Vol. 19, No.5 May 2003
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Townsend Harris Hig School at Queens Col ege
Poll shows wide range of opinion regarding war by Marlo Dublin A po ll distributed during the first week of April gave stu dents and faculty the opportunity to express their feelings and opinions regarding the war in Iraq. Out of 284 stude nt responses, roughly 48% expressed dissent toward the war, while 23% approved of it and 29% were und ecided. Of the 19 teachers who returned their polls, 79% replied that they were against the war, while the remaining 21 % stated that they were in favor of the war taking place. The poll consisted of 11 questions, each devised to elicit the full breadth of respondents' views. The first question asked whether or not the poll taker agreed with, disagreed with or was un-
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As the controversial topic of the war in Iraq sparks debate throughout the country, Townsend Harris administrators and teachers have attempted to bring it home by faci litating its discussion in the classroom. The .week in which war was declared, Assistant Principal of the Humanities Susan Getting sent a notice to Social Studies teachers, asking them to discuss the war "in a sensitive way." The notice was accompanied by an article on how to discuss difficult topics, asking teachers to report students who appeared stressed to the guidance department. Principal Thomas Cunningham asked that the notice be given out to all Assistant Principals in an effort to include the entire school community.
decided about President Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq, while the second one asked for the polltaker to explain his reason(s) for approval, disapproval or indecision. A wide variety of explanations were submitted. "I feel that Bush has completely disregarded the opinions of the American people and the Euro ean allies," junior Margo Kakoullis said. " He has not given adequate proof that Iraq is a threat o us, and he has not figured in the possible catastrophic repercussions." Physics teacher Irwin Steinberg approved of the decision to go to war, saying that "weapons of mass destruction are likely to get in terrorist hands" and
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agreed with the decision, saying that "it doesn't have to do with the 'War on Terrorism'" and "it's wrong to use 9/11 as an excuse, and it's wrong to put your own personal interest before that of your official responsibilities and country." History teacher Charlene Levi also disagreed , saying that she does not "feel that the reasons for war are valid reasons. The U.S is a powerful country and should have been more diplomatic in their approach in the Middle East." Student teacher Lori Stahl-Van Brackle also was opposed to the war. "Clearly Presi-
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"If kids want to talk about current events, they should get the chance. The classroom is a good, safe place to have discussions," said Ms. Getting. New York City Public Schools Chancellor Joel Klein sent out a notice to all New York City public schools as well, asking teachers to be alert to students who are stressed. In addition, Mr. Klein sent notices to parents, informing them on how to speak to their children about war and assuring parents of their children's sa fety in school. Mr. Cunningham sent an accompanying letter outlining the School Safety Plan. Economics and history teacher Marc Greenberg responded immediately to the declaration of war by devoting an entire lesson to the geography of Iraq , the history of neighboring regions in the
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"after 9/11, weapons programs can become a threat to our security." Senior Geoffrey Ng agreed, saying, "If not war to get rid of Saddam, then what else? The International community has balked at its responsibility to do anything about a man with weapons of mass destruction. What ot er alternatives would have been effective?" Similarly, an anonymous junior wrote that "Hussein is a cruel dictator who refuses U.S diplomacy" and "action must be taken to oust him before he brings about further destruction." Freshman Alexandra Stergiou dis-
Middle East, and the history of past conflicts in that region of the world. "I think it's important that students know what's goi ng on so that they can make their own decisions," said Mr. Greenberg. Other teachers have discussed the war regularly in classes by incorporating it into the curriculum . Global History teacher Charlene Levi, for example, initiated discussions regarding the similarities between World War I and the present war. Ms . Levi's classes also read articles once a week from different media sources to try to get as balanced a viewpoint as possible, and her classes often discuss the media's portrayal of the situation. She added that to discuss the war every day would be too much. "I don 't think that the war is discussed enough in global cla sses," said
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sophomore Laura D ' Amato, vocalizing the sentiment of many students. 'There's no set formula for how much discussion is going overboard, and how little is not appropriate. But war is one of the most pertinent issues affecting our lives today, and it definitely needs to be discussed," said senior Nicholas Shaman. "Discussion isn't limited to just a social studies class. Just because it's a social studies issue does not mean it can't be discussed in other classes," said Ms . Getting, who encouraged English teachers to discuss the war as well. • Ms. Getting added that teachers should continue to discuss the war in their classes, even though the fighting has stopped. "The process of democratizing the country is the most important part of the entire war," she said.
Reviews pp.13-14