Military schools, contrary to common belief, are not all drills, squats and jumping jacks. It's not also a place where bad children are sent as a last resort. While military schools emphasize a military style environment, they also feature a specialized curriculum that places importance on a strong education background, ensuring that cadets receive a quality education.
Students are called "cadets" when attending military school, as all life, activities and education emulates the military structure. In the past, military schools were only for the sons of the well-off families with the intention of developing character and high educational values.
Over the years, military schools turned into modern day schools for rebellious teenagers. However, kids aren't placed in a military schools in order to be punish them; on the contrary, they're placed there in order to correct their behavior. Military schools have garnered negative publicity over the years, particularly during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, significantly lowering enrollment. To compensate, many military schools turned to offering structured environments for troubled teens.
As with any school, military schools are not without problems, but unlike ordinary schools, military schools have a better approach in correcting rebellious behavior. They work to ensure that cadets will show improvement for the duration of their highly structured programs, using emotional, physical, and other means to teach cadets to respect themselves and others.
The schools' progressive academic programs help each cadet improve as they strive to attain certain goals in their program. The boys enrolled in military schools undergo rigorous training that aims to teach boys on how to better understand themselves. This training also helps young men understand their own weaknesses and strengths. Evaluations are conducted during the first weeks of training to provide an overview on what areas need improvement.
Military schools offer an effective emotional growth program, with personal development courses, educational videos and tapes. The objective of this highly structured program is to help create responsible young adults by changing negative habits and choices. Military schools have been perceived as a interdisciplinary programs and, to a large extent, this is true. With ever increasing numbers of troubled teenagers, military schools fill an important role in the education.