Blog: Character Development

The Army and Navy Academy Difference: It’s All About Connection!
When our admission counselors answer the phone in the Office of Admission, the conversation typically pivots to two common refrains: "my son needs help" and "I hope that Army and Navy Academy can provide a solution." Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has...

Helping Boys to Thrive: Reflections on the Unique Challenges Confronting Boys in School
For many educators working in the trenches with boys, the recent news from the Wall Street Journal (Douglas Belkin: A Generation of Men Give Up on College) highlighting a widening gap in educational achievement between males and females did not come as a surprise. For...

How Boarding School Can Help Students Struggling in a Traditional School
Learn more about what a boarding school is and how attending one can benefit students that are struggling in a traditional school. Let’s begin by diving into the various types of schools and how boarding schools differ from traditional schools. To simplify, there are...

How to Prepare Your Child to Return to School After COVID-19
Back to school anxiety will be a major factor for a lot of students going back to school after COVID-19. Dealing with anxiety can be tough for parents, so here is some information about back to school anxiety, as well as some tips to help your child deal effectively...

3 Key Benefits of Starting College Prep Early
Preparing for College - Readiness is More than Just Academics Preparing for college is an important step in your child’s education. Starting college prep early has many benefits, including learning readiness, campus life preparation, and the ability to navigate...
10 Ways Your Child Might Benefit from a Leadership Camp
Enrolling in a leadership camp has many benefits for children and teenagers. Beyond just pure fun, summer leadership camps help build a number of personal skills and values that apply well beyond middle and high school. Many times, parents are so anxious to register...

How Enrolling Your Child in a Computer Science Camp Will Help them with Math and Science in School
So, you thought computer science was all about technology? What about math and science? Computer science camps can not only provide your child with technical skills, it can also help your child with math and science in school. A camp experience could be the catalyst...

Why Growing Numbers of Students and Parents are Choosing Boarding Schools for their Teenagers
Many Americans are rather unfamiliar with boarding schools, despite their awareness of independent private day schools. So, let’s begin with a brief overview before we dive into the many benefits of boarding school for teenagers. Most boarding schools in the U.S. have...

How Enrolling Your Child in an Aviation Camp Will Help Your Child with School
There is no better way to inspire a passion for learning math and science than showing students how subject matter is directly tied with a practical application. An aviation summer camp presents the perfect framework for students to accelerate their understanding of...

Why a Disciplined Lifestyle Will Do Wonders for Your Child in College
If you want your child to do well in college, think about sending your child to a private boarding school, perhaps a military school, where a disciplined lifestyle is integral to all aspects of campus life: academics, athletics, character development, and specialized...

Five Common Misconceptions About Boarding School
When parents first begin thinking about a boarding school for their child, they may be reluctant to share their thoughts and views with others. They could be wresting with the decision within themselves, because of many misconceptions. In fact, they might have even...

Different Ways Your Child Might Benefit from Attending A Leadership Summer Camp
Will this be the summer that changes your teen’s life? Your child can discover new interests, form friendships, participate in invigorating activities that test their mettle—all of it in an environment that encourages character building. It’s the kind of experience...

Leadership Camps Motivate Students to Gain Essential Skills
Take the lead in your life by enrolling in a summer leadership camp. You will gain leadership and life skills that will make you more confident and independent and prepare for leadership roles in a career of your choice. There’s been a concern in recent years that a...

Academy’s TAC Officers Help Develop and Mentor Young Men of Good Character
“This school takes a young man and teaches him discipline, responsibility, ownership, and values. The TAC officers spend time getting to know each kid and facilitate problem-solving with the boys. I’d consider any young man very lucky if he can attend this school.” –...

Cadets, Parents Are Thankful for What Makes ANA Different
“… ANA is providing my son opportunities to be the best he can be and as an ANA parent, I could not be more pleased with our experience…” – Pamela R. (ANA parent) The Cadets who attend the Army and Navy Academy and their parents have several more reasons to be...

Learning Teamwork Skills Helps Build Future Leaders at Army and Navy Academy
“Teamwork makes the dream work…” John Maxwell, author and speaker Teamwork is an essential part of most successful endeavors in modern life. It is especially so in the highly competitive workplace where the ability to work as part of a team is one of the most...

Learning Communications Skills Critical Part of an Academy Education
“The art of communications is the language of leadership.” --Presidential speechwriter and author James C. Humes While it is true that effective leadership thrives on communication, the fact is so does everything else to varying degrees when people interact with...
What Makes Army and Navy Academy Different from Other Schools?
There are a lot of questions prospective parents and their sons ask about the school they’re considering; some predictable, others not so much. For example, the first question often asked by boys who are looking at the Army and Navy Academy is whether the Academy’s...

What Does ‘College Preparatory’ Really Mean?
It should go without saying that the academic, personal, and social skills needed to succeed in college are beyond those required to succeed in today’s typical high school. What becomes clear immediately to incoming college or university freshmen – and their parents –...

Why Diversity Matters in Educating Students
“Diversity can be defined as the sum of the ways that people are both alike and different…” --National Education Association (NEA) Schools throughout much of the developed world have added numerous resources in recent years to enhance the quality of teaching and...

Leadership Education Enhances Student Achievement
For the past several years, U.S. private and public schools have placed a growing emphasis on academics, trying to deal with the rapid changes taking place in today’s world and the disturbing fact that the U.S. trails a significant number of other countries in student...

The ‘Secret’ to Educating Boys
“Boys and Girls Learn Differently,” -- title of book by Michael Gurian, founder of the Gurian Institute. While there have been all-boys and all-girls schools in place for centuries, it’s only been in recent years that scientific research has shown why such schools are...

Why a Military Boarding School Makes Sense for Boys
“Cadets at military schools learn to be leaders of character who are able to assess dynamic situations, make informed and timely decisions and bring to any environment.” --Association of Military Schools and Colleges of the United States Our nation’s young people are...

Why a Boarding School Can Make a Big Difference
There’s been so much focus on what’s being taught in our schools’ classrooms that parents and even their adolescent and teenage children often are unaware of what learning opportunities lie beyond the traditional school day. So much can be added after school hours to...

Helping Boys Become Bold, Brilliant, and Self Confident
“When I wear my Army and Navy Academy uniform, I beam with pride. Here I see myself through the admiring eyes of teachers, family, and friends who believe I will accomplish my dreams … I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” --Current Army and Navy Academy Cadet A...

Millennials Face Several Financial Problems
Enter the Millennial generation whose members were born between 1980 and 1995 and who were the first to come of age in the new millennium. They became widely known for being especially “tech-savvy,” interested primarily in pursuing their passions, and whose consumer and business habits are thought to have killed several industries.

How Teamwork Builds Successful Adults
Teamwork is an essential part of any successful endeavor in modern life. It is especially so in the highly competitive workplace where the ability to work as part of a team is one of the most important skills in today’s job market.

Why and How Diversity Matters in Our Schools
Diversity awareness helps young people make more of their lives by introducing unique perspectives from multiple sources that prepare them to become enlightened and productive adults.
What’s Different About the “iGen” Generation
To suggest that a generation of young adults now in their mid-20’s and 30’s is becoming socially irrelevant may seem somewhat rash but the Millennials are being moved over by an even younger population.

How to Gain Admission to Colleges – the Right Way
Few occasions are as stressful in the lives of college-bound high school seniors (and their parents) as the time when they wait anxiously to learn whether they’ve been accepted into the college of their choice.