ABSTRACT
The boy who arrives at military school without apprehension, doubt, anxiety, or fear is likely to be able to accept the structured environment he has entered, the golden opportunity laid before him, the sensation of belonging to the corps. However, he is unlikely to succeed there if he cannot tolerate the demands of conformity essential for success. He is also likely to be expelled, losing nothing because he has accepted nothing. The military school has rules that have been formulated over the course of more than a century to help boys who are willing to be helped, as they presumably averred they were on entry. Some boys are already too resistant, too hardened to be helped; others are too vulnerable, too damaged to be brought back from the brink. It is not always possible for parents or guardians to accept or understand this when they ask a military school to accept their boy.
