Tread lightly with lessons about 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 Huntington Beach have decided that they
will not broach the subject with those young pupils.
For children that young, this is the best course of action. But,
as Harbour View Elementary School Principal Roni Ellis points out, it
is not always possible. Children have begun to play war games on the
playground, she said. And some are writing letters to a soldier on
the battlefield. While that is a positive act that shows support for
the troops, teachers at that level should tread gingerly on that
ground.
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 students may already know and think and alert parents to
worrisome activity in the school yard. Teachers can also not ignore
questions and concerns brought up by young children about the war.
But teachers 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 to
handle, 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, however.
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 at high school and certainly college
age, should learn the history that they are living through and the
history that led to the war. They should be educated, and not just by
the media, about who the leaders involved are.
Schools in Huntington Beach 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 each say in the presence of
children.
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