Is a military school the best option for my son? A lot of parents nowadays are seeking alternatives when it comes to their high school son’s education. The fact is that the results being produced by overcrowded public school systems are just subpar. These schools are plagued with increasing violence and drugs, they are underfunded and, in general, produce students who have lower grades and do worse on standardized testing. In short, students graduating from the public school system are not at all prepared for the rigors of college life.
Dropout rates are also on the rise, as shown by national studies. This, in turn, affects the overall earning potential and quality of life of public school students. As a result, more and more parents have enrolled their sons in private schools over the last several years and more charter schools and alternative schools are being established. The take-away from this is that there is a clear problem with the public school system and parents are increasingly seeking alternatives like military schools.
Military schools have consistently been a solid choice for parents and more recently, military schools have also become college prep programs. Academic standards in these schools have increased and military schools are even more choosy when selecting applicants than before. Troubled teenagers are having a harder and harder time finding a place in a military school as a result. Military schools are no longer the go-to solution for troubled boys having a hard time accepting the rules of normal schools, and are instead being filled with a population of students looking for an edge to get admitted into top colleges and universities.
How Do Military Schools Set Themselves Apart?
First off, military schools have a drastically higher graduation rate than public schools, as well as a larger percentage of graduates which go on to attend college and university. It is not uncommon for military schools to have 90% of their graduates accepted into colleges.
Military schools provide a number of benefits not offered by public schools. The ratio of students to teachers in military schools is much lower than the ratios found in overcrowded public schools. Military schools also build physical fitness into their academics in a much more complete fashion than public schools. Typically, the entire student body of a military school must engage in some sort of standardized physical training.
In order to ensure that all its students engage in physical exercise, military schools recognize that not all students are athletes. This leads to a much wider variety of activities, which range from physical to cultural for those students not into sports. These activities can include rifle teams, rock climbing, cycling, photography, drill team, and boxing. Each of these is especially designed to boost physical fitness and mental fortitude, which directly benefits them in the classroom. Additionally, most military academies include participation in JROTC Programs, which is hugely beneficial to students.
Should I Choose an All-Boys Military School?
In a single-gender military school, your son will experience reduced social pressure and have a freedom to express himself without fear of embarrassing himself in front of girls that he wouldn’t be able to achieve at a co-ed school. High school is a turbulent time for young boys, as they develop physically and emotionally and placing them in an environment which specifically caters to the needs of teenage boys has been proven to be beneficial.
All boys schools typically do provide social interaction with the opposite sex. It has been shown that some interaction with women is desirable, during these formative years. Students are also typically free to visit local community and continue to interact with girls there. By monitoring and limiting these interactions, boys are able to slowly become comfortable around girls in a healthy manner.
What Is the Ideal Candidate for A Military School?
Students that would be best served by a military education include:
- Students who are struggling academically.
- Students who require hands-on attention.
- Students who work well in social environments
- Students with an athletic mindset.
- International students seeking to improve their understanding of American culture.
- Students who require structure and training.
- Students with low self-confidence.
Whether you choose to send your son to a military school can be a hard choice to make. One should definitely study these programs carefully and in-depth before making what could be one of the most important decisions in your teenager’s life. The final decision is up to the parents and should definitely be made only after acquiring all the information available.