What the poor really need is to go to a Military School

[noblegiraffe]

...says Gavin Williamson who also has one eye on the army recruitment crisis, no doubt.

“The Tory MP has already said Armed Forces schools in deprived areas would boost the ‘life chances, confidence and self-discipline’ of youngsters.”

metro.co.uk/2018/04/02/government-backing-plans-create-military-schools-help-poor-children-7434494/

Yes - the report seems a little dated now - it'll be interesting to see what fresh evidence the Tories come up with given the fact that Troops to Teachers didn't fare well. Also wonder which countries have been doing this well (and whether they are at all comparable to UK in any way).

I don't think this policy would necessarily be to provide a pipeline of kids to join the army (maybe some would join at 18)...I think the greater anticipated benefit would be for school workforce and financing issues...

You could imagine how unpopular military schools would be in certain parts of the UK.

You get the impression that deep down the Tories believe that reintroducing corporal punishment in schools would solve all the ills of society.

I realise that you're talking about general education, but teenage DS is a part-time army musician and has learnt a huge amount that he wasn't prepared to hear from school staff or his parents - physical fitness, time management, ironing, getting up early, and how to reshape a damp woolly beret, for starters.

Serenity you are Sir Humphrey and I claim my £5.

Perhaps they've been watching re-runs of Bad Lads? Yes, the military experience can be the very making of some people. But it's not a panacea and I would be very wary of making this policy in general. That said, in a big conurbation, they'd probably get enough pupils. But it would be pretty dreadful for anyone who was allocated it because their actual preferences were full

I think there are some kids, maybe boys especially, who benefit from a strict regime, and perhaps they even need someone breathing down their neck 24/7. Some don't cope well with having lots of free time to manage themselves. Some really need the feeling of esprit de corps and some benefit from having something very concrete to kick against.

However, to imply that the problems of all the poor or underperforming are down to lack of discipline (as represented by military schools) is basically an attempt to present a narrative that blames impoverished and overstretched parents and underfunded schools for the dire academic underperformance figures, the ASBO rates, the lack of preparedness for employment of so many young people.

The real story is that parents live with the enormous stress that comes from working dead end, underpaid jobs and dealing with the welfare system as housing costs skyrocket and the owner class gets richer on their backs, schools that can't cater for the complex needs of children living in grinding poverty, and the very sorry state of both youth and adult mental health and addiction services.