Curriculum effectiveness and student performance in JROTC programs for grades 9-12

personal reflection, analysis of the program, description how effective the curriculum, student response and performance, anticipated changes in improvement, NJROTC program, 9th -12th grade cadets/students

JROTC: Personal Reflection

The JROTC program is designed to provide discipline and training to 9th-12th grade students. Having experience in or with the military in any way is not required in order to join JROTC, and the students are taught everything that there is to know regarding the military during their time in the program. In addition to that, students learn leadership skills, self-discipline, and self-confidence through JROTC programs (Bremerton, n.d.). Those that take part in JROTC do not have to join the military, however, and they can go on to civilian life quite easily with the skills that they learn in the JROTC program. Many great individuals in this country have been through various types of ROTC programs, such as Colin Powell and other leaders.

Students in the JROTC program are taught Naval Science and many other military issues, but they are also taught about Seamanship, Astronomy, and personal growth through self-reliance and self-discipline, among other things. The curriculum covers so many different areas because being well-rounded is very important today (Bremerton, n.d.). This is true of those that choose to join the military and also of those that decide to take civilian jobs instead. Whichever career path the student enrolled in JROTC chooses to take, he or she will likely find that the experience has been a valuable and rewarding one.

The curriculum is designed to be very effective in showing these students the rewards that come with being self-reliant and being a good citizen. Taking pride in America is also showcased by the curriculum, whether or not the student decides to join the military (Bremerton, n.d.). Because of this, the students get a sense of self and a sense of country that they would otherwise likely not find throughout their high school curriculum, and that they might never find if they do not go through a program such as JROTC.

However, the curriculum is not everything to all students in that not every student enjoys it to the fullest potential or feels as though he or she has received everything possible from it. Some students drop out of JROTC after one year or change their schedules within the first few weeks of the school year when they realize that the curriculum is both physically and mentally demanding in many ways. They are often unprepared for that and instead labor under the misguided impression that high school will be very easy for them, and that it should be easy.

For the students that stay in the program, though, the response is usually very good and the performance is very high. This indicates that the program works well overall for the students that have an interest in this type of curriculum. However, there are improvements that could be made to the JROTC program that would be helpful to many students. One of these is that many students go into the program not really sure of what they are getting themselves into and when this takes place they are often unhappy with the program or drop out of it early on in the first year of it.