Sunday, April 6, 2008

Militarization of British schools

From what I can tell, the Labour PM in Britain wants all secondary school pupils to "receive basic military training as a means of developing greater affiliation with the armed forces." Translated into American, it seems to mean that he wants all high school students to undergo some light version of the ROTC. The focus of the plan appears to be poorer schools, and the aim is clearly to instill discipline in a youth culture that many Britons are appalled at (big surprise – when hasn't one generation disapproved of the next?). Mark Brady at the Liberty & Power blog has a great quote from George Orwell on the traditional resentment of most Britons towards militarism and the armed forces...hopefully this plan will be received in Britain as I would imagine it would be in the US, that is, with shock and disapproval.

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