The point of education is not to provide bodies for war.
The work of our schools and teachers is to enlighten, uplift and engage our kids. To humanize.
Not militarize. Not hand the names of our kids over to the Pentagon.
Bill Ketron, are you listening?
Ketron, a Republican from Murfreesboro, wants to require -- like a draft -- all students in Tennessee public schools to take a military recruiting test in 10th grade.
It's called the ASVAB: the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. Every person who joins the U.S. military takes it.
Ketron's bill (SB1329, and its House counterpart HB1283) would make the test part of every public school calendar in the state. (Private schools are exempt.)
Why not force every student to fill out an ACLU application form? Or take the handgun ownership test? (Whoops, don't want to give any ideas to the NRA and its loyal Nashville lawmakers.)
The process of joining the military shouldn't become a required part of the school year. (The Hamilton County Department of Education does not currently administer the ASVAB, officials say.)
Schools shouldn't grease the pathways for teenagers into the never-ending wars our nation seems to fight.
"An absurd double standard exists in American schools: Parental consent is required for a trip to the museum, but not for military recruitment," writes Dr. Teresa Whitehurst on antiwar.com.
Hmmm. Maybe it's time for a compromise. Ketron, I'll support your idea if you agree to mine:
Require all students to take a semester-long course in Peace Studies.
We mandate years of instruction in science, math, English, history. But not one minute is devoted to understanding the dynamics of how to reduce violence and make peace.
Isn't violence, like, the biggest problem out there? Shouldn't we take it seriously enough to study it? Don't we have enough faith in peace-making to give it classroom time?
"If the ASVAB is required, let's have a similar test for the Peace Corps," Colman McCarthy said Tuesday. "The country will be far better off if we have fewer warriors and more peacemakers, more Dorothy Days and Jeannette Rankins and fewer Norman Schwarzkopfs and Tommy Franks."
For decades, McCarthy, a former Washington Post columnist and current director of the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, has taught courses in Peace Studies. High school. Universities. Thousands of kids.
"If we don't teach our children peace, someone else will teach them violence," he loves to say.
It's not Puff the Magic Dragon. Not Woodstocky. It is a serious academic discipline that is part of schools and universities across the globe.
I'd wager that so many indexes of violence would go down (suicides, eating disorders, gang membership, depression) if we began to teach peace in a serious way in our schools.
The ethics of Gandhi. His history. The philosophy of King. The stories of abolitionists and suffragists. The fact that far more 20th century revolutions happened because of nonviolence than violence.
How to forgive your enemies.
(Any school in Hamilton County want to give it a try?)
When 21st-century students encounter the legacy of American nonviolence, something awakes within them. This world they're inheriting is so puzzling, like a cultural compass that can't find north. Peace-making provides an alternative to the social distortion of today.
Isn't that what education is supposed to be about?
David Cook is the metro columnist for the Times Free Press, working in the same building where he began his post-college career as a sportswriter for the Chattanooga Free Press. A graduate of Red Bank High, Cook holds a Master's Degree in Peace and Justice Studies from Prescott College and an English literature degree from University of Tennessee-Knoxville. For the last twelve years, Cook has been a teacher at the middle, high school and university ...
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"Peace" as defined by who(m) ? Obama ? Progressives ?
My family is under a constant and unrelenting attack by Progressives. You have now destroyed our healthcare system, you are attacking people of faith, your president lies without flinching and there is no challenge from you (Cook did you witness his talk yesterday in front of the “first responders" - it was a complete lie ?). The list goes on and on.
Using a political system to destroy a country’s moral, economic, and religious base is not the existence of “peace”. It is a “war” and Obama and his fellow Progressives are conducting that war.
I have now read your piece three times. My takeaway is that you want to add additional school curriculum heavy in untested Progressive theory with the purpose of driving out even more core curriculum. If you Progressives had spent a little more time studying history there would be fewer of you.
JonRoss,
Your psychosis has been duly noted.
JonRoss, What acts of violence have "Progressives" perpetrated against you? This article is about violence not your perceived delusional ideological 'war.'
No nepenthe the article has nothing to do with violence. It is all about creating a culture of ignorance within public educational institutions to benefit the advancement Progressive ideology.
Nepenthe there are wars without violence. Obama is carrying out a war against the middle class. His lies have become so big and so audacious, and the regime press so compliant, that as the monetary system continues to collapse the emperor's nakedness will become apparent to the middle class and all hell will break loose in the streets. They will be very pissed when they discover the press has been covering the ass of Obama. Obama is trying to deflect blame from himself but he can’t continue that for much longer.
JonRoss,
Again, your psychosis and delusion has been duly noted.
Absolutely nothing you say is even close to congruent with reality. You live in the most fantastical of fantasy worlds. Your ignorance, hatred, lies, deceit, and irrationality is palpable.
Benghazi
Iraq
David , a thoughtful article. Do you advocate eliminating high school JROTC?
ROTC is not mandatory. Therefore, that's a poor comparison. ROTC is no different than if someone voluntarily joined the 1. marching band 2. basketball team 3. cheerleader squad 4. football team. 5. Spanish, Latin, Russian, Mandarin or some other foreign language club 6. Math Club 7. Glee Club 8. 4-H
JR, paranoia can be progressive and debilitating. Mental health issues should be looked after sooner rather than later.
nonuts you sound Joseph Stalin.
Whatever you say, Tarzan.
Ignorance like yours should be a crime, JonRosshole. You are a shame to the human race.
Actually, we should bring back the draft. That would have ended the "wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan much more quickly. It is the best was to radicalize the public, go for it.
I also wonder if JonRoss is a member of the Armed Services or just talks a big talk?
inquir my son was deployed more than once to Iraq. I know that makes him an evil beast to Cook and to you. And you know what...I really don't give a rat's ass. My son has more honesty and integrity in the sweat of his brow than you, or Cook, or Barack Obama, have in your entire body and soul.
You're so full of sh!t your eyes are brown, JonRoss. You disgrace yourself and your sons' service with your pretentious act, feigning indignation 24/7, and egregious ignorance. Your son has no more integrity or honesty than anyone here or Barack Obama. You're an ignorant WingNut hack. Your baseless opinion means nothing here.
Do liberals and RINOs make peace by groping our pockets?
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