Statement by Commissioner of Education Earl James McGrath, Selective Services Rejectees--A Challenge to Our Schools
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OCR Page 1 of 6SELECTIVE SERVICE REJECTEES--A CHALLENGE
TO OUR SCHOOLS *
To augment our fighting forces during several periods of our Nation's
history, we have resorted to the democratic method of Selective Service.
This process of selecting the young men who will serve their country
in the Armed Forces has provided an opportunity for assessment of the
health and educational status of our youth.
It has always been our national experience that the results of
Selective Service examinations have left many citizens deeply disturbed.
Today we are faced with the same situation. Far too many of our young men
coming up for Selective Service examinations are being rejected. Why?
Because they do not come up to Selective Service Standards physically or
mentally.
What are the facts? What can we do about the situation?
Selective Service examinations during the current Korean emergency
indicate that as a Nation we are not coming close to meeting the health and
educational needs of many thousands of young people. The schools and colleges
must accept some responsibility for this situation. The facts show that
(1) many men have been declared unfit for military service because of physical
conditions that might have been corrected or prevented; (2) many men physically
fit have been rejected because they lacked elementary education and basic
literacy; (3) others have been disqualified for military service because of
mental or emotional disturbances some of which could have been prevented.
Because of these examinations the spotlight is now focused upon a
large segment of our Nation's manhood labeled as rejectees because they did
not attain certain Selective Service standards in physical or mental heal th
or education.
*By Earl J. McGrath, U. S. Commissioner of Education, Féderal Security Agency,
Washington, D.C., published in School Life, Vol. 35, No. 3, December 1952.
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