Duncan wants to further militarize public education as Obama wars expand again
More cannon fodder, better, faster. Get out there and help barbarize those kids inside the schools of the corporate state. The message the U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan began implementing during the eight years he was in charge of the Chicago public schools is now being exported, like so many other things Chicago, to the rest of the USA. Another aspect of "Race to the Top."
Standing with (then Congressman) Rahm Emanuel (second from left) and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago schools "Chief Executive Officer" Arne Duncan (center) stood for the Pledge of Allegiance during the dedication of the nation's first "Marine Corps" public high school on October 15, 2007. During the eight years he served as "Chief Executive Officer" of Chicago schools, Duncan expanded the number of public military high schools from one to six. When Duncan began as CEO of CPS in July 2001, Chicago had one "Army" high school, the "Bronzeville Military Academy." By the time Duncan went to work as U.S. Secretary of Education in January 2009, Chicago had three military high schools jointly sponsored by the U.S. Army, and one military high school for each of the other services (Marines, Air Force, and Navy). Substance photo by George N. Schmidt. According to Duncan, we need to make better schools (and reduce the high school dropout rate) because many of our kids aren't military ready.
There's a war on....three in fact. The US side is losing at least two of them — and what Chalmers Johnson called "Nemesis" (bankruptcy and fascism) is not far off. Those who disconnect schools, capitalism, and imperialism make a deadly error.
Keep in mind that those troops can just as easily be used to return to the USA to control or shoot Americans, as they have in the past.
Or they can get a better idea and turn their guns around, as they also have in the past, just about after every major war the USA has fought.
Readers can get Duncan's San Diego speech at the following URL:
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2011/mar/23/education-czar-says-teens-not-academically-prepare/
So... the nation's education secretary Arne Duncan said too many teenagers can't get into the military because they are not academically prepared. He joined military officials on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, in San Diego to focus on the problem.
Right on schedule, the corporate "school reform" crowd in chiming in. A new report by Education Trust, a non-profit right wing education advocacy group based in Washington D.C., claims to show that roughly one out of four high school graduates set on joining the military fail the academic entrance exam.
Duncan says on top of that, roughly 25 percent of students who drop out of high school every year cannot join because they do not have a diploma.
Above, Substance caught Arne Duncan entering the "Marine Military Academy High School" dedication in Chicago on October 15, 2007, while junior Marines (behind Duncan) stood at ease to greet the CEO of CPS. In Chicago's six military high schools, students wear military uniforms throughout the school day, as the high school freshmen and sophomores above are doing. Chicago also has the largest Junior ROTC program in Illinois, separate from the military high schools. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.Duncan says the problem affects national security. He wants lawmakers to reform the federal No Child Left Behind Act to improve student performance.
"We have to get better faster than we ever have," Duncan says. "The problem is not our nation's children. The challenge, quite frankly, is the adults and educators. We haven't provided the opportunities (students) need."
By: Albert Korach
Rich Gibson Article
There are many aspects of the Gibson article I have to take issue with. Coloring the article with such inflaming words as corporate state,nemesis, fascism capitalism, bankruptcy, shoot Americans,imperialism, cannon fodder, barbarize does not address the real problem. When 25% who drop out of high school cannot join the military because they do not have a diploma they also have difficulty for most civilian job opportunities. One of the first things I was taught in High school ROTC is not to go for a job interview with my pants hanging an inch above my crotch and ass. I do not approve or dssaprove of high school ROTC. I am for the right of any student to pursue any legitamate career he or she chooses. No one forces a student to enroll in a ROTC high school if they do not wish to. The Gov. in Florida has just signed the worst anti teacher bill in history. Talk about barbarism! I am now retired from the Chicago Board of Education and the military. I have not shot any americans but have thought about some of our politicians. As a retired Lt. Colonel and union member I am proud to say I grew up in a union family and my 1/2 semester in high school ROTC did not warp me.