Has your child mentioned military academies to you? Have they expressed an interest in attending such a school? If so, you as a parent have an obligation to listen, and more importantly to help them make the right decision.
A military school teaches various ages (middle school, high school, or both) in a manner that includes military traditions and training in military subjects. The military is a prominent force in America today, and with so much press it is very easy for a child to become exposed to this type of education as a viable option in their own lives. While this is perfectly acceptable on its own, like many of life's choices it needs to be considered fully before a commitment is made. There are many factors that go into choosing the type of schooling that is appropriate for your child, and it is important that you and your child approach the subject together, as the both of you will have to reap the consequences of this decision in the future.
It is advisable to assess honestly the needs of your child, the requirements that will be placed upon them in a military school and what you as a parent bring to the mix. With many students the structure and positive discipline that military schools offer are very beneficial. It not only encourages them to become the best they can be, it enhances them to grow into mature respectable young men and women. Military schools and academies offer a student the opportunity to reach their highest academic potential as well as build up their self-esteem to make better choices in today's society, within a very rigid and disciplined framework. It is this framework that forms the backbone of the military school experience, and one of the chief distinctions between military educations and those of other schools. It is important to note that this structure will suit some students more than others, and this will largely determine a child's chances of success in a military school setting. Military schools can give your child the vision to reach their goals and dreams for their future. The high level of academics combined with small class sizes create a strong educational background from which they grow into productive, happy adults.
Posted by Sue Scheff at 2:12 PM 0 comments
Labels: Military Academies, Military Prep Schools, Military Schools, Parents Universal Resource Experts, structured school, Sue Scheff
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Military Schools - Boarding or Day? by Sue Scheff
One of the first questions that you and your child will have to face when contemplating military schools is the matter of a day school versus a boarding school. Many military schools are boarding schools, and others are simply magnet schools in a larger school system. This is an important distinction, and just one that you will have to assess with your child when looking at military schools.
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils not only study, but also live during term time, with their fellow students and possibly teachers. The word 'boarding' in this sense means that the school provides food and lodging for pupils. Within the military school context it should be obvious why this is a common practice; the military likes to instill individual resourcefulness in its people, and the earlier the better. Military boarding school pupils may spend the majority of their childhood and adolescent life away from their parents, although pupils return home during the holidays and, often, the summer break. Detached from the outside world on a daily basis, military school students are more easily taught the virtues and values prominent in the military, and these are reinforced by the relative isolation that a military boarding school offers.
In addition, this distance from “civilian” life further reinforces the distinction between the military lifestyle and that of non-military citizens. On the occasions that boarding military school students venture off campus they are met with a world that they can comfortably move through, all the time noting the differences between their daily lives and of those around them. Many former boarding students from military schools report that the boarding experience was crucial in their understanding and adoption of the virtues being instilled within them. It should be noted that while boarding schools are, possibly correctly, perceived as instilling social and personal survival skills and keeping children occupied, they also exclude children from normal home-based, domestic daily life. Some children in boarding schools are liable to take on a sense of exclusiveness and superiority to others. It is not uncommon for children who have been to such schools to speak with different, learned accents than local children, play different sports, and miss out on local activities.
In contrast to boarding school, a day school is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children return to their homes. It is a common model in the United States, adhered to by virtually all public schools, and a great many private ones (such as military schools) as well. Basically, classes are held from sometime in the morning to sometime in the afternoon, approximately along the lines of a normal adult work day. Very often there is a break for lunch, and different schools have different policies regarding whether or not students may or leave campus during the day. Military day schools still retain all the discipline and traditions as their boarding counterparts, the only distinction being whether the students remain on campus over night or not.
