Tread lightly in teaching war

With unprecedented news coverage of the war in Iraq on nearly every

channel, and antiwar protests and pro-war rallies on numerous street

corners, schools are faced with a difficult situation. When and how

should teachers and administrators talk to students about the war?

Many elementary schools in Newport-Mesa have decided that they

will not broach the subject with those young pupils unless asked

questions about it. For children that young, this is the best course

of action.

Most would agree that elementary teachers should not bring the

topic of war up with young pupils. Still, they must be aware of what

their charges may already know and think and alert parents to

worrisome activity that may arise in the school yard.

Teachers also cannot ignore questions and concerns brought up by

young children about the war. However, they should appreciate that

some parents may not want their children exposed to the harsher

realities of life at such a tender age.

For elementary school children, it is a topic for parents, as they

are the ones to decide what their children are exposed to and how the

subject is handled.

Once a child is in middle and high school, it is a different

matter.

Students are presumably reading the newspaper and watching the

news and will most likely be bombarded with information and images of

the war. Undoubtedly, they will need to talk about it.

Older students, especially of high school and certainly of college

age, should learn the history that they are living through and the

history that led to the war. They should be educated, not just by the

media, about who the leaders involved are.

Schools in Newport-Mesa seem to be on the right track and treading

carefully. We should all support our schools in this troublesome time

and be wary of what we say in the presence of children.