STARBASE Portland: Kids love tanks! It's a fact. Credit: DoD

STARBASE Portland: Kids love tanks! Its a fact.

  • DoD
  • STARBASE Portland: Kids love tanks! It’s a fact.

Last week Portland Public Schools signed a new two-year contract with the Department of Defense to teach science to many local fourth and fifth graders, despite the protests of some parents upset that the program is military recruitment disguised as science.

The STARBASE science program teaches science to elementary school during week-long trips to classrooms on national guard bases and has attracted vociferous protests from Portland parents upset about the military in classrooms. When a Mercury reporter sat in on a STARBASE science class this summer, he found students got hands-on with F-16 fighter jet parts to learn how to make paper airplanes.

The new contract continues the science program that the Department of Defense has offered locally since 1993. The Portland Observer reports that parents showed up to the contract hearing to protest the renewal, pointing to photos of happy kids climbing on tanks and helicopters on the STARBASE Portland website as evidence that the science program has a recruitment bent.

Sarah Shay Mirk reported on transportation, sex and gender issues, and politics at the Mercury from 2008-2013. They have gone on to make many things, including countless comics and several books.

10 replies on “Portland Schools Sign 2-Year Contract With Military Program STARBASE”

  1. Ack! My daughter just did this program and liked it… now I have to worry she’s going to want to join the Air Force! There was no disclosure that this was a military contract.

  2. Hell, if I had gone through this program, my parents would have said, “if you study hard and get good grades, you can design these toys and be RICH FROM NO-BID CONTRACTS!!” and I would have not joined the Army like I did.

  6. @Todd: By paying taxes, you’re helping to drop bombs on people. The only question is how removed do you think you are from culpability.

    And also, some people deserve to have bombs dropped on them. Force and violence are perfectly legitimate methods of persuasion and problem-solving.

  7. My son just finished this program. I’m as lefty as it gets and not at all a fan of warmongering, but I’m also really pro-science and that’s pretty much what this was. It’s a great program.

    Putting the boy next to a fighter plane isn’t going to drive him to the military, just as having him ride the Max isn’t going to drive him towards being a light rail driver.

    Although I do worry that letting him ride a bike is going to turn him into a fixie fan.

  9. @Graham: This country will be bombing people weekly, if not daily, for years to come. You can say that’s right or wrong. You can wonder whether the right people are being hit, and whether the “collateral damage” is acceptable. (Those last two questions may not bother you much, perhaps.) In any case, I still wouldn’t want my son or daughter programming, loading, or dropping those bombs.

    Oh, I forgot, though…I don’t have children.

  10. Here is a quote from the DoD’s STARBASE site
    http://starbasedod.org/index.php?option=co…

    “DoD Releases STEM Education and Outreach Plan

    …..Having developed and sustained the greatest military force in the world
    for decades, DoD will use our knowledge and expertise to build a larger
    pool of STEM talent that meets our Nation’s education and workforce
    needs and strengthens our national security.”

    STARBASE is military recruitment of very young children.Starbase is funded out of the Department of Defense recruitment budget. It is for “at risk” fourth and fifth graders. The students are on a military base for classes.
    Whether children or parents are aware they are on a base or not, whether the science lessons are fun or not, this is recruitment and violates PPS rules about recruitment.
    It also violates PPS weapons policy. The US Military is an organization that discriminates against GLBTQ people. This violates PPS Policy. The program targets low income children, many of whom are Black and Latino. This violates PPS policty.
    Beyond all that it is immoral to recruit children to the military. This program should be eliminated.
    no2starbase.org

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