The Military Model of Preparatory School Education
12/7/2015
We use “education speak” often around Riverside and frequently we speak of the military model of preparatory school education. I decided that it might be good to define it for parents.
The Military Model of Preparatory School Education
The core of an education is the development of the cognitive abilities and the discovery of one’s life pursuits. But the sub-flooring or foundation of an education is the acquisition or enhancement of character and the all-important ability to lead in government, business, churches, hospitals, and more.
Character has many dimensions and is the most important element of one’s demeanor; its dimensions must be addressed in a deliberate and repetitive way. The dimensions of integrity, moral reasoning, ethical decision- making, self-discipline, sound judgement, accountability, cultural appreciation, and social skills are imperatives in the study of character and must be pervasive in the curriculum and co-curriculum.
I view today’s society as evidence of the absence of these imperatives in a modern secondary school education. Some might suggest a one-year course in philosophy including the examination of the ancient writings of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and others as the antidote, but although helpful, philosophy is not the answer. I repeat, character and leadership studies and their inherent dimensions must be pervasive and repetitive throughout the curriculum.
Leadership development is part and parcel to the development of character. Why would we want to develop leaders lacking in character and the inherent dimensions of integrity, morality, ethics, and more? Leadership cannot be taught solely in the classroom. There must be hands on application to develop the character dimensions as well as caring, organizational and planning skills, force of personality, carriage and bearing, and more.
The military model of education, with its boarding school environment, is the only place where this form of wholistic education is available or even feasible. Although all military schools purport to development cadets in a wholistic way, the programs are not equal from school to school. It is safe to say that all develop leadership skills effectively because of their inherent characteristics that include rank structure, organization, physical fitness, discipline, and order. However, the study of character and its dimensions are often assumed as concomitant learnings in lieu of the deliberate and intentional delivery of these outcomes. It requires a savvy and forceful kind of administration to carve out the time for these studies and to get the buy-in from faculty and staff for implementation.
The chart below explains that the core dimension of cadet development is the cognitive element,but it articulates the other affective dimensions of the whole person that military academies like Riverside emphasize, teach, demand, and assess. It is hard to explain in human terms how important these affective dimensions are in the development of character and subsequently, success.
Respectfully,
Dr. James H. Benson, President
Col, USMC (Ret)