I saw a YouTube video of a Marine drill instructor giving a welcome speech to a class of new recruits at boot camp. Some of the things he said include “Spirit and discipline are the hallmarks of a Marine”; “A Marine does not lie, cheat, or steal”; and “Most important of all, NEVER QUIT!” While most of use will never serve in the military, or in the Marines in particular, these words hold real wisdom that we could all learn from, and that we should endeavor to share with our students.
I find there is a lot to admire about the warrior ethos of the US Marines. Their emphasis on discipline, integrity, and courage is particularly admirable. So is their work ethic and their emphasis on courtesy and respect. In the past, when I tutored Marine officer candidates to help them qualify academically, I found them to be highly motivated students who worked very hard to qualify for the Marines, both academically and physically. I also admired their sense of courtesy and respect. These officer candidates always addressed me as “Sir” even though I have never served in the military. That sense of courtesy and respect is a part of their warrior code, which we would all do well to emulate, and encourage our students to emulate as well.
You can see their work ethic on display when Marine recruiters are out and about town. They don’t simply give people Marine-labeled water bottles or t-shirts or whatever. A person must earn it by completing tasks such as a certain number of pull-ups. This Marine ethic of hard work and earning things rather than being handed them, is also quite admirable. Again, this is something we could all learn from, whether civilian or military, and is a value that we should seek to impart to our students.
A Marine’s willingness to do hard, dirty jobs is also admirable. How many of us are really willing to get our hands dirty when the situation requires it? If more of us were willing to do so, those dirty jobs would get done faster and better. What if your elderly father no longer has good bowel or bladder control, are you willing to change his diaper and wipe up some feces and urine? A good Marine would be willing to do dirty jobs like that. Modern society can often place too much emphasis on glamor and clean, polished jet-set lifestyles, but when things get hard, who is actually willing to do the difficult and dirty jobs? Shouldn’t we also instill our students with that Marine spirit of a willingness to get their hands dirty? Life is not always clean and neat like in celebrity photo shoots, or when TV and movie stars are walking the red carpet at major award ceremonies. Sometimes life is difficult and messy.
A Marine’s readiness to take responsibility, take ownership, is also quite admirable. The Marines have a philosophy of training young Marines hard, preparing them well, and then turning them loose to accomplish a mission on their own initiative, using their own best judgment. The US Army Rangers have a motto of “Sua Sponte” – “of their own accord.” This is also something that we as parents and educators can seek to instill in our students. Whether the task is completing a term paper, designing a medical device that will extend a patient’s life, designing a new cell phone or computer, repairing a vehicle engine, performing orthopedic surgery – wouldn’t you want any of the people doing those jobs to take full responsibility for what they are doing? Shouldn’t we seek to instill that same sense of responsibility in our students?
Another thing that stood out to me in this Marine drill instructor’s speech is the attitude of an instructor never giving up on a student, even if they have given up on themselves. As an educator, I find that attitude of never giving up on a student to be very admirable, and that is something I try to live up to even though I have never served a day in the military. I think the drill instructor’s exact words were something like “we will give every effort to train you, even after some of you have given up on yourselves.”
The drill instructor also said something like “give your 100% best effort at all times.” Whether we are encouraging students to study hard for a math test, or practice dribbling a basketball, encouraging a standard of best effort is certainly admirable. The world does not reward people well for putting forth a “D” or “C” grade level of effort.
From page 24 of the Marine Corps book Warfighting – “In all cases, the commander must be prepared to react to the unexpected and to exploit opportunities…” This is good advice not just for war, but for life as well. Certainly we will all face unexpected difficulties in life, and we all must learn to adapt and to exploit opportunities as they arrive. I’ve seen in a few different places the line “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Even Charles Darwin pointed out that the fittest species that survive longest are the ones most able to adapt.
From page 28 ibid. “Basic individual skills are an essential foundation …” How can I teach someone calculus if they have not first mastered basic arithmetic? How can a track and field coach train a long jumper who does not first have a strong foundation in being able to sprint fast? How can a karate sensei teach advanced kata when a student has not mastered basic strikes and defenses? We must emphasize to students the importance of learning the basics first, in order to be ready for more advanced studies.
Now, admittedly, not everything that Marines are taught should be applied to students in civilian life. There is no need for students to shout “Sir, yes, sir!” on a regular basis when responding to instructions. But we can certainly pick and choose the things that will be most useful to students. Bruce Lee had a famous quote about fighting styles – “absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, add what is uniquely your own.” In that vein, we can certainly pick and choose the best and most useful elements from the Marine Corps warrior ethos to pass on to our students.