Inner City Schools Recruit Iraq Vets As Teachers To Restore Order, Discipline
Former soldiers should be encouraged to retrain as teachers, bringing a taste of military discipline to tough, inner-city schools, a leading think-tank has said.
( Press Association ) -A report by the centre-right Centre for Policy Studies called on the Government to take up the example of the Troops to Teachers programme in the United States, focusing on Iraq war vets, where it had proved an “outstanding success”.
It said that the T3 scheme - as it is known in the US - had provided worthwhile careers for ex-servicemen and women while bringing the benefits of their military training to schools which were violent and unsafe.
The proposal was strongly supported by the former chief of defence staff, Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, who said in a forward to the report that it could offer an antidote to some of the problems of youth knife crime, drugs and violence.
“This will not, of course, solve all the problems of the inner city. But it will help,” he said.
“It will provide youths with role models who understand discipline and self-restraint at the time in their lives when they need it most. And it will be a terrific boost for our Armed Services.”
The T3 programme was originally set up in that aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War at a time when US forces were cutting back on numbers.
The report, written by Tom Burkhard, said that the ex-military personnel had proved to be “excellent teachers” who had been able to exert “a profound effect on discipline and learning” in the schools where they worked.
“This is not merely because ex-servicemen are sure of their own moral authority. They are not intimidated by adrenaline-fuelled adolescents: they have, unlike most teachers, been there before,” it said.
The fact that ex-service personnel were seen to have succeeded in a “macho” profession helped to engender respect - particularly among boys.
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This ought to piss off the muzzies in britain.
February 14th, 2008 at 6:43 pmA capital idea. Good common-sense judgement. Hear…hear…
February 14th, 2008 at 6:54 pmI guess the whole country hasn’t jumped the cliff after all.
February 14th, 2008 at 6:54 pmThis is what a lot of WWII vets did when they returned home. If they weren’t in construction or civil service, they became teachers.
But you’ll never hear about these Iraq Vets … no, the MSM news waits for that one junkie/drunk homeless Iraq vet that kills himself or someone else …
February 14th, 2008 at 6:54 pmdrillanwr, yes, they can’t compete with the competition so they’ll smear it.
February 14th, 2008 at 6:56 pmThis is great. Children need all the help they can get.
February 14th, 2008 at 6:59 pmHere in America they can start them in the Berkley Public High Schools. Those children are being robbed of the capacity for rational thought.
I have never heard of this, but it does sound like a great idea, i wonder how well they dvertise for this program among the troops on their way out of service?
February 14th, 2008 at 7:05 pmJolly good! It’s aboot toyme ah-er tikes had a wee little discipline. Those Yanks could do with a little smidge of the same.
February 14th, 2008 at 7:49 pmSorts of makes me think of Robert A. Heinlein’s book, “Starship Troopers”. An excellent novel, describing a world I for one could easily live in. If memory serves it was on the Commandant’s suggested reading list.
Not to be confused with the movie by the way. The makers of that steaming pile of crap owe me a lot more than the $8 I spent to see that travesty in the theatre. There is no possible way that the Producers/Directors read the same book that I have.
February 15th, 2008 at 3:17 amI’ve been saying vets should take over inner-city schools for years.
@hoplitesamurai:
I hear ya. There was a direct-to-video sequel that was even worse.
I’m afraid what they’ll do to Atlas Shrugged.
February 15th, 2008 at 7:57 amSo, the old adage will be replaced by “Those that CAN… Teach”!
February 16th, 2008 at 5:39 am