Q: Is ROTC applicable for female students?
A: Yes. Are character, citizenship, leadership, and scholarship only applicable to the male gender? Far from it. These are learned attributes that are seldom, if ever, included in any typical "Three Rs" high school curriculum, yet, nevertheless, absolutely critical for the development of our female as well as male citizens...and, of course, our society and sovereign Republic. Character doesn't just happen. In fact, our Battalion Commander and many of the staff are women.
Q: Does ROTC infer a military responsibility or obligation afterwards?
A: Absolutly not, this is a community service organization focused on developing leadership skills.
Q: As an ROTC student's parent, are there any unusual expectations regarding my attendance, my supervision, uniform costs, class fees, etc.).
A: Yes, added quality implies some additional costs. The semester class fee is $20, (with a $20 Grizzly Battalion T-Shirt and shorts for P.T.) for the class described as HIGH SCHOOL ROTC LEADERSHIP EDUCATION AND TRAINING, which is a one-year to four-year program available to all students. Its goal is to make young people better citizens.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES:
INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES:
Q: Does ROTC fulfill my P.E. credits in school?each semester of ROTC includes a broad spectrum of physical activities that fulfill that semester's P.E. requirement. Likewise, after your sixth semester of ROTC, your Health Class requirement is fulfilled, precluding taking a Health class, per se.
A: Yes,
Q: Why invest crucial school time taking ROTC?
A: According to noted leadership author and speaker, Brian Ward, Effective leaders stay focused on the outcomes they wish to create for their organization by emphasizing the mission, vision, values and strategic goals of their organization and at the same time building the capacity of their organizations to achieve them. This capacity building emphasizes the need to be flexible, creative and innovative and avoid becoming fossilized through the adoption of bureaucratic structures, policies and processes.
Brian Ward adds, "The challenges facing leaders today are immense, and require great courage to overcome. Leaders are constantly being challenged by others, be it their own team, customers, the public or other stakeholders. Standing firm in the face of criticism, yet having the courage to admit when they are wrong, are hallmarks of courageous leaders."
Q: Why is JROTC an excellent elective for a Galena High School student?
A: We each need be involved in our education. We need to own it -- it is ours -- it is what is going to get us to our potentials. The JROTC elective is likely to become just as important, and perhaps even more so than our basic three Rs, because the three Rs do not teach leadership: the kingpin of our personal characters.
When students were asked what the most important thing in high school was, the most common answer was overwhelmingly: "To be popular." Students want to be widely admired or accepted or sought after. Popularity is the quality of being well-liked. Popularity figures are an important part of many people's personal value systems, and form a vital component of success in people-oriented fields such as politics.
WikiHow has an excellent article in this subject, you can read it Here.
JROTC is a personal development course designed to energize you with inspiration and positivity – finding the energy within to be a better person, grow your self esteem, and stop sabotaging your own potential.
JROTC empowers each cadet with control over their actions so they may kick bad habits and be healthier, understand what really makes them tick, and be better persons to their friends, fellow students, and family.
Jim Rohn links popularity with leadership when he says: "The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly."
Ralph Waldo Emerson describes how highly we each admire a leader when he says: "Our chief want is (to find) someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be."
John C. Maxwell said: "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." But as Harold Geneen stated: "Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned."
General Colin Powell said, "Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand."
We admire those leaders -- those who can command and take command of situations. But, as Benjamin Franklin so wisely pointed out: "He that cannot obey, cannot command."
The JROTC 'community' is like a ship; everyone is taught to be prepared to take the helm...to lead by example...to face the music, even when he or she doesn't like the tune.
We challenge you to review the entire spectrum of electives at Galena High School and show us another elective that teaches leadership, that provides opportunities to obey and to command, that proactively creates a strong group of peers with common interests in personal development and engaging interaction.
Q: How many other students are in the program?
A: Each year we have a total of approximately 150 cadets enrolled in the JROTC, then divided into the 5 available periods. making the total for each class around 30 cadets (then further divided into each grade level on occasion).
Q:Will ROTC conflict with other extra-curricular activities in which I may have an interest?
A: Absolutely. After all, that is the definition of elective -- you are choosing to learn how to earn respect and admiration, and by so doing, you give up elective time pursuing other interests that will not even come close in terms of usefulness in the way to pursue life's challenges: dealing with people.
Q: Do I have to learn how to march?
A: Yes, it helps to teach discipline and to create bonds with your fellow cadets. More importantly, however, you will learn how to effectively lead a marching unit with precision and efficiency.