European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 04, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday october 4, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 education crowding prompts mental gymnastics by Peggy Davidson Kaiserslautern Bureau Lan Stuhl West Germany for about 100 Firth graders at Lan Stuhl elementary Middle school being in gym Isan All Day proposition. Rut while basketball hoops hang prominently overhead they re never used. Instead science math and English demand the students attention. Holding classes in the Middle school gymnasium is Lan Stuhl s temporary so Lution to the overcrowding that has . Schools throughout West Germany this year. Urn Stuhl s enrolment As of Friday was 1,044 children. School officials had expected 983. Four fifth Grade classes Are sharing the gym until portable classrooms arrive. The portables which were to be in place before school started now Aren t expected before dec. I. When i first got Here they told Memy classroom was in the mail " teacher Janis belts said. My first reaction was How " said Terri Toberty who is in her third year As a fifth Grade teacher. When the teachers arrived in August the gym was filled with lockers leaching sup plies and miscellaneous debris from the renovation of part of the building. The teachers spent the week before classes arranging desks storage lockers and partitions o define classroom boundaries. But the makeshift partitions do Little to curtail noise that sometimes disrupts Les son plans. The children Are coping very  said the principal James Parker. The teachers however find that in the afternoons it can be stressful. The noise level picks up and interferes with the learning  some subjects naturally mean More noise because of discussions and questions said Kathy Wyrosdick. Who has spent five years with the overseas school system. Science is a lot of doing very  we change the time of an activity to keep the kids attention focused she said. The Decibel level in the gym is complicated by the location of locker rooms which translates into increased traffic just outside classroom Borders. Fifth graders assigned to the makeshift classrooms arc Well aware of the noise. I did t think at the beginning of school i could live like  said Chris Edwards 10. A student in Mph cry s  that i m used to the noise it s  i did t know what it would be  album Bossort. Ii. One of Wil Liams students. It s of. But it Kinda gets loud  it s pc try  said Shari Launcr Man 10. Of belts class. We re probably not learning As much Here in the gym Ashe other kids. Kids work faster in a Reg ular  but the children also believe there arc benefits. You can always Tell what the other classes arc  Chris said. The cramped quarters have resulted Ina few Light or moments. One fifth grader handed a Pencil to a leather and said. Know this must be yours i saw it Fly Over the  the four teachers said the teaching environment has produced increased team work which Bells called a sense of  we. Had to work an extra weekend to plan policies and work out disciplinary procedures. We found we had  the four were especially proud of their teamwork last week when their classes underwent achievement testing simultaneously without a hitch. The school designed for 750 students already is using eight portable class rooms. The four additional portable were earmarked for the fifth Grade be cause those classes had been scattered throughout the school. Meanwhile gym classes for both mid dle and elementary pupils arc being he Din the elementary gym when it s not being used As the school cafeteria. And the portables for the fifth graders won t solve All the space problems. We re authorized an additional two elementary teachers and an additional kindergarten teacher Parker said but we Don t have the classroom space Avail Able for their  classroom close up ski Jim Oelheim determined to get his hand into the act 5-year-old Patrick Mcmahon Peers through a collection of kid size prints artistically decorating a window of the american elementary school in Kaiserslautern West Germany. Pal Rick is the son of tech. Ski. William and Herminia Mcmahon or. Ass foggy Davidson the basketball hoop in the background shows that Janis belts fifth Grade classroom Inland Stuhl is really part of the Middle school s gymnasium. . Education Given Only a plus in report Washington up1 warning of dire consequences for America s future . High school principals have issued a report card giving american education a a plus compared with an a minus Forsooth Korea and West Germany s a plus. The report issued late last month Dif fers from others that have found Ameri can Young people lagging their foreign counterparts by examining not just Stu Dent performance bul the Overall commitment to education in the three Socie ties the National association of secondary school principals said. The study graded the countries in 15categories and found America rated As High As both South Korea and West Ger Many in just one its commitment to compulsory schooling an area in which All three countries received an a. Otherwise Young americans spend More time watching television or work ing at. Outside jobs and less time i school or doing Homework and Are More Likely to take drugs and live in crime rav aged neighbourhoods or single Parent families the study says. . Society in turn puts less emphasis on High school achievement and gives less respect to teachers while american popular culture features fewer educational television programs anymore commercials the report said. Taken alone each separate Factor Inthis report card May be of limited significance. Together however they Tell powerful talc one not conducive to the United states maintaining its education Al or its economic leadership wrote Scott Thompson Nasip executive director and the study s author Thompson said it was unmanageable to compare All industrialized countries with America so he used South Korea Asan example fan emerging asian Economy and West Germany As a representative fan advanced european country. The report card was based on Aca Demic studies As Well As interviews with officials at the South korean and West German embassies. Overall the United states receive done a three b a nine c s and two d s. The report gave South Korea ii a a three b s and one a and West Germany five a a nine b s and one  s d s were for prevalence of illegal drugs compared with a b Forsooth Korea and a c for West Germany and Job hours worked per week by Stu dents compared with a s for the other two  West Germany despite a heated Economy and labor shortages student through All 13 years of schooling Are not employed except informally in a family business the report said