Predators in the High Schools

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-2005
Predators in the High Schools
24
Sat, 09-30-2006 - 7:32am

With school just getting started I wanted to remind parents that the "No Child Left Behind Act" requires schools to release the private information of students, including home address and telephone number, to military recruiters unless the school has received an "opt out" form from the parents. There is a deadline, so act on this soon. You can get the opt out from from your school or google it and you can find it on the web. If your school did not notify you of your option to opt out this is a violation of federal law and you should contact your local school board and demand a notification be sent to all parents.

Beware, the Army has increased the number of recruiters by 2,000 this year and is offering signing bonuses of up to $40,000 in order to entice your kids to join and they are targeting kids as young as 16 years old. Last year they hired a company known for it's success in marketing t-shirts and cds' to kids to help in their recruiting efforts. Recruiters are not known for being ethical. If your child has decided to join the military, make sure he gets all the promises made to him in writing and have an attorney look it over before he signs the final paperwork.

If your child signed up for delayed enlistment, they probably told him he had entered into a binding legal contract, that is not true and he can feel free to change his mind at any time and considering the worsening situation in Iraq and Afghanistan he may want to reconsider.

If your child is dead set on joining the military you would do well to have him join either the Air Force or Navy. They have higher standards that he would have to meet and he won't get the big bonus, but he probably won't die in the desert.

You can help stop the war by helping reduce the number of kids joining the Army. There is no way they will bring back the draft, and without new blood they'll have to throw in the towel.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-26-2005
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 7:29am
ivdarian your school is violation of federal law. i don't know if that matters to you, but i thought you should know, in case you would like to force them into compliance. which is why i started this thread in the first place.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 10-04-2006 - 12:59pm

I have received it at both schools my boys have attended(one IN, one IL)

I know ILs came in the mail-cant recall about the IN one

Are there specific rules as to how this information must be given? I found the letter effective but fully understand, as a parent, why a note in a bookbag might not be passed on to mom or dad. And a blurb in a newsletter or on a website would be easily missed.

BTW I asked the boys what they wanted to do and, in both cases so far, they opted to have their information given. They expressed more interest in the military at 16/17 than they do now at 18 and 21.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 10-05-2006 - 10:28am

I have been reading this entire thread of posts with interest and the main point that stands out from yours in particular is that you seem dead set against teens even having the CHOICE to consider the military if they so decide. You are right that parents have the option to opt out of these lists, but what you're ignoring is the right to 'just say no' if/when a recruiter calls. A phone call does NOT mean your teens are being targeted, and that a bus will show up at 4am to secretly whisk away your child.

Each family has their own political views, and rest assured that just because a person enlists into the military it doesn't mean they are War Supporters. YOUR teen may have college or something else to look forward to, but the military offers many more choices than what many teens may find at home. Signing up may mean they get dental/medical care for the first time in their lives. They may be offered a chance to succeed without a dad beating the hell out of them. Or they may get some guidance for the first time in their lives. I personally know of a young man who's home didn't even have a toilet in it. My sister is married to a very wealthy man who grew up dirt poor, served 4 years in the Army, went to college with his GI Bill and now is an investigator for the Securities and Stock Exchange.

You can insist your views are correct, but they aren't correct for all of us. As the wife of the Commanding Officer for one of the largest Recruiting Regions in the US, I see the pain in my husband's face everytime a 'bad recruiter' story comes out. I have been in the room when his guys are training, I HEAR them being lectured on their standards of behavior that is expected. My husband expects them to handle themselves professionally, and has fired any person in a heartbeat who can't. He's actually had to deal with several Congressional Inquiries..not because his guys were aggressively recruiting but because they refused to accept certain people into service because they didn't meet the high standards required. His branch doesn't offer incentives and money to join, yet they still turn away unqualified candidates who willingly want to sign up.

Just as you can loudly express your opinions on this matter, there is another side of the arguement that is just as strong. Enlisting in the military is still a matter of choice and for those who want it...they deserve the right to explore their options in a respectful manner.

"Please put us on your Do Not Call List" is much more pleasant than "DON'T ******* ******* CALL ME AGAIN!"

Denise

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-17-2005
Thu, 10-05-2006 - 12:48pm

Thank you for bringing up some valid points that had not yet been addressed. I don't worry myself about the military, because I'm close enough to my son to know that if he were considering it, he'd share that news with me first, and I don't have to worry about him being "targeted". I've raised him to have a mind of his own. I agree 100% that the military offers wonderful opportunities for less fortunate kids. Why shouldn't these kids be given the opportunity to join the military "if" they qualify? Would it better for them to spend their lives on the streets involved in gang violence and a life of drugs?

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