weapons, as instanced by the use of rifles for drill purposes. 6. That better results could be obtained by devoting the same time and effort to physical training and mass play that is now devoted to military training. 7. That the foreigners object to compulsory military training, since in many instances they have left their native countries to escape it. 8. That the parents of the students. object to the training. ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF MILITARY 1. It will furnish to many of the young men of the country the rudiments of military science, so that if they are called upon to serve in the Nation's armed forces, they will be better prepared to meet this still necessary obligation of citizenship. 2. It will train young men to be physically fit, develop poise and promote personal hygiene and healthy habits. 3. It will inculcate in the boys a love for country and flag, promote discipline and respect for law and authority. 4. It will teach cooperation and leadership. 5. It will teach boys of an impressionable age the true democratic prin ciples of our Government and institutions. THE COMMITTEE'S OPINION After giving careful consideration to the arguments for and against military training in high schools, your committee is convinced that the arguments in favor of it outweigh those against it, and desires to make the following answers, which are based on evidence and facts presented to the committee, to the arguments against the training. ANSWERS TO ARGUMENTS AGAINST MILI TARY TRAINING 1. That eventually a militaristic class will be created. This objection is naturally made since militaristic classes have been created in some countries where universal military service has been in force. There is a great difference, however, between universal military service and military training in high schools. Also one of the first things taught men in the United States Army is that military law is always subservient to civil law. In Switzerland, universal military training has been in force for years in the schools and it is not believed that this Nation can be rightfully accused of having developed militaristic classes or of being a military nation. Your committee believes that there is no danger of the military training in the high schools creating a militaristic class. 2. That a class consciousness will be created. This argument was not advanced for the reason that a militaristic class would be created, but that there would be a gap created between those boys who have had military training in the high schools and those who have not had the advantages of it. It was stated that this gap might assist in promoting internal dissension in this country. This argument may be valid, but in the opinion of your committee, if it were carried to a logical conclusion, high schools should themselves be abandoned, since if a gap is created, the training and education which a student receives in high school will create a much larger one than rudimentary military training. 3. That the training should be available to all boys of a certain age, whether or not high school students, or should be abandoned. Your committee agrees that military training should be available to all boys. In fact, the Chamber is on record in favor of universal military service, but your committee does not believe we should abandon what we have because we can not have what we want. Also under this argument high schools and colleges should be abandoned, because it is not possible for all boys to receive the advantages which these institutions of higher learning offer. 4. That the training tends to inculcate in some boys criminal tendencies. One of the primary functions of military training is to teach law and order and it is your committee's opinion that instead of the training inculcating in some boys criminal tendencies, it would have the opposite effect. The weight of the evidence presented to your committee upholds this opinion. 5. That the boys taking the training can not determine for themselves the difference between carrying concealed weapons, which is prohibited by law, and carrying unconcealed weapons, as instanced by use of rifles for drill pur poses. The boys taking the training are in the tenth and eleventh grades of high school and the majority of them are from sixteen to seventeen years of age. Your committee believes that these boys are capable of judging right and wrong and that our educational system is not accomplishing what it should unless this is the case, especially since the boys are taught the difference between carrying concealed and unconcealed weapons. 6. That better results could be obtained by devoting the same time and effort to physical training and mass play that is now devoted to military training. The primary purpose of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps in the high schools is military training. Physical training and mass play would not furnish such training. Physical training and mass play also do not develop poise and carriage, respect for authority, love of order, discipline, good citizenship, etc., to the extent that military training does. 7. That the foreigners object to com pulsory military training since in many instances they have left their native countries to escape it. The aversion of many foreigners to compulsory military training is undoubtedly sincere, but because some certain class which is in the minority objects to some program of the Government is no reason why that program should be discontinued. Your committee has also been advised that many of the foreigners are in favor of the training. 8. That the parents of the students object to the training. Last year a survey of the opinion of the parents on the training was made by Lieut. Col. E. E. Fuller, who was then the Professor of Military Science and Tactics. and Tactics. Seventy-five per cent of the parents replied and eighty-two per cent of them favored the training. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF THE MILITARY TRAINING During its investigation, the statement was frequently made to your committee that while military training should be of benefit to the students and should be continued, it was failing to meet its full obligations. The investigation was therefore extended to include a survey of the training as given. While the training has been improved from year to year, your committee wishes to list the following criticisms which have been made and its recommendations for correction and improvement: 1. There are several criticisms which deal with the Army personnel in Cleveland, the principals and teachers, and are being considered together. There has been an inability on the part of some of the non-commissioned officers furnished by the War Department to inspire confidence and respect on the part of the students. The students frequently recognize these noncommissioned officers as men whose education is perhaps less than their own, who have never been accustomed to teaching and who use language which they are not accustomed to hearing from their other teachers. These conditions inculcate a feeling in the students of mental and social superiority over their drill masters. This has not been true, however, when the drill masters were commissioned officers. There is also a lack of cooperation on the part of some of the Army officers with the school authorities, especially the principals and in some cases a lack of cooperation on the part of the principals with the officers. The athletic instructors in some of the high schools have also at times felt that the military drill exercises were antagonistic to their own instruction and were opposed to the objects which they sought to accomplish. This has resulted in some cases in indifference or opposition to the training on the part of the physical instructors. It has also been stated that some of the Army officers, especially the non-commissioned ones, object to doing any work except that actually required by the schedule. In order to correct these faults, your committee would recommend that in order to make the military training more attractive and more efficient, there should be a greater number of young commissioned officers assigned to the important work of training students and that it should not be detailed to non-commissioned officers. These of ficers should be men not only of education and culture, but with the spirit. of youth which would bring them into close contact with the student body and enable them by their influence to inspire the students with the spirit of patriotism and respect for duty which can hardly be done under present circumstances. Contact of these young officers with the students should be as intimate as possible, with proper maintenance of respect and discipline. The lack of cooperation has been largely due to the fact that the government officers have not been made members of the high school faculties. These officers should be in no different position than any of the other teachers in the schools. They should be members of the high school faculties, attend the meetings of the faculties and be prepared to cooperate with the principals in every way they can. This method is now employed in one of the high schools with satisfactory results. The opposition on the part of some of the principals, athletic instructors. and teachers, is a matter which should be met by their superiors. If military training is to be a part of our required school training it must necessarily follow that the principals, physical directors, and teachers must enter as heartily into this part of the student's education as any other part. If a teacher were to feel that the study of mathematics was not a necessary study and therefore discouraged it, his usefulness would be negligible. If the government of the schools believes and requires that military education be a part of the curriculum, then any teacher's opposition or indifference to it should render him equally obnoxious to the school authorities and a substitute should be found. The objection of some of the officers to doing any work other than that scheduled should be met by the officer in command. These officers frequently have had special training, or in the course of their duty have traveled extensively and occasionally a lecture from them to some of the classes would be helpful to the students. The Army should not overlook this opportunity of being of service. 2. One other important criticism of the training as given at present is the lack of discipline. It has been thought that military instruction would strengthen discipline in the school as well as in the home, but owing to the fact that there is no efficient means of maintaining discipline, this has been a partial failure. In many cases breaches of discipline in the ranks of the students must be reported through the military instructor to the physical in structor, who in turn reports them to the principal and by the time they reach him they are apt to assume such a minor degree of importance as scarcely to need attention and thus through repeated failures to recognize the breaches or properly to correct them a lack of discipline rather than discipline is inculcated. This indifference in disciplinary matters might conceivably lead to a lowering of the respect and obedience given to teachers and parents. Your committee would recommend that the commissioned officers at the high schools be given full authority to correct, under the guidance of the school principals, any breaches of discipline which occur during the time the students are attending training classes. This would undoubtedly result in the improvement of discipline in the ranks. 3. Frequently the student officers are not permitted to exercise their own initiative except to a very limited degree; in other instances they are not given special training, and in some instances are not carefully selected. These conditions should be corrected. Whenever possible the Army officer in charge of the military instruction at a high school should permit the student officers to instruct the companies and to carry on the training. This would undoubtedly arouse a greater interest on the part of the student offi cers. Special classes under the tutelage of Army officers should be maintained for all of the student officers, at which advanced training might be given and the student officers should be carefully selected by consultation between the Army officers and the principal of the school and with other things equal, should be selected from the older students. 4. At the present time, as stated above, the Government furnishes uniforms, shirts, leggings and overseas caps to the students taking the training. Overcoats and shoes are not furnished. The main criticism which is directed to the training in the high schools by the ex-service men is the way many of the students wear the uniform. The students frequently wear their blouses partially or completely unbuttoned and a civilian hat or cap substituted for the overseas cap. Some of this careless wearing of the uniform is undoubtedly due to the fact that the Government does not furnish overcoats and the students are forced to wear civilian overcoats, thus mixing civilian and military clothing. It is the opinion of the committee that the Government should furnish overcoats. The furnishing of shoes is not important, since the average shoes worn by the students are satisfactory and fit in with the uniform. The overseas caps are not satisfactory and are frequently replaced by civilian headgear. This situation could probably be remedied by the substitution of barracks caps for the overseas caps. The careless wearing of the uniform is not done at school except to a very limited extent, but is done before and after school hours. In the regular Army it is the duty of all commissioned and noncommissioned officers to report any improper wearing of the uniform they observe. It is the opinion of your committee that the improper wearing of the uniform by the high school students can be taken care of in the same manner. The commissioned and noncommissioned student officers should be instructed to report any improper wearing of the uniform they observe either during or after school hours, so that proper disciplinary action could be taken by the Army officers. 5. The physical training which the students receive constitutes one of the most important elements of the military training and the amount of time devoted to it should be increased. At the present time three periods a week are devoted to military training and one to physical training. The one hour devoted to physical training is frequently under the direction of the physical instructor of the school and while your committee sees no objection to the continuance of this practice, it believes that this hour should be devoted to military calisthenics rather than other forms of gymnastics. Ten minutes of each military training period are also devoted to military calisthenics, but this time could well be extended to fifteen minutes or longer. It is true some believe military calisthenics are not equal to other forms of gymnastics. However, those who have. had training in the military camps of this country are fairly uniform in their commendation of the physical development which was carried on in those camps and which was markedly different from the specialized training in gymnastics. Military calisthenics tend to develop poise and motion and erectness of carriage. These points usually do not characterize the man who has merely followed the ordinary course in gymnastics. 6. At several of the high schools there are no suitable fields for drilling and it is frequently necessary to drill in the streets, while at other schools the drilling is done in vacant lots, which are not satisfactory on account of their uneven condition. While this situation is regrettable, your committee does not believe that it can be remedied without undue cost. However, rooms. in each school building sufficient in size. to care for the storage of rifles and other equipment and to serve as lecture. rooms should be provided where they are not available at present. 7. There should be an extended use of ceremonies in the training, since it is through these ceremonies that love for the flag, patriotism, etc., will be promoted. There are several occasions which arise during the year when ceremonies should be held, and through the use of the bands which have been organized in several of the high schools, ceremonies could be made impressive. Two particular instances, however, the raising and lowering of the American flag, should always be accomplished by proper ceremonies. 8. Undoubtedly the best method of arousing the interest of the students in military drill is through competition. Competition at the present time is practically limited in most of the high schools to the field meet which is held each year. At East Technical High School, however, a program of competitive events is arranged embracing the entire year. This should be extended to all of the high schools and the many points in the training which lend themselves readily to competitive events taken advantage of to arouse the students' interest. RECOMMENDATION Your committee recommends that the military training be continued in the Cleveland high schools, but also recommends that in order to attain the highest efficiency the improvements outlined above be placed into effect next year. The Army will do well to consider and take to heart the recommendations for the improvement of the military training in schools which are included in the committee report. They are the result of careful investigation and personal observation of the committee. They indicate some of the rocks and shoals that the R. O. T. C. craft should steer clear of. I |