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WHY CARSON LONG
We describe Carson Long as a preparatory school. We work to develop our cadets so that they are prepared for whatever life may bring. Our program polishes the academic, social, personal, and moral facets of our students' lives.
Almost all of our graduates go on to two or four year colleges. To help them bridge the gap between high school and college academics, we devote much of the first of six marking periods to study skills specific to each subject. Teachers pass on the skills which will be needed to pass their course. However, the emphasis is not solely on achieving high grades. Instructors try to remove any impediments to the acquisition of knowledge.
We also try to teach the social skills necessary for the smooth operation of our small and close-knit community. For a boy to succeed at Carson Long he has to learn to put the interests of others before his own. He must acquire the ability to live and work with people who are not necessarily close friends. Finally, he must develop a true concern for the well-being of his classmates. We feel that these skills are significant for the quality of our cadets' personal lives. As cadets learn and earn promotions, they have many opportunities to practice their social skills and to become more aware of what does and does not work on interpersonal relationships.
The individual needs of cadets are not eclipsed by our emphasis on community life. We realize that almost all of our students are away from home and family for the first time in their lives. Our experienced dormitory supervisors check to ensure that satisfactory levels of personal administration are maintained. Every cadet is inspected everyday except Sunday. Furthermore, each cadet has several hours of free time on Saturday and Sunday during which they are encouraged to burn off energy and pursue their own interests.
The foundation for all of our preparatory training is the moral framework we try to build in each boy. Using the Golden Rule as our fundamental principle, we try to install the ability to identify what is right and the courage to act upon that knowledge. We strongly believe that if you only educate a boy academically you will only succeed in producing an educated scoundrel. Consequently, we have developed an elaborate system of punishments and inducements to motivate our cadets to act properly in their dealings with the community and towards themselves.
At Carson Long, we aim to teach the whole man, not just his mind. We use every avenue available to us to reach the boys and make them grow.
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