European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 28, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                April 1988 the stars and stripes Page 17 daily Magazine Ike War by Thomas Ferraro United press International James therry teaches a course on the Viet Nam War at a Small Maryland College where he figures three out of four students dont even know what Side the United states fought these kids dont know anything about the except that we said whose class at Prince Georges Community College is one of the few in the nation exclusively devoted to americas longest and most unpopular in High school As Well As in College history Vietnam is compressed to a few closing pages not even a full chapter that teachers often dont get to before the semester if we had won the if it had been less Controvert it probably now would be taught said Joan executive Secretary of the member organization for american most textbooks treat Vietnam superficially and part of the reason is that people still debating it and historians Are still trying to put together Hoff Wilson its Only been a decade since the end of the she textbooks rely on a 20 year time by the end of this you can expect to see More More textbooks about there Are already signs of changes at least on the College Allan associate Dean at Georgetown University school of foreign surveyed 100 of americas top colleges last he found that just 26 had at least one course dealing entirely with most of them developed since in a report to be issued this Goodman writes the Vietnam War is the most and until one of the poorest taught in at the time of the the its diplomacy and the vietnamese themselves were probably among the least studied subjects in american he ironically there May Well be More serious Coures although considerably less student interest on Vietnam 10 years after the fall of Saigon than when the War was the top Issue of american for eign while there has been a recent surge of interest at some High schools still seem to be giving the War relatively Little we dont have any real Bead on but believe High schools Arent giving Vietnam a few but just a mention and not a great said Frances executive director of the National Council for social today 18yearolds haunt been born when the first combat troops splashed ashore near Dan Ang in they were 6 when the last of million american servicemen were airlifted Home in a few years upset by How Little students knew about the got approval to begin a course on the conflict that divided radicalized a Genera Tion and forced Lyndon Johnson from its now my Best we never have any trouble filling it and always have spirited said who draws a maximum enrolment of 35 to 40 students each Young people want to learn about he they Are fascinated by at the of each he gives them a quiz to find out what they the most Are unaware of the tet my few Are familiar with the term body they dont know what Side we fought they know we were on the anticommunist but whether it was North or id say a Good three out of four dont a Washington Post Abc poll in March found that 21 percent of the adults surveyed admitted they did not know what Side the United states another 12 percent mistakenly said the United states backed North therry said one of the few questions most students know something about what happened at Kent state four people were killed and nine others wounded by National at Kent there Are no courses on but the College issues brochures and even maps explaining the May massacre that occurred amid then mounting Antiwar demonstrations on College campuses since Kent states sociology department has offered a May 4 and its it is taught by professor Jerry a witness to the students do pressure you to do the iwas he i have to control i have to keep getting away from the War stories and the facts and Back to the theoretical among the facts at the military Academy is that 260 graduates were killed in Vietnam and another dozen Are still listed As missing and unaccounted for in Southeast the Academy now teaches one course on military history and 11 others in social science and two in philosophy that touch on the new Yorks Columbia University was a hotbed of protests by Radical students More than a decade today it is dominated by a More conservative Brand of student whose elective courses include Vietnam its Karen a Sophomore business said she signed up because All i knew about Vietnam was that we were involved in the War that we  have been involved said it seems like ancient we had totally forgotten about now were just beginning to bring it up at neighbouring new York Thomas Grun Field is in his first year of teaching a course on Viet he earlier taught a similar course at Empire state the hardest thing for me when we talk about United states involvement in Vietnam is to convey the emotional Grunfield they believe it in the abstract but getting them to feel it is a different Grunfield is encouraged that More and More colleges Are at least trying to convey the he said seven or eight years a conference in new York City unsuccessfully tried to raise interest among teachers to offer courses on it got he the general feeling was that Vietnam disappeared from everyone conscious this explosion of interest is to me absolutely Jerold a West Virginia sociology is trying to get the nations secondary schools Starr Heads the Center for social studies a nonprofit organization he formed last july to write the first High school curriculum on the Vietnam the headquartered at Starrs includes 30 High school teachers and Vietnam with Grants from they Hope to Complete the curriculum next summer and offer it to High schools a study conducted in the Early 1970s and another one conducted in the late 1970s found that the average High school textbook devoted six paragraphs to the Viet Nam Starr i dont think that has changed much since Starrs group wants to change that with the support of several education it plans to offer 15 teacher lesson units on the which could be taught separately or As an entire semester we need to teach the lessons of Vietnam to the next said whose units carry such titles who supported the War and who opposed the War and Why arid Why did the War last so and Why did it end the Way it the increased interest in Vietnam is in in a new wave of books on the a subject that for Many years was generally ignored by one of the textbooks most used in colleges is Ameri Cas longest by George a University of Kentucky a popular teaching tool is the 1983 Public broadcasting service Vietnam a television Walter a professor at the University of California at Santa uses the As Well As his own the unfinished in teaching a course on right now we have 900 students in the the largest course on the said he began the course in each a hand Ful of Vietnam Many Clad in old combat attend the classes and participate in the most common thing is for a vet to Tell what it was like to be in talk about what happened when he came when there was no on at least three Capps a student in the class stood up and Welcome said the vet would break Down and c Valley Dally 1970 a student was killed at Kent state when Ohio National guardsmen fired on Antiwar