The Benefits of Enrolling Your Child in a Military Boarding School
By: David Bolthouse | 3 Comments
Students who attend military boarding schools are more likely to succeed academically than their public school counterparts. But they don’t just prepare students for college. They prepare them for life.
Here are five important, lifelong benefits for enrolling your child in a military boarding school.
1. They Learn Leadership Skills — One of the primary ways military boarding schools teach leadership is by modeling it. Many instructors and adult leaders have strong military backgrounds, having themselves served as leaders in the United States Armed Forces. These experienced role models mentor the students, teaching them the utmost personal and professional conduct by example. But before students can learn to lead, they first are taught how to follow. In military school, students follow a chain of command and learn to respect authority. The student body is organized into ranks: individual, platoon, company and battalion. This creates opportunities for mentorship and teamwork. Students earn opportunities to lead according to their accomplishments and seniority.
2. They are Given Boundaries—In military boarding school, students thrive on a structured schedule. They have assigned times for wake-up, meals, class, homework, physical activity, recreation and lights-out. This routine instills time management skills, responsibility, accountability, and motivation within each student and peer group. Students learn to take expectations seriously, and they discover a sense of pride in succeeding within structured parameters. These parameters also eliminate the unhealthy liberties and leisure time that can lead to trouble, and rather provide ample opportunities for young men and women to flourish.
3. They are Taught Discipline—Students are taught to follow specific rules, which are in place to help them achieve their goals. Discipline at military school is not harsh or punitive, but rather focuses on helping each student build inner strength by managing his own actions and reactions. Students are given flexibility to fail, knowing that some of the best lessons are learned through mistakes.
Military boarding schools focus on developing both self-control and self-discipline—two character traits that will help students succeed not only in school but also later in life. Students discover true satisfaction comes from hard work and obedience, not from breaking rules or taking the easy way out. Self-confidence is built when students do the right thing. Ultimately, the goal of discipline at military boarding school is to transform youth into productive and cultivated adults upon graduation and beyond.
4. They are Given Plenty of Personal Responsibility—Students in military boarding schools are taught to take responsibility for themselves in a manner that’s not typically required at other boarding schools. For example, they must maintain meticulous care of their uniforms, rooms, and personal hygiene, as well as learn to be on time for every class, meal and formation. Leaders and mentors are available to keep students on task, but their objective is to teach students to manage their own conduct with dignity and respect for themselves, their classmates, and their superiors. Personal responsibility is closely related to self-sacrifice. Military boarding schools train students to appreciate their abilities and to care for those who are less fortunate. Many military boarding schools donate hundreds of community service hours each year by inviting students to serve at local agencies and assist with volunteer projects that benefit those in need.
5. They Learn the Value of Integrity—Finally, students in military boarding schools operate under a strict code of conduct. Every student is responsible to behave with respect toward superiors and peers. Students learn that rebellious or disrespectful behavior only hurts their own progress; therefore, they come to value discipline and develop a strong work ethic. Hard work also involves serving others and sacrificing “self” for the sake of the team. At boarding military school, students learn that success is built on honorable personal conduct and accomplishments.
Respect, discipline, service, selflessness, sacrifice—these are the tenets of the military boarding school character, and they differentiate our students from other boarding schools. When you choose military school for your children, you can rest assured the values they will learn during their formative years will serve them, their families and their communities for many years to come.
