[  ] [  ] [  ] [  ] Judgement: Do high schoolers have the judgement to decipher military recruiting?
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[  ] Yes
- Young people are not stupid and understand risk of joining military. In fact the media usually focuses on the bad news coming out of Afghanistan and Iraq, ignoring the good work of our military there. A career in the military also offers young people a lot of benefits, and it is only right that they should get to hear about those as well. And no one is signed up on the spot in the classroom; they always get the chance to think about it over a few months or more, and to discuss the decision carefully with parents.
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[ ] No
- Military should not recruit youth that can't vote/judge. The army is short of manpower due to high casualty rates and the unwillingness of current soldiers to reenlist. This means that they are very keen to get into schools to sign up young people. But it is not right to let them get at students who are too young to vote, or even drive. 16 and 17 year olds are not grown-up enough to make life and death decisions, like joining the army. They may not be able to see through exciting presentations or resist a persuasive and experienced recruitment officer. Schools should be safe places to grow and learn, not somewhere to sign your life away before it has even properly begun.
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[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [  ] Pitch vs propaganda: Is recruitment a legitimate pitch or form of propaganda?
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[ ] Yes
- All volunteer military must recruit to keep up its numbers. The army, navy and air force need well-educated and motivated recruits so that they can defend our country from its enemies. Visits to schools are not about forcing militaristic propaganda on children, but about making sure that 16-18 year olds know about the military as a possible career choice. After all, college representatives and local employers are allowed to make presentations to students, so it would be unfair to keep just the military out. If you accept that we need armed forces, then you must allow them to recruit openly.
- The military has a compelling story to tell to youth. Recruiters should not minimise the risks of a military career, but the armed forces do have a good story to tell and they should not be prevented from doing so. There really are great opportunities for keen, talented young people in the military, and almost all soldiers, etc. find it a very satisfying life. And compared with the past, soldiers today are much better looked after in terms of physical, medical and psychological wellbeing.
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[ ] No
- Military recruiting wrongly makes military violence appear cool. They promote the military and make war seem glamorous. Soldiers in smart uniforms come into classes with specially-made videos and powerful weapons, making violence and state-organised murder seem cool. This encourages young people to support aggressive action abroad. It also promotes an unthinking loyalty to the state, whether its actions are right or wrong. By allowing the military in, schools are signalling to their students that these things are OK.
- Recruitment officers often give misleading pitches. They play up the excitement and chances to travel, as well as the pay and benefits such as college fees and training in special skills. They don’t talk about the dangers of military life, the casualty rates in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the thousands of young soldiers who have lost limbs in recent years. And they don’t mention the impact of war on soldiers’ mental health, or the lack of support when they leave the military. If we must have the military in our schools, then they should be made to give a much more realistic view of military life.
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[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Do recruiters strategically target schools in disadvantaged areas?
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[ ] Yes
- All young people should have the chance to think about whether joining the military is right for them. For that reason recruiters should not visit some types of schools and not others. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with recruiters making extra visits to schools from which many students have joined up in the past. And students from poorer areas may be particularly keen to hear about some of the benefits a military career can offer, such as free college tuition and good opportunities for promotion. The military can provide an important role in disadvantaged communities, providing positive role models and encouraging students to finish school (the US army now requires recruits to have at least a high school diploma). And many soldiers from tough areas say that if they hadn’t joined the military they would have been sucked into criminal gangs instead.
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[ ] No
- There is evidence from both the UK and the USA that military recruiters target disadvantaged areas. They seem to think that poorer students will have few other career options, so they will be more likely to join up. It isn’t right that young people from poor backgrounds can be exploited in this way. Why should they be expected to risk their lives much more than students from better-off areas? Instead schools and governments should make sure all students get equal chances in life.
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[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Does recruitment in schools serve educational purposes?
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[ ] Yes
- In the UK the army does not directly recruit in schools but does visit many each year “with the aim of raising the general awareness of the armed forces in society”. And they always visit by invitation of the Headteacher. Compared to the USA fewer young people have local or family connections with the military, so it is important for them to learn about the role the armed forces play in our country. And in both the UK and the USA the military offers other services to schools, from educational materials to leadership courses and team-building exercises. Banning the military from visiting schools would deny students all these opportunities.
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[ ] No
- However it is dressed up, all the military is interested in schools for is the chance to recruit students. The various educational materials (not always clearly marked as coming from the military) and courses on offer are all intended to interest students in a military career. Such methods are dishonest and should not be allowed in schools. If students are genuinely interested in joining the military, they can go along to a recruitment centre outside school.
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[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Does recruitment in schools invade student privacy?
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[ ] Yes
- There is nothing wrong with collecting information about students. As no one thinks that students should be signed up at their classroom desks, recruiters need to record contact details so that they can follow up students who have shown an interest in the military. The new law was necessary as some schools tried to deny recruiters a chance to contact students. If parents don’t want their son or daughter to be included in the database, they can opt out by writing to the district superintendent.
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[ ] No
- US military recruitment in schools has a very sinister side. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, military recruiters collect data on 30 million students. A huge database contains their personal details, including social security numbers, email addresses and academic records. The purpose of this is to allow recruiters to pester young people with messages, phone calls and home visits. This itself is bad enough, but many people think the government should not be trusted with so much personal information. Isn’t it police states that want to keep files on all their citizens?
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[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Does recruitment in schools violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?
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[ ] Yes
- The USA has not signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, although it has signed the UN’s Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. But the US military does not recruit under-18s anyway, so it is keeping to it agreement. In any case, neither of these agreements stops recruiters visiting schools in order to make students aware of military career options once they turn 18.
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[ ] No
- Recruitment in schools is against parts of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. A set of rules that the USA signed up to in 2002 forbids the recruitment of children under the age of 18. Despite this, the American Civil Liberties Union has found that US military recruiters target children as young as 11, visiting their classrooms and making unfair promises to them. In order to live up to its pledge in 2002, the USA should stop trying to recruit in schools.
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[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Pro/con resources
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[ ] Yes
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[ ] No
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See also
External links and resources:
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