Leaders and Teachers
Military formation and educational approaches
Our leaders will discover also that part of their duty will involve teaching. Every great leader I have known has been a great teacher, able to give those around him a sense of perspective and to set the moral, social, and motivational climate among his followers.
-Admiral James B. Stockdale
You may have noticed some controversy in recent years about efforts to meet teacher shortages by creating easy pathways for veterans to earn certification as teachers. In a recent article for the Dallas Morning News (adapted here) I described the potential advantages for education that having veterans as teachers can provide.
The Troops to Teachers program was established at the national level in 1993 in order to encourage and facilitate veterans leaving military service to pursue a career in teaching. The national office helps transitioning veterans through the intricacies of different states’ teacher certification programs and degree requirements. But many states have their own programs too, and recently Florida made waves with its program called the Military Veterans Certification Pathway. It is the most aggressive of its kind in the country, providing a temporary license to qualified veterans even before they have a bachelors degree in hand.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the program is proving controversial, not least among currently licensed teachers. I confess that some of the exclusionary rhetoric around the issue mystifies me. If you value your work and suffer from staffing shortages, why not welcome others onto a path that promises to train and certify them to join you? But rather than focus on the negatives, perceived or real, about teachers’ pay, qualifications, classroom challenges, and cultural and political headwinds in education, I’d like to offer a view of what veterans can offer to school-aged children inside or outside of a classroom (think school, homeschool, co-op, camp, expedition, little league, etc).
It’s relevant to note right up front that, like everyone else, no two veterans are the same. Individual talent and personality count for a great deal, and within the military, veterans’ experiences are likely to be widely divergent based on their branch, specialty, and years of experience. Then too, military culture appears from the outside to be changing rapidly and these observations might soon be out of date.
But while admitting that these attributes do not apply to all veterans in equal proportion, there are strong commonalities rooted in military experience that we could use more of in education.
First, veterans know that real learning involves the body. Whether the lesson involves accurately sighting mortar tubes or translating an azimuth from grid to magnetic, the military has to teach complex geometrical concepts to mass groups of young people on a compressed timeline. Military instruction is never content simply to lecture in a classroom. Every concept is demonstrated in the flesh during a period of practical application. These are often physically demanding exercises where the conceptual learning benefits from memorable experience ensuring that the concept is mastered and retained. The role of the body in learning is part of every veterans’ experience and can be readily repurposed to an academic environment.
Secondly, learning should be integrated rather than compartmentalized. Every training officer can attest that the military is painfully thorough in implementing a building block approach to new skills. But nevertheless, every good field exercise designed to practice a new skill situates it in a host of other necessary skills. Want to practice a frontal attack? Great. You have to plan the logistics, land navigation, communication support, adjacent deconfliction, and fire support just to get into position for your attack. Now that we’re ready to start let’s talk terrain analysis, weapon mix, geometries of fire, medical contingencies, and a signals plan. It’s highly complex and each piece depends on the others. This curriculum integration ensures that nothing is learned in a vacuum, but instead, benefits from standing in relation to other concepts and skills. It has the charm of matching real life and students recognize that intuitively.
Thirdly, veterans know that leaders, like teachers, should cultivate a strong ethos. We all know the military has problems, but generally speaking, at troop leading levels it still strives for a charismatic rather than managerial approach to leadership. Leaders have to cultivate and demonstrate real virtues and admirable characters. Trust must be earned, not simply presumed upon, and you earn it by demonstrating the virtues and skills appropriate to your role. Leading through the compelling strength of your character was what the ancients called the ethical appeal in rhetoric. It is as essential to commanding a platoon as it is to keeping a class in order and exciting students about learning.
The fourth point relates to the third but bears singling out because of how important it is. Veterans know that leadership by example is an absolute must. It is part of a good leader’s ethos never to ask subordinates to do something he or she is unwilling to do. How does this work in the classroom? How about the teacher who is bored with the subject assigning worksheets to a class that is just as bored? I hope you’ve never suffered through that kind of class, but it is fatal. Teachers have to participate, lead from the front, to roll up their sleeves and be in the trenches with the students. Veterans should know this better than most.
Finally, veterans bring a maneuverist mindset. This just means that they are used to problem solving while sleep-deprived, under-staffed, under-funded, with broken equipment, and under pressure. Actually, this might just be a Marine Corps thing (you other services feel free to weigh in here) but I’m betting most teachers will recognize fellow travelers in the weary-but-devoted ranks of veterans. The maneuverist mindset is an approach to problem solving that does not rely on the conditions being just right and having all the latest gadgets and gizmos. Instead, it relies on scrappy, a-symmetrical approaches to problems … and a little bit of duct tape.
My company Iliad Athletics recently ran a camp for teenagers that combined functional fitness, outdoorsmanship, and character development in order to provide a foundation of skills and strong character for life. Helping me run the camp were two other Marines, one an infantryman and one a lawyer. Of course, they were familiar with all the safety protocols, event schedule, and contingencies, but it was also the first camp they had helped me with. Event after event, day after grueling day, I was floored by the intensity, poise, and selflessness they demonstrated. Whether lugging extra 5-gallon water cans, packing additional weight on the ruck, or taking a few minutes offline to encourage a struggling student, these guys gave more and better than I expected…and I expected a lot.
It’s just an anecdote, but school leaders, recruiters, and anyone else responsible for hiring in education, I’d suggest giving veterans a chance. You might be surprised at the level of commitment and talent some of these folks bring. In my experience students can spot the real deal a mile away, and if a veteran brings the above five attributes to the table, they’re the real deal. And veterans, don’t turn your back on the military formation that equipped you with these attributes. We need more of all of them in education.