CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — When the College Board, the organization that owns and administers the SAT college admissions assessment test, announced plans recently to include an “adversity index” to help economically and socially disadvantaged students compete for admission to colleges and universities, it generated the need for an adversity index of its own, gauging the fierce debate and consternation that has ensued.

Much of the negative feedback cites an over emphasis on written tests in determining who gets in and who does not. Scott Jaschik, editor of the online publication, Inside Higher Ed, recently wrote: “The SAT has been criticized … because wealthy students earn higher scores, on average, than do those who are middle class, who in turn earn higher scores than do those who are from low-income families.”

However, it’s not just economically disadvantaged or minority students who need to learn how to overcome adverse challenges.  No matter their social and economic backgrounds, all young people need to be trained early on how to meet and overcome challenges and other forms of adversity.

Providing such training, The Army and Navy Academy, a college preparatory boarding school for middle- and high-school boys in Carlsbad, California, incorporates the following leadership and character development programs alongside a rigorous academic curriculum:

Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC). The academy’s JROTC program teaches core life skills, including teamwork, organization, problem solving, communication, and character development to prepare boys to succeed in college and beyond.

Officer Candidate Course (OCC). This course for cadets at the end of their junior year hones advanced leadership skills to prepare them for higher ranks in their senior year.

Character development. The academy’s leadership program includes a strong emphasis in character development. “Everything we do is tied to our mission of educating and developing good character in young men,” according to the Academy’s website.

Athletics, campus activities and involvement.  The academy’s leadership development program includes a long list of campus clubs and organizations as well as 11 CIF-sanctioned sports, all of which teach teamwork, fair play, honesty and other character virtues.

Simply helping students gain admission to a college or university, with or without the so-called adversity index, does not solve adversity as a whole if students haven’t been prepared to deal with adversities they’ll face later. Sooner or later, knowing and applying basic life skills becomes vital in one’s success as an adult.    

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SOURCE Army and Navy Academy