Country Concerns.....

I work in a more rural school district. It's where I could find a job with my teaching certification.

I just found out that one of my former students, a relatively bright and capable young man, signed his life away to the Navy.

That's the sad part. He was, and still is I'm sure, a bright and capable student. The problem is that he was educated in rural America.

In the city, students typically go to a kindergarten through eighth grade school and then off to a school that deals more with their potential “future track.” It might be an arts oriented school, a technical academy, college prep - whatever. Something specialized.

In rural districts – unless a student goes to vocational training in 11^th and 12^th grade, they take generic courses. All the classes from 9-11 are basically Regents test prep courses. With the exception of Art, Music, MST (Math, Science, and Technology. Formerly called “Industrial Arts.”), Gym, and any business classes they might take – all courses are Regents test prep. Plain and simple. Twelfth Grade is college “stuff” and study halls. Maybe a part time job.

It leads to a very mundane educational life with little aspiration for the future. It's how I was when I graduated from high school in the country. I went to college because I was “supposed to” and then languished in the restaurant industry until I decided I needed to do something with myself.

The military was not an option for me – a disability ruled me out. For many rural students, this is their only hope. If mom & dad can't put up the money for private schools, the student is stuck with a very generic education that prepares them for pretty much nothing.

Granted – there are teachers that “get to students” and help them figure out what they want to do. This is not the case for every student. They do all the interest inventories and career tests. They do the research projects on careers. Apply to college, graduate, and fall through the cracks of life.

In this hopelessness are the open hands of the military. Just waiting to catch the alienated student who has no hope or can't afford college. Waiting with all the promises - a sense of purpose and a way out of a community that has nothing for the high school graduate. (Unless you count minimum wage jobs in restaurants and retail or long hours on farms a future.)

Rural students need more than this – being a ripe recruiting field for the military,

Just like the poor inner city youth that have nothing to look forward and sign their lives away for the bottom line, too many of our bright rural youth are taking the same plunge. To protect America from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

The first enemy they need to protect us from is a system that sets them up for nothing.