Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and War: Militarized Pedagogy and Militarized Futures

Abstract

Since 1973, the US military has relied on volunteers to fill its ranks and is the single largest employer of youth under the age of 25. The US military is intimately partnered with neoliberalism utilizing it to bolster US financial and corporate interests globally and to discipline and control unruly citizens marginalized by neoliberal practices. The involvement of the United States in the Global War of Terror, the extensive presence of the US military across the globe, and the ongoing militarization of society create a continual demand for recruitment and retention. The US military set aside $913.8 million dollars for recruitment in 2013 (Emmanuel 2012) and one of the primary recruitment targets is youth, easily reached through the militarized public education system.

I really don’t like the military. I mainly went into the military because my mom wanted me to.

—Monica, an eighth grader