European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 29, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday october 29, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 9 educators debate Koop s proposal Many officials oppose Early aids education by Dave Walczak eds Una writer teaching about aids at the third Grade level would be superficial at Best. Department of defense depend Danu school educators said in response to a Sugges Tion by the surgeon Genera. Or. C. Everett Koop last week proposed Educa Tion about aids should Start at an Early age so that children can grow up knowing the Behaviours 10 avoid 10 protect themselves from exposure to Theale Vinu Koop s report suggested teaching third graders about aids. How do you go about teaching it asked Renna May Young a third Grade teacher it Patch Elemen tary in Stuttgart. You can talk about diseases but How do you instruct on a subject like anal Queen Thompson wants no part of the idea. I Don t understand it aids myself said the third Grade teacher at Patch i m not sure How you get the disease. If the surgeon general can come up with lesson plans i la take a look at it. It s a  Judy lies who leaches third Grade at Ramstein elementary in Germany said she could t do Justice to the subject. We d be pulling something out of the fifth or sixth Grade and putting in the third. 1 think Kidi have heard about it in the Media but if we Tell them it s a disease i Don t think they la ask too Many More questions i think it s got to be first taught in the High schools said Frank Kolasky assistant principal at Alconbury elementary school in England. Kolasky said he in t sure thai third graders could grasp the problem and learn to Deal with it effectively. He said sixth graders would be a More appropriate age group to introduce the idea. Rosalie Tucker a school psycho Gisl at Torr Jon elementary in Spain said eight year Olds have some level of understanding in terms of How communicable diseases Are  she said if some curriculum could be developed it could be taught. Aids is a coming Issue she said we Haven t bad any reported cases so far but it s jus a matter of  school districts particularly Large ones like new York Chicago and los Angeles include formal instruction for High school students about acquire immune deficiency syndrome. New York City is developing an aids curriculum for Middle school students. Lies said there s a big difference Between Dodds schools and their big City stateside counterparts kids Are More protected Here. You Don t see them on the streets like you might in new York or  Cela Varosy another third Grade teacher at Patch said parental permission would be necessary before instruction could begin. The subject of aids could be introduced at the third Grade and reinforced and expanded in higher grades she said. Bill Houston health and physical education coordinator for the Germany Region said he does t see anything wrong with teaching about aids As Early As the third Grade. You Don t necessarily have to talk about Seit Educa Tion As we know it Houston said. We can talk about sex differences. We can talk about where babies come front. You Don t have to be too specific in order to prompt  Houston said Early education might help prevent teen age pregnancies. Aids is one of the problems of sexual activity and sex is one of those things that once you be tried it you re not going to give it up there s real problems out there. Pregnancies have been aborted in girls in the seventh Grade. I already know of three cases this  the Region has ordered the film what you Nee to know about  Houston said that if found appropriate a copy of the film will be available to each of 50 military communities in Germany. Houston said the Region s school nurses have at tended classes on aids education. The nurses would be available to teach in classrooms if teachers fell uncomfortable with the subject he mid. Cerri Beer a third Grade teacher at Aseh Offenburg elementary in Germany said children s exposure to the subject through the Media Calls for some sort of explanation. I think the kids Are seeing and hearing so much about it in the Media that they be at least heard the word. And if we can get any kind of information out to them it would be a Little less frightening to  Dean Wiles the chief of the Germany Region education division said teaching about aids to third graders would be  you re talking about a disease that Idle the immune system that fight the disease. I Don t think you d see their faces Light up As if they knew what you were talking about. But they certainly know what diseases Are. They know about mumps and measles. They know you re not supposed to have other people around when you have a cold Noel Tillman former assistant principal at Spang Dahlem elementary and now a Germany Region spokesman said there s a difference Between sex Edu cation and knowledge. You can teach computers in kindergarten but to what degree Are you teaching at the third Rade level sex education is not taught. Knowledge is taught. You could never teach aids from a sexual stand Point to third graders. But you can talk about Dis  Alconbury s Sotasky said he Hopes education about aids does i hit the same barriers that drug education did a few Yean ago. Parents he said did t want Chil Dren to learn about drugs in school fearing it would encourage use. I think we have to face up to the problem As it exists in the United Stales today he said. Stall Vikor Soavi och contributed to Ruxi Sporl the hangup is the homosexual aspect Nea says by the associated press representatives of leading education organizations in the United Stales Are no More certain than . Teachers in Europe about when aids should be Dis cussed in schools. Everyone s a Little cautious about that said Howard Carroll a spokesman for the National education association the nation s largest teachers Union. The hangup is the homosexual aspect. To explain to children of that age what Homo sexuality is this is what raises the red  Allan Shedlin executive director of the elementary school Center a new York based research group echoed the sentiments of Many others that some sort of aids instruction should be port of abroad health education curriculum and thai can t Start too  he like others is not prepared to say that third Grade was appropriate to Intro Duce All children to the subject of aids most often contracted through homosexual Contact or from the sharing of hypodermic Needles. But he added i m not at All sure there would be a major uproar from parents. If parents Are generally confident about the teachers and their schools. I would think most of them would requite relieved to have their children learning about it aids and the Public schools a report released in september by the National school boards association called for development of a curriculum to teach students the facts about the disease and ways to prevent its  it suggested that such a curriculum could fit into ensling courses in sex Edu cation general science psychology cur rent events and in classes or workshops on drug abuse. But the report did not mention at what Grade level such instruction should Start. Tari Marshall a spokeswoman for the National Pat based in Chicago said we Don t object to it at third Grade. This kind of education should begin be fore puberty. There should be aids Edu cation for everyone. But first and fore most we believe parents and schools must cooperate they said however the appropriate age to offer such instruction might vary from Community to Community. Chil Dren in new York City or san Francisco places with a higher prevalence of aids might need More instruction and might have heard enough about the disease to comprehend such lessons. In other communities it might teem less appropriate or desirable at such a Young age. Education Secretary William Bennett cautioned in a statement last week against Starling such a program without parental  most of the american people i believe that children should be mad aware of the physical psychological and moral consequences of sexual activity he said. They should be Mode especially aware of the particular hazards posed by aids. But before teaching any specific curriculum the school system should As sure that it has both the involvement and the approval of its childrens  medical evaluation data can t be used against gis by Chuck Vesch Washington Bureau Washington Servic members who admit to being homosexuals or drug abusers during medical evaluation and testing for aids can no longer be Dis charged or otherwise disciplined lawmakers have told the defense department. In the fiscal 1987 defense authorization act con Gress barred the defense department from involuntarily separating or taking Adverse action against Semcer Membra who lest positive for the aids virus based on data obtained during interviews with doctors.  Iden fied As High risk groups for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. We be been told it s something we have to live with a defense department spokesman said. A Senate armed services committee staff member said lawmaker believe the policy is needed to ensure that military health officials get truthful information regarding aids. If you want people to Tell the troth you have to protect them from Adverse action the staffer  we believe obtaining valid information on aids is More important than occasionally discharging some one on the basis of information that Shoula be confidential  the authorization act defines Adverse action u a denial of promotion reduction in Grade a court mar tial non judicial punishment involuntary separation for other than medical reasons an unfavourable entry in a personnel record a bar to re enlistment or any other action considered Advent by the Secretary of defense. Statistics show that about i million Servic members have been tested with about 1,600 coming up positive for the antibody to the a Tiv in virus associated with the disease medical experts have estimated 20 percent to 50 percent of those who have been exposed to the virus eventually contract the disease. Defense department policy prohibits the enlistment of anyone who tests positive for the virus. Personnel on Active duty who teat positive have been allowed to remain in service As Long As they show no signs of progressive clinical Tunfu a Pentagon health official said the aids policy is undergoing its scheduled annual review. Every aspect of the policy u being looked at he Laid we expect to have a review paper put Erwind  attacks the body c immune system leaving it vulnerable in a Host of deadly diseases