Talk:Valley Forge Military Academy and College/Archive 1

H. R. McMaster
keep an eye out for a promotion from colonel to brigadier general. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:H._R._McMaster&oldid=216768875#McMaster.27s_promotion 199.184.238.231 (talk) 03:10, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

The Prayer at Valley Forge
03:37, 14 March 2009 (UTC)207.103.102.170 (talk)A contributor is changing the name of the Artist of the Painting "The Prayer at Valley Forge" from Henry Brueckner to Arnold Friberg. LTG Baker, who founded VFMA in 1928, used the 1866 Engraving as the basis for the School Crest. If you ever attended Valley Forge, as I did, you should take a look at your Cap Shield or your diploma. General Washington's hat is in front of his right foot, as in the Brueckner painting. In the Friberg painting, which bears the same name, General Washington's hat is near his left knee. Also, on the School Crest, General Washington is shown in 3/4 view, as in the Brueckner Painting. In the Friberg painting, he is in profile. On the Cap Shield and Crests, you can clearly see the hilt of General Washington's sabre exposed from under his cloak. In the Friberg painting, the hilt is not exposed. No horse appears on the Cap Shield. On the Friberg painting, there is a horse behind General Washington.

If you don't believe me, you should go to Mellon Hall, and look at the Original painted school colors from 1928-29. You can clearly see that it is a painted copy of the image of George Washington from the Brueckner painting.

Here is a link to the Friberg painting "The Prayer at Valley Forge." http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/The_Prayer_at_Valley_Forge_by_Arnold_Friberg.png

Here is a link to the Brueckner painting "The Prayer at Valley Forge." http://www.thisnation.com/media/photos/valleyforge.html

Here is a link to the School Crest http://www.vfmac.edu

I am sorry, but, even though you may think you are right, Arnold Friberg did not paint the painting used by LTG Baker in 1928 as the basis for the school crest. The school crest predates Mr. Friberg's work by over 45 years!

School Colors
Blue uniforms with different facing colors, among them buff, were selected for uniform wear by General Washington, for the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Buff and blue uniform colors were those of the Commander-in-Chief's Guard, formed March 12, 1776. (Reference: The Continental Army Uniform by John C. Fitzpatrick, A.M., Assistant Chief, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress; Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, 1920)  LTG Baker chose the colors for Valley Forge Military Academy because of their immediate visual association with the Continental Army, consistent with traditional Revolutionary War heraldry. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.103.102.170 (talk) 02:18, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Assessment
I am pushing the assessment of this article to a "C" class, after a request was filed at the School Project. This article has multiple problems that need to be remedied before moving to a "B" class, but it has developed to the point, and is referenced enough to move beyond "start". I strongly urge editors to consider the following when improving the article:
 * The "B" Class criteria for articles
 * Limitations on including alumni; that is, alumni need to be the subjects of articles, or eligible (under [[WP:BIO or WP:N) for an article to be included as a notable alum. I noted many red linked alumni, so that list may need to be reviewed.
 * What not to include in school articles.
 * In general, lyrics to school songs may be copyright issues. Even if they are not, they are generally frowned upon because they are not encyclopedic, and/or take up a great deal of space in the article.
 * There needs to be substantial improvement in referencing, especially in in-line citing of material.

This truly looks to be a special school, and I wish all editors working here the best. If you have some questions regarding my assessment, please drop me a line. If you disagree with the assessment, please feel free to re-list it for assessment by another editor. Best wishes! LonelyBeacon (talk) 05:13, 27 January 2010 (UTC)

June 2010 edit
Apparently an anonymous IP has seen fit to simply hit WP:UNDO on article improvements, destroying noncontroversial changes along with whatever non-specific issues that editor had. So that my edits this time are clear, I am listing them explicitly here. (Apologies to experienced editors &mdash; all of these changes are probably self-evident.) There are also other changes, such as wikification and non-controversial maintenance, for which removal would simply be WP:Vandalism.

The following have been removed as they have no WP:RS and are blatantly non-neutral:
 * historically referred as "Little West Point"
 * According to themselves? No WP:RS, and putting quotes around a non-neutral source's statement doesn't make it become neutral even if it is sourced.


 * self-styled as The Finest Institution of its Kind in the World
 * ...explicitly according to themselves. No WP:RS, and putting quotes around a non-neutral source's statement doesn't make it become neutral even if it is sourced.


 * is home to the nation's "Best Army ROTC Early Commissioning Program."
 * According to themselves? No WP:RS, and putting quotes around a non-neutral source's statement doesn't make it become neutral even if it is sourced.


 * VFMA&C's administration is composed almost entirely of distinguished current or retired military
 * Distinguished how, and according to whom are these more distinguished than anyone else?


 * Alumni often attend some of the nation's most prestigious colleges and universities,
 * So do kids from community colleges. Completely non-neutral distinction again: no evidence of any standard for "often", "some", or "prestigious" other than editors' own biases.

The following have been removed because they appear to be excessive non-[[WP:NPOV|neutral] cut-and-paste:
 * "The emblem typifies the spirit and motive principles of the Academy. The sword has always been the symbol of the military; the act of General Washington kneeling at prayer in the snow is the symbol of humility and indomitable faith in the face of adversity."
 * Essay-like attempt to associate the school with positive qualities – not WP:NPOV; excessive cut-and-paste.

The following have been removed:
 * The excessive details of every rank for every type of uniform has been removed per WP:WPSCHOOLS/AG.
 * "Frequent" has been removed from "Middle School cadets take frequent field trips to off-campus sites" because there is no citation or comparison with other schools.
 * "Most recently" on a press release that wasn't 5 minutes ago.

The following have been reworded because they are violations of WP:NPOV:
 * The most astounding increase, +270% to be exact, is with the women in the college. In 2008–2009 the college enrolled a total of 10 women, this year the school welcomed 37 new and returning women into the college.
 * No evidence this is astounding, unless the editor has WP:RS to show reason why someone would be astounded &mdash; maybe for the same reason there is no reliable source that they were "welcomed" either.


 * The Plebe system is what ties alumni together as they become members of the "Long Line of Grey."
 * Nonspecific and non-neutral.


 * which was generously donated by the Richard King Mellon family
 * "Generously" removed: either superfluous or uncited; take your pick.
 * The singing of school songs are an important tradition at VFMAC.


 * No WP:RS. (And organizations are not WP:RS for whether their own traditions are "important".)
 * The Academy’s academic strength comes from the amount of age-appropriate support provided for students at specific grade levels.
 * No WP:RS and devoid of any apparent meaning. (What does the editor think the other thousands of schools in the world have grade levels for?)


 * due to the wide variety of Advanced Placement, elective, and college classes qualified cadets enroll in.
 * No WP:RS or any other reliable comparisons for "wide variety"

The following have been tagged because the meaning is not clear:
 * VFMA&C and the Duke of York's Royal Military School, United Kingdom have become sister institutions.
 * So they are owned by the same people now? Or is it like sister cities?


 * Colonel John Ford, VFMA&C
 * Colonel John E. Steele, Jr., Valley Forge Military Academy & College
 * Colonel D. Keith Feltham, Valley Forge Military Academy & College
 * Unclear whether "Colonel" is a rank awarded by an external authority, or internally awarded by the Academy. If it is internally awarded, is it a violation of Honorifics (and possibly WP:NPOV) to have privately-assigned honorifics on those people's names?


 * The band was the lead group in the 2009 Lord Mayor's New Year's Day Parade in London, England.
 * I assume this is the New Year's Day Parade but it is not linked, and the citation is a dead link.


 * B-flat soprano trumpets ... and two E-flat soprano trumpets
 * Piccolo trumpet says soprano trumpets are D. Trumpet says "Trumpets pitched in the key of low G are also called sopranos, or soprano bugles, after their adaptation from military bugles"


 * In the Pre-College Experience, team-teaching dissolves
 * Dissolves?! Decreases over the year, doesn't exist at all, or what?

The following have been tagged because they are claims of quality without WP:RS citations:
 * Valley Forge Military College has the largest number of West Point Prepsters out of all the West Point approved Prepster programs in the country, with 18 currently enrolled.
 * No citation for this or any other Prepster programs' student counts, therefore no evidence of "largest".


 * The Valley Forge Military Academy & College Regimental Band is world famous
 * No WP:RS; no criteria for "world famous".


 * Valley Forge Military Academy provides detailed information concerning its academic program.
 * No evidence of any difference from other institutions.


 * Cadets who show proficiency in college courses greatly distinguish themselves in the college admission process.
 * As opposed to where?

Sorry to waste everyone else's time, but apparently someone needs to have reasons explained to them. As for the anonymous IP that is running wild: hopefully that person will read WP:PROVEIT (among other things) before editing further. --Closeapple (talk) 13:11, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

I will not bother to edit any further. Sorry to have disrupted you and wasted your time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.103.102.170 (talk) 03:32, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Cost / fees
Can somebody who knows please add the costs (does everybody have to live on-campus?) and fees? Thanks in advance.Betathetapi545 (talk) 08:19, 16 May 2017 (UTC)

In reply to Betathetapi545 I currently go to Valley Forge Military Academy and College. It is hard to say how much it costs. Not everyone has to live on campus. There are full-time boarders, 5-day boarders, and day students. Exact pricing is difficult because there are constant discounts for grades, family who are/served in the military, ect. If I can find out the prices I will edit the page at once. Chris Roe234 (talk) 04:29, 5 January 2019 (UTC) —Preceding undated comment added 04:26, 5 January 2019 (UTC)

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