How to Stop Terrorism? Begin in School

Jan. 11, 2008 — -- Homeland security is one of the hottest issues in this year's presidential election, the candidates sparring daily over who is best qualified to protect the nation against terrorist threats.

Meanwhile, Leah Beaulieu is busy educating the next generation of security experts. Beaulieu teaches the nation's first homeland security high school program at Joppatowne High School in Joppa, Md.

Sixty-one Joppatowne 10th-graders enrolled this year to spend three years learning about protecting the country against terrorism.

The sophomores choose specific areas of homeland security that they would like to explore during their junior years. And as seniors, they complete internships or shadow homeland-security professionals on the job.

"We introduce our students to all major areas of homeland security. We start off with a historical perspective, learning where terrorism comes from, the political motivations, even going back to the Crusades and talking about change over time," said Beaulieu.

The program, which has been lauded by some in law enforcement, educates them on cutting-edge security technology, law enforcement and criminal justice, and teaches them to identify potential chemical and biological threats. Its creators say it will prepare the young students to enter a growing industry that could one day employ thousands of new workers.

But the program has also raised concerns about the appropriateness of teaching such a serious, politically charged subject matter to high school students.

David Volrath, director of secondary education for Maryland's Hartford County public schools, insists that the school's main motivation is to help students find future jobs. There are high-tech companies in the area, and the Defense Department's Aberdeen Proving Ground is nearby.

"When we recognized that these industries were coming to support research at Aberdeen, we realized the opportunity for our students," he said.

And Jack Cloonan, a former FBI agent and president of Clayton Consultants Inc., a global risk crisis management firm, praises the high school for being the first in the nation to take this initiative.

"Those of us in this type of business often get criticized for running around, screaming the sky is falling, [but] we do have to keep the public vigilant," he said. "This is a very important educational message. If it's first introduced at the high school level, along the line it will increase people's professionalism."

But other observers warn that the the educational message must remain distinct from any political implications.

Jonathan Zimmerman, director of New York University's History of Education Program, encourages the inclusion of homeland security issues in the school's curriculum, but he urges the school to make sure it focuses on teaching national security.

"The devil is in the details. Is the school educating or indoctrinating? The job of public schools is not to get people to vote for or against Bush. [Rather] it's to teach kids the tools to evaluate Bush," he says.