United States Military Academy at West Point

The full name of the United States Military Academy at West Point is the United States Army Academy, which is a school for training junior officers of the United States Army. Because the school is located on the "elbow-shaped" triangular rock slope along the Hudson Valley in the northern suburb of new york, it is called "West Point" by the locals, so it is customarily called "West Point Military Academy".

West Point Campus and its affiliated teaching area are located on the high mountain in the upper reaches of Hudson River with beautiful scenery, with a total area of10.6 million hectares. A series of Gothic buildings are surrounded by rolling mountains from the inside out. The inner circle is the main campus, which consists of teaching building, student area, sports ground and activity center. There are winter ski resorts, golf courses, training and field camps in the outer ring. The whole complex is centered on the school playground, and the principal's dormitory is located on the edge of the playground, which symbolizes the close relationship between the principal and the students. The headmaster is usually a three-star lieutenant general.

In the 200-year history of West Point Military Academy, many American military talents have been trained, among whom 3,700 have become generals. The famous ones are: Grant, Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army in the American Civil War, Lee, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces in World War I, Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, MacArthur, Commander of the Pacific Allied Forces in World War II, Eisenhower, Commander of the Third Army Bradley, Commander of the China-India-Burma Theater, Commander of the US Army invading China, and Commander of the Gulf War Central Command. In addition, the West Point Military Academy has trained a large number of military strategists and brought up many politicians for Among them: Grant, 18 President of the United States; Eisenhower, the 24th president; 59th Secretary of State Haig; Olmsted, Chairman of International Bank; Arms giant DuPont; Ge sayles, chief engineer of Panama Canal; White, the first astronaut to walk in space; The current Secretary of State Powell, etc.

All young people who apply for the West Point Military Academy must be American citizens (except allied cadets), age 17-22, height 1.68- 1.98 meters, regardless of race, color, religious belief or sex. Candidates must be among the best in the local high school classes, be healthy, have certain organizational and leadership skills, and be recommended by the President, Vice President, Senator, Congressman, Governor, Mayor or Military Director of the United States one year before taking the exam. Even with such strict conditions, about 10000 people sign up for the exam every year, and about 6000 people can recommend and take the exam. Young people who have obtained formal qualifications must also take and pass the national college entrance examination. After a round of exams, there are more than 2,000 people left. Then, the admission qualification evaluation committees of students from various services comprehensively measure all aspects of morality, intelligence and physical fitness, and select the best candidates. In the end, only 1400 students were lucky enough to be admitted. 1976 from the beginning of July, according to the provisions of the presidential decree, the West Point Military Academy began to recruit female students for the first time. The first batch was 1 19, which increased to more than 800 in the 1990s, accounting for 1/6 of the total number of students.

Lieutenant General lenox, President of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Lieutenant General lenox, president of the United States Military Academy at West Point, visited the teachers and students at the exercise ground.

Interview with the instructor of Peking University West Point Military Academy

After admission, it doesn't mean "everything is fine". Before being admitted to West Point Military Academy, every student should be prepared to be eliminated and given corresponding protection. Their parents should also make every effort to ensure that they do a good job and leave no future trouble. From the day of admission, students in West Point Military Academy must undergo strict inspection and screening, and implement the optimized elimination system. The elimination rate of freshmen in the first academic year is 23%, and students who can graduate after four years of study account for about 70% of the total enrollment, and the elimination rate of girls is even higher. After four years' study and graduation, the students obtained the bachelor of science degree and were awarded the rank of second lieutenant. After graduation, students should serve in the army for at least 5 years. During school, the expenses are mainly paid by Congress, and you can get a monthly allowance. First-year students earn $70 a month, and fourth-year students earn as much as $200 a month.

There are 40 courses for four-year undergraduates in West Point Military Academy, 30 of which are compulsory courses, mainly including mathematics, engineering, English, history, social science, psychology and national security issues. 10 elective courses include basic science, applied science, engineering, humanities, national security affairs and public affairs. Each subject is also divided into details. In teaching, West Point pays attention to the application of new technology to assist teaching, which makes the classroom teaching in military schools reach an excellent high level, especially the integration of audio-visual education in teaching technology.

There are two points worth mentioning in the teaching of West Point, which is of great significance for us to know and learn from its successful experience. The first is the "animal camp". Sylvanus Thayer, the fourth president of West Point, established a perfect education and training system for West Point during his 65,438+05 years in office. He spread the principles, temperament and beliefs of West Point to the whole country. One of the most famous practices is to establish a strict and monotonous life system in West Point Military Academy according to the teaching objectives of morality, intelligence, military and physical education. "Animal camp" has become a filter for freshmen's entrance education, and the elimination rate at this stage is as high as 15%. In the "Beast Camp", energetic middle and senior students regard playing tricks on freshmen as the best way to vent. Middle and senior students can punish freshmen physically, destroy them mentally and insult their personalities at will, so that many people have left serious trauma in their hearts and bodies. It was not until MacArthur became the principal that this situation changed. However, at this time, the "Beast Camp" has become a tradition of strict training for the US military-not only in the West Point Military Academy, but also in the entire US military, so what MacArthur can do is to make the "Beast Camp" a little gentler! The second is to simulate hostile state. At West Point Military Academy, there is still a simulated hostile state between cadets and tactical instructors, which is conducive to maintaining the tension of American soldiers on the battlefield. It is said that in a certain year, the students of West Point Military Academy kept hamsters as pets in the school, which is of course intolerable to the instructors of West Point Military Academy. However, with the clever camouflage and tacit cooperation of the students, the patrol instructors can only find the paw prints of hamsters! Finally, an instructor nicknamed "Owl" conducted a thorough search. Although he found nothing, his professionalism and wisdom in the search were recognized by the students-when he returned to the office, he saw a little hamster wrapped in a flag of truce!

West Point's motto is "country, honor and responsibility". West Point Military Academy trains not only a soldier, but the elite of American society, which is the most striking place in its running. The reason why West Point Military Academy is full of vitality, eternal youth and enduring is always concerned by the world. One of the fundamental reasons is to persist in the reform of its internal mechanism. On the battlefield, the motivation of "decisiveness" is "believing in the strength of one's own winner". Therefore, MacArthur, the 30th president, believed that military academy education "should focus on the ever-changing world, the complex future and the continuous modernization of military technology". When evaluating his reform, later generations said: It was he who brought the traditional West Point Military Academy into the modern 20th century. Most of the modern high flyers he trained became the leaders of the US military in World War II. But no matter how West Point develops, West Point people will always remember their school motto: country, honor and responsibility. This is actually the spirit of West Point and the national motto of the United States. Because the students of West Point Military Academy know very well that in the animal camp, you can only persist if you keep an alert mind and respond sensitively, which has actually become the "core" driving force for the reform of the US military. Today's US military, most general officers come from West Point Military Academy, and their spiritual strength also comes from West Point Military Academy. This spirit is that while they have the strongest military strength, they still maintain a sense of spiritual crisis and spirit of struggle. The famous saying of that American celebrity is: struggle, struggle, and struggle again. Today, the development of the American army is exactly: strong, strong, and stronger.

More than 80% instructors are temporarily transferred from the army.

Instructors in American military academies are rotated, with the Army and Air Force changing every three years and the Navy changing every two years. They don't regard being an instructor as a career, but as an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and a stage to show their talents. They often have multiple experiences such as troops, institutions and colleges. More than 80% of the instructors in West Point Military Academy are temporary, and most of them are selected from excellent captains or majors in the army. At present, more than 60% graduates of West Point Military Academy return to school as instructors.

Teaching at West Point Military Academy is very competitive. Most department heads of West Point Military Academy believe that non-West Point Military Academy teachers must first be officers of regular troops or people who are interested in dedicating themselves to national defense. Secondly, it should be recommended by West Point graduates who have taught in this department. Department heads generally believe that recruiting instructors is the most important thing in West Point Military Academy every year, because one-third of instructors will return to the army during the rotation of instructors.

Strictly standardize the selection and evaluation of professional titles.

The titles of teachers in West Point Military Academy are divided into seven grades: Professor of the United States Army Military Academy; School professor; Permanent associate professor; Associate professor or associate professor of discipline; Assistant professor or subject assistant professor; Subject lecturer or senior lecturer; Instructor. The selection procedure of school teachers' professional titles is quite standardized and strict, especially for professors, permanent associate professors and faculty whose term of office is extended to 20 years.

Selection is the responsibility of various special committees. For example, the selection of associate professors is the responsibility of two permanent selection committees under the leadership of the provost. Each selection committee must have at least 4 members. Members of the Committee are appointed for two years.

The selection procedure for permanent associate professors is the same as that for professors, which is roughly as follows: First, the selection committee publicly announces the recruitment notice for permanent associate professors, and the recruitment notice is published in various publications. The second is to examine the details of candidates' academic qualifications, majors and personal qualities. Third, after the candidate is determined, the Committee will consult famous local scholars related to the candidate's discipline. Fourthly, if the selection committee confirms that it can't find a qualified person to hold a certain position, it should report to the dean and leave the position vacant until a qualified person is found. The fifth is to make suggestions to the dean and the principal and report the opinions of the consultants.

guest professor

This is a landscape.

Visiting professors refer to civilian professors. Military instructors have always been the basis of education in West Point Military Academy, but it is recognized that teaching by civilian instructors in West Point Military Academy can not only broaden students' horizons, but also help to improve the academic level of young instructors.

There are three principles for hiring visiting professors at West Point Military Academy. First, each teaching department should fill up the number of visiting professors every year. Otherwise, the vacancy should be transferred to other departments. But in any case, the vacancy of visiting professor should not be filled by military instructors. Second, the selected visiting professors should be as academic leaders and recognized authorities as possible. The third is to recruit from local universities rather than government departments. If the government or military department has obvious advantages in a certain field, it can hire government or military personnel.

According to West Point, there is a vacancy for a visiting professor in the Culture Department. If there is a vacancy for a visiting professor in a department and no candidate has been nominated six months before the start of the academic year, the vacancy will be transferred. Usually, the employment period of visiting professors is one academic year, the shortest one can be one semester, and the elderly can reach two academic years. If the visiting professor has made outstanding achievements, the person in charge of the teaching department can give him a reward.