thedrifter
05-24-09, 07:25 AM
May 24, 2009
Weekend: Findlay High teachers get a chance to train with Marines
By DENISE GRANT
Staff Writer
Two Findlay High School teachers got a chance to train like Marines this spring at the Parris Island, S.C., recruiting depot.
Mike Janton and Eric VanRenterghem, who both teach social studies, came away from the four-day educator workshop with a new appreciation for "the few and the proud," and for their own work as teachers.
Their welcome to Parris Island was much like that of a Marine recruit.
VanRenterghem explained that recruits must ride a bus, heads down, across a causeway to the island. It is dark and the trip is disorienting. When the bus stops, the drill sergeant begins. Yellow footprints on the pavement show exactly where all Marine recruits must first stand.
"They really shake you down. They did it with us, too, and then they made us run to our barracks," VanRenterghem said.
Visitors participated in live fire exercises with M16 rifles, hand-to-hand combat training, and toured the "Crucible," where a 54-hour field training exercise is conducted. The exercise includes 48 miles of marching.
VanRenterghem is still a little sore. The workshop was in late April.
More than 100,000 people visit Parris Island each year. The island is home to recruit training for all male Marines east of the Mississippi River and all female Marines nationwide. Enlisted male training began on the island in 1915. Enlisted female training began in 1949.
During World War I, 41,000 recruits were trained at Parris Island. For World War II, the number climbed to 205,000. A total of 250,000 Marines trained there for the Vietnam War. So far, 160,000 Marine recruits have been trained for Afghanistan and Iraq.
For every 100 people who apply for training, only 55 pass initial testing and only 45 graduate.
The Marines are pretty clear about the goal of the workshop. They want teachers to recommend the Corps as a career path to their students.
Both Janton and VanRenterghem do.
Janton served in the Ohio National Guard from 1965 to 1971.
"It was a great experience for me. I always encourage kids who are interested in a military career. I'm very impressed by today's military. They work a lot more on human development," Janton said.
"The question comes up a lot," VanRenterghem said. "I have had students who were downright incorrigible choose a military career and come back transformed into Marines."
The invitation to the workshop actually came from a former student.
The teachers were certainly envious of what they saw on Parris Island. There was outstanding teamwork, they said. The recruits were focused and stayed on task. They were polite and respectful.
It was a level of discipline that high school teachers can only dream about, even though the Marine recruits aren't that much older than their students. The average age of a Marine is 24.
Janton said the training is about more than making warriors. He said they were working to create good people and citizens.
On graduation day, it was the visiting teachers who got to sit front and center during the grand ceremony.
While the Marine Corps prides itself on being the country's first line of defense, the commander said he was grateful for the work of parents, teachers and coaches.
Grant: 419-427-8412,
Send an e-mail to Denise Grant
Ellie
Weekend: Findlay High teachers get a chance to train with Marines
By DENISE GRANT
Staff Writer
Two Findlay High School teachers got a chance to train like Marines this spring at the Parris Island, S.C., recruiting depot.
Mike Janton and Eric VanRenterghem, who both teach social studies, came away from the four-day educator workshop with a new appreciation for "the few and the proud," and for their own work as teachers.
Their welcome to Parris Island was much like that of a Marine recruit.
VanRenterghem explained that recruits must ride a bus, heads down, across a causeway to the island. It is dark and the trip is disorienting. When the bus stops, the drill sergeant begins. Yellow footprints on the pavement show exactly where all Marine recruits must first stand.
"They really shake you down. They did it with us, too, and then they made us run to our barracks," VanRenterghem said.
Visitors participated in live fire exercises with M16 rifles, hand-to-hand combat training, and toured the "Crucible," where a 54-hour field training exercise is conducted. The exercise includes 48 miles of marching.
VanRenterghem is still a little sore. The workshop was in late April.
More than 100,000 people visit Parris Island each year. The island is home to recruit training for all male Marines east of the Mississippi River and all female Marines nationwide. Enlisted male training began on the island in 1915. Enlisted female training began in 1949.
During World War I, 41,000 recruits were trained at Parris Island. For World War II, the number climbed to 205,000. A total of 250,000 Marines trained there for the Vietnam War. So far, 160,000 Marine recruits have been trained for Afghanistan and Iraq.
For every 100 people who apply for training, only 55 pass initial testing and only 45 graduate.
The Marines are pretty clear about the goal of the workshop. They want teachers to recommend the Corps as a career path to their students.
Both Janton and VanRenterghem do.
Janton served in the Ohio National Guard from 1965 to 1971.
"It was a great experience for me. I always encourage kids who are interested in a military career. I'm very impressed by today's military. They work a lot more on human development," Janton said.
"The question comes up a lot," VanRenterghem said. "I have had students who were downright incorrigible choose a military career and come back transformed into Marines."
The invitation to the workshop actually came from a former student.
The teachers were certainly envious of what they saw on Parris Island. There was outstanding teamwork, they said. The recruits were focused and stayed on task. They were polite and respectful.
It was a level of discipline that high school teachers can only dream about, even though the Marine recruits aren't that much older than their students. The average age of a Marine is 24.
Janton said the training is about more than making warriors. He said they were working to create good people and citizens.
On graduation day, it was the visiting teachers who got to sit front and center during the grand ceremony.
While the Marine Corps prides itself on being the country's first line of defense, the commander said he was grateful for the work of parents, teachers and coaches.
Grant: 419-427-8412,
Send an e-mail to Denise Grant
Ellie