Fort Jackson Centennial

Click here to see pictures of the Stamp Show.

This past weekend I went with my husband to a Stamp Show hosted by the Columbia Philatelic Society. I expected to sit on the side knitting while I waited on my husband like I have done at other shows. But I was surprised to hear of a special ceremony unveiling a First Day Cover celebrating the centennial anniversary of Ft. Jackson. I was also thrilled to see Dr. Mick Zais, the President of the American Philatelic Society, there since I knew him as our former (and awesome) state Superintendent of Education. Dr. Zais is a retired Brigadier General and a former Newberry College President so you can imagine how thrilled I was that he took a photo with me!

Colonel Mark Shade, Deputy Commander, was one of the speakers and he told a lot of interesting information that I didn’t know about. After hearing him, I wanted to do some more research and thought I would share with you some things I learned from the speaker and the research.

1.     It was purchased by local businesses and local government in 1917 and donated to the War Department.

2.     It was named for President Andrew Jackson

3.     First drafted soldiers arrived in September 1917.

4.     August 15, 2940, Camp Jackson became known as Fort Jackson.

5.     Ft. Jackson covers 52,000 acres in Columbia, SC.

6.     There is a national cemetery there.

7.     It is the largest and most active Initial Entry Training Center in the United States Army.

8.     There have been about 5 million soldiers who have trained here.

9.     More than 50% of soldiers are trained here.

10.  Schools offered here:

§  Leader Training Brigade

§  Master Resilience Training

§  IMT Leadership School

§  US Army Physical Fitness School

§  US Army Drill Sergeant School

§  AIT Platoon Sergeant

§  US Army Student Detachment

§  Basic Combat Training

§  AIT – Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic School

§  Task Force Marshall

§  US Army Chaplain School

§  NCO Academy

§  Soldier Support Institute

§  Financial Management School

§  Adjutant General School

§  National Center for Credibility Assessment

§  Postal School

11.  There is a museum call the US Army Basic Combat Training Museum that is open to the public.

12.  There is a US Army Chaplain Museum.

13.  There is a US Army Adjutant General’s Corp Museum.

I hope sometime soon to go visit the museums. I have heard about Ft. Jackson but never really thought about how much history and education there is connected to it.

If you have a military installation near you, you might find that it is more interesting than you expected. If you do have one that students might find interesting, please share!

Understanding The Military and Special Education

Recently we held our Passport to Success 2010 which is an event filled day of activities enabling students to receive information which will assist them in transitioning from high school to post secondary training or post school employment. I think it is a wonderful event which brings agencies and businesses together for the students and parents in one venue. In fact, I was thrilled to see some parents attend and get involved.

It was my job to invite vendors to the event and was thrilled that in our economic situation, that about 25 vendors decided to attend. The US Army Recruiting Office was one of those that sent a confirmation that they would attend. I was so excited to have them present because so many of our students ask about going into the military.

Yet on that day, two nice recruiters arrived to talk to me and said that if any of these students had “special education” in their records anywhere, the military would not accept them. I tried to explain that not all of the students in special education are developmentally disabled or physically disabled and that some may have minor disabilities that still enable them to attend college. They said that they understand that but that the military doesn’t offer any accommodations like the education system offers and would not take any student who received special education services. Of course, they asked me not to “kill the messenger” because they were just relaying what they were told to do. Then they politely left.

I can understand not wanting to have someone developmentally disabled or unable to control their behavior having a gun in their hands. I understand not wanting to have someone who can’t read or write or understand basic instructions because it would be too dangerous. But that is not everyone who receives special education services! Is this not discrimination?

What I don’t understand is who is lying? I know some students who received special education services that are serving in the military right now. I know their permanent records showed special education services because I have seen those records. I also know that they are performing well and in fact, moving up in ranks. Many current students know these people also and are getting mixed messages here. They don’t understand when some people are saying they can’t join and then others show they can by their actions. I’m not sure even I understand the right story.

I have had former special education students who are able to hunt and even provide food for their families. They have worked construction jobs and some have even worked on their own houses to provide shelter for their families. Some of my students are even quite adept at using computers and repairing them. For most of their jobs, they are required to prove competence and no one cares if they received special education services when they were in school. If they are incompetent, they lose their jobs and that is fair.

How can we deny these students the right to serve our country? Many people complain about our young people not appreciating our own country and then we treat the ones that do in this manner. I also look at the statistics and see how many people in our country have some kind of disability or another. Where will the military draw the line? Yesterday they were accepted but today they are not and tomorrow they might be?

I also think this is setting a precedent for students and parents to refuse the help that a school can provide. I think that many can struggle and possibly survive the school system without help but is that the best we can do for our students? I know that I have taught my students to find out what they need and what works best for them so they can apply it to their lives after they leave my classroom. Could this not also work if they chose the military path? What is the military so afraid of? I know the military came to our school and gave the ASVAB test so wouldn’t that rule out many who couldn’t pass the test? I believe that some of my special education students would be able to surpass some of the general education students in a physical test. Everyone who enters the military goes to basic training which would be one more level for students to show competence.

Is this a way to discourage students and parents from seeking special education services? It is hard enough for the students to face the stigma of having a disability but to me, this is just another insult. I spend hours and days telling my students that they have nothing to be ashamed of because a disability is not their fault. Yet, I feel that it is my responsibility to share this information with parents and students when they are considering special education services. Parents and students need to be given the whole picture and not find out until it is too late.

What do you think? Should this information be shared with parents and students or not? How do we prepare students who want the military to be an option when they graduate? Please share your thoughts.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'The Drill Instructor'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46042146@N00/1052385311 by: Randy Robertson

Military Recruiters Dilemma

We hold an annual event for 300-400 juniors and seniors to look at opportunities for after graduating high school. This is a big “transition” event for our students who are getting special education services. Yet, even though they receive these services, most of them will earn a high school diploma and many will go on to college. Some are very interested in going into the military. We really would like military recruiters to be there but last year they wouldn’t come and I was told that they were told not to be there. So, this year I thought I could contact commanding officers and hopefully persuade them to allow the recruiters to attend.

When I called the Navy recruiter here in Greenville, SC, I had a terrible experience. When I requested the commanding officer’s name, the phone call was passed to Officer Dobbs. Officer Dobbs kept asking me how he could help me and his voice kept rising. I tried to tell him that all I wanted was the commanding officer’s name and then was going to ask how I could contact this person but he refused to tell me. I couldn’t understand what I did that caused him to yell at me. When I asked him if he would give me this person’s name, he loudly stated that he would not. When I hesitated and told him that I guess I could find this information from someone else, he said fine and hung up on me.

I really didn’t want a big fuss about this but now this really concerns me. As a citizen and a taxpayer I am shocked and appalled that I was treated this way. I didn’t know that asking this information was classified information and it concerns me that there isn’t any accountability or a chain of command for recruiters. What does a person do if there is a problem with a recruiter or the office? My husband was in the navy years ago and was always told to give the name of the commanding officer is asked and he was even shocked at how I was treated. I worry about recommending students to consider the military as an option if this is how an average citizen is treated.

What started out as a simple request (or maybe it just seemed like it was to me) has turned into an issue that really concerns me.

Since this has happened, I have emailed lots of people in the military when I could find an email address. I even went so far as to comment on the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff’s facebook page. I was given the contact info of an office in Raleigh, NC but when I called, I was told that most everyone was on the road traveling for the week so I will give it a try this week. I was also contacted by someone in Atlanta that actually gave me a name of someone in Raleigh to call which was helpful.

I was told by one person that due to homeland security issues that is why I was not told the commanding officer’s name. How in the world does asking for someone’s boss become a security issue? It kind of makes me feel like we live in a Nazi state instead of a democracy. If there is no chain of command that I can go through, then they are basically tell me that if I don’t like something, too bad. Yet, they are willing to take my tax money to pay for whatever they want. I can’t imagine someone walking into my classroom and stating that I can’t tell them the name of my principal, or superintendent of education because it would make the school unsafe!

The thing that worries me most is that this was just the Navy that I contacted. I am dreading the thought of still having to contact the Army, Air Force, Marines, and National Guard! Then part of me really resents the fact that I am dreading this because our military should be something that we are proud of. I should not have to be afraid of contacting them. What message is the military sending out?

In the future, I am going to try to get my whole request in before the officer I talk to feels threatened in any way. But I feel it is important to contact someone in command instead of just talking to the lowest man on the totem pole or I will end up with the same results as last year and not have any recruiters at our event. If you have any suggestions or names of people that I could call, please feel free to give me your suggestions.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'First Phasers'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/46042146@N00/1065156117 by: Randy Robertson