Chris Colin, who wrote this short article Mother Jones, says: "Extremely quietly, a Maryland school district has launched the first public high school in the country dedicated to teaching homeland security.
"From all I could tell researching the piece, this doesn't mean questioning assumptions about national security and so forth — it means funneling 15-year-olds into a very profitable industry, and providing future workers for the companies that comprise it. Creepy/lousy."
Students will choose one of three specialized tracks: information and communication technology, criminal justice and law enforcement, or "homeland security science." David Volrath, executive director of secondary education for Harford County Public Schools, says the school also hopes to offer "Arabic or some other nontraditional, Third World-type language."
The school's main goal is to get its grads jobs in the booming $24-billion-a-year homeland security industry. It's certainly in the right location: Northeast Maryland has become a mecca for the military-industrial complex. The Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground is the county's biggest employer, and all manner of defense contractors have set up shop nearby, including weapons maker Northrop Grumman.
