsy L. Angert on Jun 10, 2005 9:39 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Dear Jennifer Wedekind . . .

This is an excellent and informative essay.

There is reason for the “The Children's Crusade.” I recently wrote of RELUCTANT WARRIORS, RECRUITMENT SHORTFALLS ©. I am thankful that many men and women are questioning the reality of this war and deciding not to serve. For me, this is encouraging.

However, sadly, this is the cause the campaign you wrote of. The Pentagon and Whitehouse are hoping that children can more easily be persuaded by propaganda and that the influence will be more lasting.

As President Bush stated in his Memorial Day address, we are a nation of reluctant warriors, and thankfully, this is true of people at any age.

I offer this excerpt of my own missive . . . President Bush proudly proclaims, “Because of the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, two terror regimes are gone forever, freedom is on the march, and America is more secure.” In spite of these words, there is the news. There are reports of terrorism. Afghanistan is said to be a breeding ground. Pakistan is training more. Suicide bombings are a daily event in Iraq, and there are divisions within a new and supposed democracy. It is said that a civil war is inevitable. Nonetheless, our government wants us to believe that “freedom is on the march.”

Mr. Bush declares, “America is more secure.” However, those of us at home do not necessarily feel more secure. There are red, orange, and yellow alerts. Offices in Washington DC are evacuated; people are in fear of a small plane approaching. Pockets are emptied and shoes removed in order to board jumbo jet. President Bush tours the country; he tells the people that the Patriot Act is essential. Mr. Bush wants this law to be permanently adopted! The loss of privacy will become our standard, all in the name of national security. Are we more secure?

Betsy L. Angert Be-Think

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Daaaaamn!!!!
Posted by: gaiamater on Jun 10, 2005 12:55 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Talk about obscenity! Yet, I tutor 7th graders and I have about a half dozen (out of 40 or so) that would "enlist" in a heart beat and others on the borderline. It is so easy to lie to the young.

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JINGOIST
Posted by: jingoist on Jun 10, 2005 1:33 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
G-d bless Tarsha Moore and the whole Middle School Cadet Corps. They and their parents are patriots in the finest American tradition. These young people are a great source of pride!!! It's good to know that our great country still produces Americans like that. JINGOIST

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» RE: JINGOIST Posted by: jpme
» RE: JINGOIST Posted by: jingoist
» RE: JINGOIST Posted by: maxpayne
» RE: JINGOIST Posted by: lostinasia
» RE: JINGOIST Posted by: dandelion
» RE: Third Commandment Issues ??? Posted by: AdamSelene40
» RE: JINGOIST Posted by: kittynboi
Its everywhere!
Posted by: akdave on Jun 10, 2005 1:59 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The army is sending their high tech helicopters to remote Alaskan villages on recruiting missions. Rural youth are particularly susceptible to this due to high unemployment. Also, in case you missed this link, this will curl your hair...

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com /paynter/227497_paynter08.html

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» RE: Its everywhere! Posted by: dandelion
Voluntary Program
Posted by: Campesino on Jun 10, 2005 4:04 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
JROTC is a voluntary after school program with no service committment that has been in place since 1916. If kids want to dress up and play soldier after school on their own time with no committment why worry?

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» RE: Voluntary Program Posted by: jingoist
» RE: Voluntary Program Posted by: maxpayne
» RE: Voluntary Program Posted by: ChrisBieber
» RE: Voluntary Program Posted by: jingoist
» RE: Voluntary Program Posted by: kittynboi
» RE: Officially Voluntary Program Posted by: AdamSelene40
The Militarization of American Youth (has) lead(s) us to this
Posted by: ChrisBieber on Jun 11, 2005 8:39 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Hitler said "Get the Children for a generation and we will control a country!"

5+ generations of GOVERNMENT indoctrination laboratories, producing CONDITIONED robots BARELY able to push registers at Taco Bell OR joining the Army out of "duty" or to "stay off the streets or out of jail" to go kill other human beings in faraway lands"following ORTERS", ALL THE WHILE NOT ABLE TO QUESTION what is being done to them or their(OUR)country....
Orwell's 1984 priescently opined that the goal of The Party was to keep the conditioned and DELIBERATELY almost starving populace PERPETUALLY IN FEAR and ALWAYS AT WAR....the "War on Terror"?????????????????

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bugged
Posted by: cotton on Jun 12, 2005 7:05 AM   
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What a great country!! Do you think the Taliban would allow 11 year old girls to train with rifles? Probably just the boys.

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Peacenow
Posted by: Peace on Jun 20, 2005 6:05 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The people get the government they deserve.
Don't just moan and groan about it, do something.

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Old new reels come to mind
Posted by: tjames on Jun 23, 2005 7:10 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I remember all those old news reels when I was a child. The Nazi Youth and the Japanese school children -- all marching in uniform & having a great time at playing a game.

Has our education system been that much of a failure to not teach children and adults history anymore. Doesn't anyone listen? Doesn't anyone remember?

This makes me ashamed to be a citizen of this country.

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Next...SPERM
Posted by: LakeHMM on Jul 2, 2005 8:35 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Yes, this is very Hitler Youth. Is it just me, or does this country's practices get more and more disturbing every day? I mean, sure, if somebody wants to be in the military, great for them, but this is not right. It's not okay to go after them before they even have a chance to choose for themselves. The government doesn't think children can choose who should rule them, but does it think that they're mature enough to decide whether or not they want to devote their life to and die for this country?

Next, all semen intended for impregnation will have to be submitted to the army and one in every 10 sperm will be trained for the military prior to fertilization. It's how "men of the people" like our Texan friend glaring at me in an advertisement banner at the top of this screen do it, you know.

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