From Draft NOtices, October - December 2007
—Paula Hoffman
During the summer, while most students, parents and teachers were busy doing other things, the principal at Mission Bay High School, together with the San Diego Board of Education, were hurriedly going through the motions of approving Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps for the Pacific Beach school. At both the July 23 and August 7 board of education meetings, the issue was not even listed as an agenda item, but rather buried in a list of budgetary points. The situation was only given any attention at all because John de Beck, the school board member representing the neighborhood around the school, had questions regarding the cost of the program.
Learning of the plan to sneak in MCJROTC, Project YANO attempted to get out the word. Despite the short notice, community members, parents and students arrived to speak out at the July 23 board meeting. Nine spoke against JROTC, making many important points to the unreceptive and nonobjective board (several board members have military connections themselves). For example, Pentagon-produced textbooks do not go through the standard review process and have been found to contain many ethnocentric stereotypes and subjective generalizations. JROTC instructors are not even required to have a college degree, and none of the strict new credential rules that other teachers are being subjected to under the No Child Left Behind Act apply to the military instructors. Also, money used to finance JROTC siphons away funds that could be used for other badly needed programs. JROTC is not a college prep class, but rather a P.E. credit. Students, already exposed to too much hate and violence, will be taught to use weapons.
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