And those skills are many and varied. Cadets learn how to buy a car and a house. They learn about substance abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and nutrition. They learn how to balance a checkbook and fill out a tax form. They take classes on child rearing, gender stereotyping, cultural awareness and responsible citizenship.
Cadets register to vote while in the program, and learn how to get and hold a job.
We hope to at least put them on the right track of being a good parent, of being responsible sexually, feeling a sense of community and a sense of responsibility. The community of Pryor Creek plays a significant role in the cadets' life-skills education. Frequent field trips into town enforce lessons learned in the classroom. We have them at the local schools, the sheriff's department, the police department, the hospital. We have kids out all over this community.