THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH 329

“DON’T TEACH US WHAT YOU WANT TO TEACH. TEACH US WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW.”*

One of the most significant documents of its kind, one which may well bring about a re-structuring of the health curriculum in schools has just been released under the joint auspices of the Connecticut State Depart- ment of Education and The Mental Health Materials Center. Titled, Teach Us What We Want To Know, i t brings to light the contemporary interests, concerns, and problems of school children as they relate to health in general, and in particular to such topics as puberty, alcohol, smoking, drugs, social relationships, mental health, and sex, among others.

The 160 page report, Teach Us What We Want To Know, is based on a survey of 5,000 school children ranging from kindergarten through grade twelve by the Connecticut Department of Education. The study, supported by a grant from the U.S. Office of Education reflects opinions and observations, and the current state of knowledge on health topics of children from urban, suburban, and rural, as well as from varied socio-economic backgrounds.

Presented mostly in the children’s own words, the report contains information not readily available in professional source materials. To insure that the survey would get a t children’s real interests, concerns and problems interviewers avoided questionnaires. Instead they encour- aged pupils to talk freely and to write their opinions anonymously. With vounger children unable to express themselves on paper, they used observa- tional techniques.

Study credits children with more maturity than adults give them: In summarizing their findings, the authors note, “There is evidence in this study to support the conviction that our children and youth are more mature in thought and judgment than adults in general believe . . . they are ready and eager to assume more responsibility than we are usually willing to grant them.

“The extent and depth of the interest in health exceeded all expecta- tions. Children express deep need to understand their own development . . . From grades 5 or 6 on, they feel handicapped and often at a loss a t not understanding. It is as though they said, ‘It is we who must manage our own lives. Adults, please tell us how we grow, SO that we in turn may tell you what we need to know in order to act as self-directing, responsible people.’

l l . . . Keen is their interest in what can go wrong with a person. Questions about diseases, accidents, deformities, and potentially dis- astrous indulgences and habits are myriad. The information young people have in areas bearing currently on youth is formidable in abundance, accuracy, and error, and their eagerness for reliable information is im- pressive.

Children want clear and honest answers: l l . . . Burdened by the hodge-podge of contradictory information that barrage them from all sides, they ask the school to reach honestly and clearly-and early enough-and to help them build up their critical powers so that they themselves may act responsibly.

Five thousand pupils K-12 participate in survey:

*Mental HealthMaterials Center, 419 Park Avenue South, New York N. Y. 10016.

330 THE JOURNAL OF SCHOOL HEALTH

‘ I . . . The knowledge these young people already have about what comprises good teaching and a good education comes as a surprise. Chapter 11 which reports their suggestions, reads like a textbook on teaching.

“. . . The quality of many of the responses make them a reservoir of revelation and of motivational resources. . . . Particularly striking is the forthrightness with which today’s young people think, discuss, and apparently act in the area of sex relations, even when compared with attitudes of college students of six or eight years ago. Impressive also is their faith in schools, their belief that even when others fail, the school will stand by them.”

Stgdent responses reported on graded basis: The report is in four sections, the first two dealing, respectively, with the health interests and concerns of elementary and secondary school pupils.

The third section deals with the grade-to-grade flow of interest in such topics as the body, food and nutrition, exercise and physical educa- tion, first aid and safety, mental health, emotional development, and sex education.

The fourth section contains a chapter which includes student recom- mendations on topics to be taught a t all grade levels as well as a t designated grade levels. In another chapter, report analysts give their interpretation of grade placement of topics.

The report does not spell out details for a health education curriculum for kindergarten through grade 12. It suggests, however, that survey results indicate the need for a curriculum that places a strong emphasis on mental, social, and emotional health as well as on the physical aspects.

Teach Us What We Want To Know was edited by Dr. Ruth Byler, consultant in health education for the Connecticut Department of Educa- tion. The director for the project was Dr. Gertrude M. Lewis, recently retired as an education consultant for the U. S. Office of Education. Miss Ruth J. Totman, former chairman of the women’s department of health and physical education at the University of Massachusetts served as assistant analyst.

Publishing arrangements for Teach Us What We Want To Know were assigned by Connecticut Board of Education to the Mental Health Materials Center, 419 Park Avenue South, New York, N.Y. 10016. Copies of the 200 page book in a paperback edition are available at $3.00 per copy from the publisher. Attractive discounts are available on orders ranging upward from 10 or more copies.

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