"The infrastructure is already there with the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations... Military academies could be established using their practical experience and existing governance support"
As I said in my own piece on the riots, what we witnessed last August was nothing short of a full-scale rebellion against law and order on the part of an underclass of criminal yobbos; indulged by the powers that be for far too long. In the aftermath of the carnage, there was much soul-searching as to what had ‘caused’ the riots. Beyond the superficial cause of the shooting of Mark Duggan, the totemic police ‘assassination’ that triggered the initial protests outside the Tottenham Constabulary, it seemed clear most were actuated by pure criminal opportunism. In recognising this fact it seemed, finally, that people were waking up and resisting the urge to embrace their inner-social worker and blame it all on ‘inequality’ or ‘deprivation’. Early attempts to do so – by the likes of Harriet Harman – were quickly slapped down. People were fed up with excuses and even our Lib-Dem Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, correctly labelled their crimes “acquisitional”.
David Cameron has been speaking for a long time about Britain’s “broken society”. It was an analysis ridiculed by the Left but vindicated by the scenes we witnessed on the streets of London and elsewhere last year. The need to tackle the problem of the Underclass is acute. We have created a generation of feral youths, starved of discipline, structure and guidance. Many of them are devoid of self-worth, let down by a failing education system that robs them of opportunities and avenues for fulfilment. They lack role-models and moral leadership at home and are beset by dysfunction and family breakdown, benefit dependency and a fundamental lack of stability in their lives. If we accept this analysis then it becomes clear that education has become the Government’s most important battleground in addressing anti-social behaviour and the dispossession of our youth. It gives the policy agenda being pursued by the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, new urgency.
I fully support the measures introduced by Mr Gove thus far, including the rolling out of academies and introduction of free schools. I think in some areas, however, it will be necessary to go further, to take the steps needed to address the issues highlighted above. When you consider two thirds of those who took part in the disturbances were classed as having ‘special educational needs’ and one in ten of those subsequently appearing before the courts had been permanently excluded from school – the importance of addressing this situation becomes stark!
It is for this reason that I commend the Green Paper released by the think-tank ResPublica last week on the subject of military academies. I should declare an interest at the outset, in that I am currently volunteering for ResPublica and had the honour of proof-reading the paper prior to publication (though I take no credit for its content, which belongs with our director, Phillip Blond, and his co-author, Dr Patricia Kaszynska). Nevertheless, I highly recommend that Toasters read the paper in full (link).
Essentially, what ResPublica propose is the establishment of a chain of MoD-backed schools focussing on the so-called ‘NEET blackspots’ (ie, those areas of the country with a high concentration of young people Not in Employment, Education or Training or a high number of youths at risk of becoming NEET). Now, the idea of teaching establishments with military connexions and a military ethos are by no means a new idea. Indeed, the paper points to the successful ‘Troops to Teach’ scheme in the US as an example of how this might be achieved. But I have certainly never seen the idea more comprehensively realised than in this paper. Of course, that has not prevented the wearyingly predictable chorus of Left-wing disapproval.
The proposal was caricatured as “boot camps for the poor” in that august journal The Morning Star and subject to shrill denunciations by the Anti-Academies Alliance as “another plank in the plan for the deregulation and privatisation of state education” and by the teaching unions. Indeed, the comments by Chris Keats of the NASUWT made it clear that I need not have bothered proof-reading the paper at all, as she patently did not trouble herself with reading it. Miss Keats accused ResPublica of “cynical misuse and misrepresentation of the causes of the riots” and branded the proposals “national service for the poor”. Of course, the true motivation of the teaching unions, as I have previously vouchsafed, is cynically to maintain their own stranglehold on the profession and uphold their little fiefdoms. All meaningful educational reform in anathema to them – and nothing more so than a proposal like this, that would bring much-needed talent into the education system but from outside the narrow clique of the profession, which can be absorbed and indoctrinated into the teaching unions.
The ResPublica Green Paper starts from the premise that our once great nation has, over a period of time, lost many of the foundational moral institutions that used to give young people the resilience, discipline and confidence that they need to get on in life. It is hard to think of a single institution more equipped to plug that gap than Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. What ResPublica propose are a chain of transformative educational institutions. This is not ‘pie-in-the-sky’, as many may try to pretend. The infrastructure is already there with the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Associations (which Mr Gove recently called for to be established in every state school). Military academies could be established using their practical experience and existing governance support.
These military academies would have the ability to capitalise on the huge untapped source of technical and vocational experience that exists within HM Armed Forces. This would not be simply a matter of ‘sticking a drill sergeant in a class room’, as some on the Left might like to portray. By expanding the training programme already accredited by the Cadet Vocational Qualification Organisation, education could be delivered by graduates qualified to teach in the normal manner, though initially recruited into the Reserves through the University Officer Training Corps. This would also open up a whole new employment option for ex-regular Service personnel, who would be able to serve their communities far more effectively than if they became a club bouncer or a security guard for Group 4 after their tour of duty.
Imagine it – a network of dedicated institutions, targeted at our most deprived young people, providing them with character-forming, values-based education, emphasising discipline, dedication, pride and traditional and vocational skills, with extra-curricular activities aimed at promoting self-worth through active engagement in competitive sport and community service. Imagine all those hoodies and dispossessed youths: given somewhere to go; somewhere to grow; to experience the camaraderie of being part of a ‘team’, rather than part of a ‘gang’; to be given the structure and boundaries that have been missing in other parts of their lives. It is no exaggeration to say that this scheme could not only prove transformational for some of our most disadvantaged and underprivileged young people but, moreover, would provide an inestimable benefit to society at large.
As Dr Kaszynska put it to me; this is not about “militarising education… it’s about bringing the military into the civic sphere”. The paper simply aims to extend the military ethos beyond its traditional confines into those parts of society that could benefit. It would be very easy to dismiss this as ‘indoctrinating’ children to a ‘militarist’ or ‘jingoistic’ mind-set (no doubt many on the Left will try to do just that). We desperately need to broaden our thinking if we are to tackle the problems our society faces; including levels of social mobility that have remained static since the 1970s. Military academies will open up new opportunities for those lacking hope and aspiration and replace hopelessness and dependency with purposefulness and self-reliance. It would also make better use of the talent and expertise of HM Armed Forces and, if it does increase a sense of patriotism and pride and lead more young people to choose to join the Reserves, then all the better. I see no reason to discourage an outcome that would provide young people with better employment opportunities and a possible career path in the Forces.
The Green Paper has been welcomed by the Government and received support from senior figures in the military. We can only hope that this proposal will be taken forward and turned into a reality.
A.P. Schrader writes, as ever, in his personal capacity and the views expressed above do not necessarily reflect the views of ResPublica
This sort of creative thinking, developing new ideas to difficult problems is to be welcomed. The difficulties that surround NEETs are especially problematic because all too easily these youngsters can turn into the long term unemployed of tomorrow, lacking skills, chances and representing a drag on the economy and a waste of a life. However, like all new ideas there are, almost inevitably, a few difficulties. The military solution seems to provide a state solution where the original state solution, education, has already failed. Surely, the most sensible approach is to make the education system work properly, rather than devising a remedy for a problem that should not be there in the first place. At the same time with reduced funding going into the military, where does the money come from to pay for this additional activity? However, given that cadets and military reservist places are already available, I can only assume that this initiative will be achieved by coercion rather than by voluntary means. And you would be right if you thought you could detect misgivings on this point. I also make the assumption that this training would not lead to combat roles, in which case, what is the military imperative? Are the top brass looking at the cash injection or is there some broader strategy that this plan supports? Will the military guarantee a job at the end of the training period, what happens to those who don’t make the grade?
A green paper is open for debate and as one part of a solution amongst many this probably has merit. At the same time it may deflect attention away from the real problems of an education system that lets down too many people and a lack of genuine opportunity for people at the start of their career.
Posted by Derek Campbell | January 17, 2012, 8:30 pmThank-you for your comments, Mr Campbell. Please forgive my delay in replying.
I certainly agree with everything you say about NEETs, which is why debating ideas that address these problems is so urgent. The Green Paper is designed to pitch an idea and promote such a debate.
Reading comments, I would reiterate what Dr Kaszynska said: “This is not about ‘militarising education’… it’s about bringing the military into the civic sphere”. This is not a ‘military solution’, it’s an educational solution. It is seeking to make the education system work better by establishing skills with a military ethos, that build on what works in the military and harnesses the skills and training that exist there. Military Academies would not be a stand-alone MoD project – they would be set up in conjunction with the DfE as part of the free schools programme.
You assume the initiative will be “achieved by coersion” but nowhere in the Green Paper is that suggested. These would be free schools just like any other. Parents can ‘choose’ to send their children there and can petition their local authorities to set one up in their area, so responding to local demand.
You are correct in your assumption this ‘training’ would not lead to combat roles. Indeed, you use the word ‘training’ a lot in your comments. Let me be clear, this is not ‘training’, these youngsters will not be receiving ‘military training’, they will be receiving a standard education conforming to the national curriculum, just as in any school – be it state, public, grammar, academy, free school, church school, etc, etc. The only difference, as in all these cases, will be the ‘ethos’ of the school itself. The military will not “guarantee a job at the end of the training period” because this is NOT a training exercise or a recruitment drive. This is, as Dr Kaszynska says, not about bringing kids into the military, it’s about bringing the military ethos into education.
Posted by A.P. Schrader | January 24, 2012, 1:04 pm