A Subject for Schools? : Nuclear Policy Ignites Debate on Curriculum

One of the students at Oakwood School in North Hollywood found the slides showing victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima “a little too heavy.” After the showing of a film, “Bombs Make Rainbows Break,” others clustered in small groups to discuss their fears about nuclear war. During a picnic, students swayed and clapped while a folksinger sang about peace.

The 312 students at the private secondary school have been observing Nuclear Awareness Week, a student-initiated attempt to educate their peers about nuclear weapons and warfare.

Although the Oakwood School has brought the discussion of nuclear policy into its classrooms, holding one special event each day this week, a national movement to add such topics to school curricula is moving slowly.

At most San Fernando Valley schools, individual teachers must take the initiative to bring discussions of nuclear arms and nuclear policies into lesson plans. And many teachers say that without readily available, up-to-date information about nuclear issues they do not feel qualified to lead classes on such subjects.

“It is still possible for students to graduate from high school without ever learning that there is something called a ‘nuclear winter’ and that it could destroy the world,” said Gary Lipton, a counselor at John Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley.

There are some educators and political leaders who believe that schools should not add nuclear issues to the curriculum.

Phyllis Schlafly, a leader in the fight against the passage of the equal rights amendment, recently wrote that school programs discussing nuclear weapons are “designed to produce fear, guilt and despair in the minds of the students.”

But many educators say that it would be foolish to ignore a subject that students discuss among themselves.

“I am one of those who believe ignorance is not bliss,” said Jackie Goldberg, a member of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education. She has proposed to the board that the district’s staff be directed to investigate how to include nuclear policy topics in the curriculum. Her proposal also would establish workshops to show teachers materials available to help them teach the subject.

“A part of education is helping students learn how to think in a critical manner,” Goldberg said. “I believe in helping people understand information even if it is frightening.”

The National Education Assn., the nation’s largest teachers union, has developed a 10-part lesson plan on nuclear policies. The NEA has sold more than 8,000 copies of the program, called Choices, since it was introduced a year ago.

But the creators of the program are disappointed that they have not sold more in a nation with more than 16,000 school districts.

Educators say that at most schools, nuclear policies are discussed only if the topic comes up in the normal course of study.

Counselor Lipton of John Francis Polytechnic said that after students watch programs such as the television movie “The Day After” or feature film “Testament,” many come to his office to talk about their fears that a nuclear war will someday destroy the world.

‘Come in Despondent’

“Kids come in despondent after seeing these shows,” Lipton said. “It would be wrong to try to convince them that there is nothing to worry about.”

At some schools, campus chapters of nuclear protest groups, such as one called Beyond War, sometimes bring in lunchtime speakers, perhaps to describe the effects of nuclear warfare on survivors.

Few schools have initiated a discussion program as extensive as the one at Oakwood School. This week’s activities included a debate on the pros and cons of the nation’s nuclear policies. One side spoke in defense of continued manufacture of nuclear warheads, arguing that “peace through strength” is a deterrent to war. The other side argued that the arms race is “insanity.”

“The more that we can do to stimulate kids to think about current issues, the better,” said Jim Ewing, activities director for Oakwood School. “It is a threatening thing for schools, but it is part of our responsibility to make kids aware of the world around them.”

At California State University, Northridge, the main push for discussion of these issues comes from the campus chapter of Alliance for Survival. This week, 25 students and community members demonstrated at an Orange County meeting of engineers who design conventional and nuclear weapons.

Protest March

The Northridge contingent carried red candles during an evening march around the hotel where the engineers were meeting.

Some educators who want to see more classroom discussion on nuclear issues are awaiting the results of a California Department of Education survey of the state’s school districts. The survey, which is the result of legislation introduced last year by Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara), is designed to find where nuclear education programs have been established and what they are like.

The legislation says that if the survey shows there is a demand for more information on nuclear issues, a model “nuclear age education program” may be developed by the state.

“It is very hard to approach this issue without taking a political stand,” said Dana Schwartz, an Oakwood School senior who worked on setting up the weeklong observance at her school. “But there has to be an outlet to get these issues discussed.”