In the “Children on the battlefield” article written by Marcie Schwartz explains that boys under 18 have served in many wars including the Civil War. They would join by lying about there age, having their parents sign them up, or there teachers would influence the recruiting officer to let them join. Some recruiting officers would look the other way so that they could met their quota. When they were enlisted they had many hard and dangerous jobs to do and also also served on military ships. The boys often were home sick and did not know what they wanted to do with there life. They were smaller than most men so the standard uniforms didn’t fit them so they had to scavenge the battlefield for equipment and uniforms. They had important jobs
Uniforms played an important role in convenience, identification, and protection to the troops. Most soldiers were only given an old carpet piece for baggage, muddy discarded shoes, and dirty, ragged clothing. By wearing uniforms, it helped both sides distinguish who were Northern Union soldiers and those who were Southern Confederate soldiers. The United States’ massive industry capacity provided the ability to give all of their troops wool uniforms. Uniforms were convenient for the troops on both sides because many soldiers wore whatever they brought with them from home.
The book, Soldier Boys, written by Walter Dean Myers is about a guy named Lonnie Jackson who loves to play basketball. He wants to become a professional basketball player and get out of Harlem. He is on a team with a coach that makes sure that Lonnie is pressured and does good. The author, Walter Dean Myers, has written over a hundred books and won the Coretta Scott King Award multiple times. Lonnie lives in Harlem, New York and hangs out at the Grant.
Alfie Kohn in an excerpt from his book, “The One-Sided War against Children”, explores the topic of helicopter parenting. In which through Kohn uses ethos in order to convey his overall message, that helicopter parenting is not necessarily a bad thing for children. As there is no substantial facts that otherwise prove that helicopter parenting is damaging to children. In which Kohn uses his vast information about other articles and sources on the same topic. For example, when Kohn lists some of them, “...‘How to Land Your Kid in Therapy’...
First of all, every male over the age of 14 was forced to “...undertake military duty” (Doc. B). All males had to join the army regardless of whether they believed in the cause or not. It seems cruel to force someone to experience all that bloodshed due to the amount of killing involved, the risk to their own life
“All men over the age of 14 were expected to undertake military duty” (RTM2 Document B). The Mongols trained their men at a young age so they could become great warriors. The boys were taken from their families and forced to join the military. There were few exceptions for them to not join.
Many children were affected during world war II. Many children did not have a childhood; they either had to go into concentration camps or even had to go to war at a very young age. Jewish kids in concentration camps were worked and had to endure many of the harsh treatments. Many children died or had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by the end of the war. Many children had it very rough during this time.
The reality of the situation and the gore involved with war is a scary thing for children to deal with, especially when faced with the possibility that they will most likely be drafted right into it within a matter of years. As Mr. Patch-Withers stated, the war matured the boys by at least two years past their age. And lastly, the strains put on adults by the war sometimes caused them to put pressure on the children. They expect them to grow up quicker and be more mature to adult subjects, even if they expect these things subconsciously. The boys have to mature to effectively adapt to these expectations.
The civil war in Sierra Leone has taken its toll in the 1990s. The aftermath of the destruction due to the rebels were equivalent to the actual war. Ishmael Beah, author of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, and Mariatu Kamara, author of The Bite of the Mango, both share their personal stories of their memories in Sierra Leone. Both at just the age of 12 their lives were war filled and were forever changed. By age thirteen he was a child soldier for the Sierra Leone Armed Forces and she was a mother to a baby boy.
In the Civil War, boys under 18 often signed up for the military. Although they were underage, their parents, religious leaders, and school teachers would support their decision to enlist. Sometimes boys would lie about their age or run away and change their names in order to enroll. For boys who were honest about their age, they would be drummer boys or bugle players. Although, they would have to learn several different commands with their instrument, they also used their instruments for fun.
Lenora Chu’s book, "Little Soldiers: An American Boy, A Chinese School, And The Global Race To Achieve," is about the differences between American and Chinese school systems. Chu and her husband moved to China from America and sent their son to an elite academy in Shanghai. Chu noticed that the Chinese educational system focuses children putting effort into every subject and teachers install a fear into children about completing tasks to the best of their ability. The Chinese used extreme methods to emphasize the importance of doing schoolwork perfectly and respecting teachers who use extreme measures. While the American educational system focuses on children’s talents and encouraging them to keep working instead of using force.
Significantly, instead of being trained to be regular ground troops, the boys were taught to be certain troops in war. The boys were taught to be spies at these camps. The boys were instructed to be spies because it was easy for the younger, smaller soldiers to sneak around behind enemy lines. The boys were also taught to be saboteurs. Similarly, they could sneak by the enemy army and plant bombs because they were small and fast.
Did you know, there are children who have never played in a park or played a video game? These children are called child soldiers. A child soldier is someone under the age of 18 that is used in war times as combatants, cooks, bombers, messengers, spies, and human shields. For years children have been recruited to join militaries and government groups in several countries across the world. These countries include Uganda, Myanmar, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen, Colombia, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
During war, soldiers will begin to develop a new attitude towards combat, in which violence and death become normal occurrences. Professor Dr. Mark Hewitson’s article, German Soldiers and the Horror of War depicts the parallels seen in the soldiers’ responses to violence for both past and modern warfare. Hewitson writes “during the Great War, the ‘brutality shown by individuals’ was an expression of impulses. When the furious struggle of the present war has been decided, each one of the victorious fighters will return home joyfully to his wife and children, undisturbed by the thought of the enemies he has killed” (Hewitson 4). Hewitson hypothesizes that the soldiers who go off to fight are stimulated by their environments and the “impulses”
I enjoyed hearing about Sergeant Schardt’s time deployed in Iraq. I have never heard a female veteran talk about their time. She proves that people are capable of great things. The only limitations in life are the ones that you set for yourself. She was able to serve her country and gain an education in her lifetime.
Assignment page Video Where many children all over the world merrily and freely live under the protection of the law, for others, this is a distant reality, they live in a world where they’re battling poverty, stripped of their childhood and basic human rights are expunged, they’re the innocent victims of conflict, and war is made to seem their one and only duty, not to mention that these are children no more than 10 years of age. They are put into a situation where it’s to kill or be killed. The United Nations defines a child soldier as, “Any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity.” Since the past 15 years, child soldiers are being used in almost every region of the world. Unlike most children, who go to school, they’re abducted from their families and forced into becoming a child soldier, where living conditions are beyond imaginable.