National body of educators takes up ASVAB issue

This report comes from Arlene Inouye, who is an educator in the Los Angeles public school system and is coordinator of the Coalition Against Militarism in our Schools (CAMS -- see the "Resources" list in the column at left). She attended the Representative Assembly of the National Education Association (NEA) and submitted a New Business Item (NBI) about the use of the Armed Services Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test in high schools, which gains students' personal information for recruitment purposes.

Arlene writes:


The 87th NEA-RA gathered in Washington DC with political activism taking center stage in the fight for public education in this critical election year. The NEA Representative Assembly is the annual meeting of national delegates representing 3.2 million educators, who make decisions on the beliefs, legislation, policies, and actions of the organization, and elect its leadership. What is striking about the NEA is that it is engaged in a democratic process with 9,000 educators around the nation. It provides an opportunity for grassroots teachers and activists to bring issues of concern with recommended actions and to have an input regarding the core values of the organization.

There were 83 new business items which are calls to action in the next year. They included a variety of topics such as actions to denounce the No Child Left Behind Act, to promote health care reform, support for immigrants and English language learners, and to address social security concerns to name a few. For the past 4 years, CAMS has brought to the RA issues regarding military recruitment. We also have brought issues to the American Federation of Teachers and California Federation of Teachers the other arm of our local United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA). The first time we raised Section 9528 of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2004, educators were stunned because they did not know that high schools gave military recruiters the personal information of juniors and seniors.

This year we brought the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (or ASVAB) to the floor of the RA and in writing. After receiving support from the California delegation the following was proposed and passed by the body of NEA. This new business item states:


NEA opposes mandatory and/or coerced participation of students in the administration of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) exam.

Rationale: The primary purpose of the exam is for admission to the Armed Forces. Schools are using this as a means of career exploration. However, the exam is only an assessment of the student’s current knowledge and is not a predictor of inclination toward specific skill sets or interests.

Many speakers came forward to speak for and against the ASVAB, but few objected to oppose its mandatory or coerced participation. One of our UTLA supporters gave a strong statement regarding the targeting of working poor and youth of color by military recruiters with their humvees and slick propaganda. He asked why don’t we see recruiters for doctors, lawyers, engineers in our schools? NEA adopted this legislative amendment.

In summary, the NEA can be an excellent forum to raise issues of military recruitment in the public schools. Many educators told me that they didn’t know about the ASVAB, and thanked me for raising the issue. But the story that touched me the most was a middle school teacher in California who I first met last year at the RA. When I told him about CAMS he told me that he was a navy veteran. He went into the military because in high school his counselor had told him THAT was his only option. Even though he was smart, he was Latino and came from a working poor family. He said that he didn’t know any better and enlisted. He was discharged after he had spoken out against the navy, went to college and became a teacher. He told me that since we met, he has been telling his middle school students about his experience in the Navy, giving them the message that it is not macho and cool to be in the military. He tells them about what it feels like to know that you have dropped bombs that injure and kill persons. His Principal has talked with him about not speaking against the military, but he is not concerned since he is the president of his Teachers’ Union . He thanked me for that initial discussion we had while waiting for a shuttle bus at the RA. It blows my mind to think of all the students that can be potentially touched because educators have been given the information about military recruitment, or have been encouraged to share their own stories.

--Arlene Inouye, CAMS Coordinator http://www.militaryfreeschools.org/, http://www.projectgreatfutures.org/

Flobots Rise

Check out the new "Make our schools military free" page on the social networking site just launched in conjunction with the Flobots CD, Fight With Tools.

"Your weapons are already in hand.

Reach within you and find

the means by which to gain your freedom.

Fight with tools.

Your fate and that of everyone you know

depends on it."

-- from the piece, "We are winning" by Flobots, as read by Minnie Baldwin

Becoming a firefighter

Nice article today from the Austin American-Statesman about Austin Fire Department outreach to high school students.
For students interested in becoming a firefighter, check out this page at the AFD website.
The Fire Department also has a training program at LBJ High School that may be expanded to other schools.

From the Austin American-Statesman:

Austin Firefighters help teach teens
by Tony Plohetski
Monday, July 07, 2008

The children and teens huddled around firefighter Randall Larsen outside the Austin Fire Department training academy, watching and listening as he demonstrated nearly every piece of equipment he uses on the job.
He told them how he and other firefighters connect water hoses, and how they wear special suits to help protect them in burning buildings. Larsen also explained how the force of the water can reach the top of downtown high-rises.
"It's pretty cool," said Ray Gomez, a 15-year-old Travis High School student. "There are a lot of things to learn, like the equipment and everything they have to put on."
But this was no routine demonstration.
The group, made up of about 20 students ranging from sixth-graders to high school seniors, were part of Camp Fire USA's Teens in Action program, in which children from low-income families learn about their community and design projects to meet certain civic needs.
The kids spent the day last month learning how the Fire Department responds to certain emergencies and preparing to create a project using that information, said Cori Stennett, a Camp Fire USA program director.
The students probably are going to design emergency preparedness kits for those who might not be able to afford items such as battery-operated radios, first aid kits and nonperishable food, Stennett said.
This is the first year Camp Fire USA has asked the department to help in its projects. The department is conducting another session this month for another group of students.
Dawn Clopton, an acting assistant chief for the department, said that when Camp Fire USA officials asked for their help this year, department officials saw an opportunity to spread the message of fire prevention and to deliver a pitch to older students about firefighting careers.
"We want to be good and responsible members of the community, and there was no reason to say no," Clopton said.
During their day with the firefighters, the students toured the city's communication center, where 911 operators take emergency calls, and listened to reasons why they might want to become Austin firefighters.
They also learned about the importance of being ready for emergencies.
"It's been really interesting," said Jalal Goggins, a 14-year-old student at Austin High School. "We need to all know this stuff for actual emergencies and how we can help ourselves and other people."

Paper Over Iraq

In Burlington, Vermont, a project of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is using the art of paper-making to transform military uniforms into books and art paper as mediums for words and images.


See more about this creative project, Combat Paper at the site of the Green Door Studio. Here's their introduction to the project:

About Combat Paper

The story of the soldier, the Marine, the men and the women and the journeys within the military service in a time of war is our basis for the project. This is a collaborative project initiated by Drew Matott and Drew Cameron along with members of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. Utilizing uniforms worn in combat in Iraq, veterans cut, cook, beat and form sheets of paper out of their uniforms. In this way, veterans are able to use the transformation processes of papermaking to reclaim their uniform as art and begin to reconcile their experiences as a soldier in Iraq.

Essay contest!

This fall in Austin, a group from the Austin Mennonite Church is sponsoring a National Assembly to Honor Freedom of Conscience, scheduled for October 3 -5 to be held at the Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Austin. Keynote speaker will be Walter Wink, noted author and theologian.

As part of the goings-on, the group has issued a call for essays from high school students on the theme of Why freedom of conscience is important to me.

Here's the criteria:

All high school students and those recently graduated are invited and encouraged to participate. Submissions will be accepted from any part of the world.

Essays must be a maximum length of 800 words, typed and double-spaced on white paper with black print. Essays must be postmarked on or before September 8, 2008.

Cash prizes! Prizes will be distributed whenever the essays are read during the assembly, or mailed to the authors if they are unable to attend the event.

All essays submitted become the possession of the assembly working group who will work for their publication in various media outlets along with the authors' credits.

Mail entries to:

Essay Contest, National Assembly
Austin Mennonite Church
5801 Westminster Drive
Austin, TX 78723

for more info:

National Assembly to Honor Freedom of Conscience

Education Not Arms Coalition going strong

Rick Jahnkow of the Project on Youth and Nonmilitary Opportunities (Project YANO) and the Education Not Arms Coalition in San Diego sends this update on their campaign challenging the JROTC programs in area high schools:

With support from parents, teachers and community activists, students have been waging the campaign at their own schools and repeatedly attending school board meetings to testify and protest. Above is a photo taken June 10, at the last school board meeting before summer break. Students who spoke to the board promised that they would continue to come back until the district changed its policies.

As a result of petition gathering (2000 signatures), these protests, and growing media coverage, in May the school district ordered its personnel to stop talking to the media about the JROTC controversy. It also launched an investigation into the claims of involuntary placement of students in military science courses. The district's new school superintendent has recently stated publicly that he personally opposes gun ranges in schools, and he's promised that involuntary enrollment in JROTC will not be tolerated.

The Education Not Arms Coalition (ENAC) will continue organizing until we see what concrete action the district takes in response to our demands.

United Nations Committee calls on US military recruiters to stop targeting kids under 18

From a press release sent June 6, 2008 by the American Civil Liberties Union:

GENEVA – A United Nations committee of human rights experts today issued a strongly worded critique of the United States' record on the detention and treatment of youth in U.S. military custody abroad. The committee also urged the U.S. to make sweeping policy changes regarding domestic military recruitment practices that target juveniles. The committee reviewed reports and testimony from the U.S. government as well as "shadow reports" by the American Civil Liberties Union and other non-governmental organizations before issuing the report.
"The Committee on the Rights of the Child has created a blueprint for changing the U.S.'s practices on detention of suspected child soldiers abroad and military recruitment of children here at home," said Jennifer Turner of the ACLU Human Rights Program. "The committee's strong critique of U.S. policies — especially those that depart from accepted international practice and standards — are deeply troubling, and the world will be watching whether the U.S. government swiftly implements the U.N.'s recommendations."
The U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child oversees compliance with the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, which the U.S. ratified in 2002. The protocol mandates countries to protect children under 18 from unlawful military recruitment tactics and guarantees basic protections to former child soldiers.
The committee called on the U.S. to institute much-needed policies for dealing with juveniles in U.S. military custody, including nearly 2,500 juveniles under the age of 18 that have been held in Guantánamo Bay and other U.S.-run facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan to date.
The committee also called on the U.S. to end domestic military recruitment practices that target juveniles under 17 and to protect youth under 18 from recruitment practices such as false promises and coercion by military recruiters. According to an ACLU report submitted to the CRC in May, the U.S. military regularly targets children under 17 for recruitment through a heavy presence on high school campuses, military training corps, military aptitude tests, and a database that includes information on 16-year-olds for recruitment purposes. The committee also condemned the U.S. military's practice of targeting students of color and low-income youth for military recruitment.
Finally, the committee criticized the U.S. practice of denying asylum or refugee status to foreign former child soldiers under immigration provisions intended to bar those who victimized them. Some former child soldiers who were the victims of serious human rights abuses and cannot return to their home countries are being denied protection in the U.S. because they are deemed "persecutors of others," even though they may have been forced to fight in a government army or militia.
"The message from the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child leaves no doubt that U.S. policies and practices violate universal and treaty obligations aimed at protecting children from abusive recruitment tactics and alleged foreign child soldiers from mistreatment and unlawful incarceration," said Jamil Dakwar, Director of the ACLU Human Rights Program. "To claim the high moral ground and assert leadership on the issue of human rights, the U.S. must take vigorous action to bring its current conduct in line with the committee's recommendations."

Ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child to improve protection for children's rights.

The full report of the U.N. CRC is available online at: www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/co/CRC.C.OPAC.USA.CO.1.pdf
The ACLU report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child is at: www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/gen/35245pub20080513.html