Letters

Teaching Sex

To the Editors:

If sex education is to be beneficial [EDUCATION, Nov. 24], it should include two components: factual information about sexual functions and concrete instruction on values. Since many parents shudder at the thought of "sex talk," we should expand public education to include classes that will guide parents in clarifying their own sexual values and developing the skills they need to communicate these standards to their youngsters. Julia H. Hawgood Cincinnati

Advocates of sex education are rearing their heads once again. Using the schools to instruct children about sex remains a form of invasion and is a usurpation of parental rights. Something so intimate must be kept within the confines of the home and the church. God never made a substitute for a mother. Frank Kolk Newark

I am a teenager who has been in sex-education courses at school since the third grade. Most of the young people I know have developed liberal ideas about sex, even though the school programs have, if anything, discouraged promiscuous sex and so-called immoral sexual behavior. Our attitudes about sex do not come from teachers; they come from society and our peers. We are influenced by the media's portrayal of sex as being glamorous and by the opinions of other teenagers. The best thing teachers can do is give us the biological facts, teach us about sexually transmitted diseases, then stand back and let us make our own decisions. Janet J.K. Jones Toledo

Teenagers should be responsible for their actions, and the only way they can make intelligent, sensible choices is by learning all the facts. Even if this knowledge has to come from outside the home, it is better than having parents give youngsters misinformation or no information at all. Cara Lee Kowitz Minneapolis

The notion that an atmosphere of silence, shame and secrecy is morally superior to one of candor and informed opinion is ridiculous. Forced repression of the facts of human sexuality has devastated far more lives than AIDS ever will. Kevin Mayfield Conshohocken, Pa.

Man of the Year

I nominate South African State President P.W. Botha, who will not be a welcome choice but who has greatly influenced world events. Luis V. Guevara Manila

The spy. John Walker, Jerry Whitworth, Vitaly Yurchenko and all the others have turned the genre of spy fiction into a reflection of a dismal reality. Kevin M. McGehee Sacramento

Definitely Mrs. John Walker, to whom we may owe our lives. Rodney R. Smith Casselberry, Fla.

Vladimir Horowitz. Patsy Seybert Indianapolis

Philippine President Corazon Aquino, for her boldness and spirited courage in challenging the 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos. (The Rev.) Ronnie Roque San Pedro, the Philippines

The Statue of Liberty. America needs a queen, and Lady Liberty is that. Lloyd E. Campbell Detroit

Libya's Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Idris Ahmed Nurgat Chipata, Zambia

Arms for Iran

The Reagan Administration must strengthen ties with Iran [NATION, Nov. 24] because America needs a strong and friendly Iran in the Middle East and because the country is far too valuable to fall under Soviet influence. An independent Iran can be a prize for the U.S., and that is possible if both governments follow a smart strategy of establishing links. Ali K Kojouri Iowa City, Iowa

I have until now been a firm supporter of President Reagan's antiterrorist policy. However, he has done the U.S. and himself a great disservice in condoning arms shipments to Iran. Internationally, he has lost all credibility. Donald Dowey Hilden, West Germany

I am outraged, disgusted and furious that the Reagan Administration could even conceive the idea of an arms deal with the Khomeini regime, much less negotiate one. In my opinion, the U.S. has no greater enemy in the world than Iran. David P. Sorrell Duluth, Ga.

Whatever might be the differences between the U.S. and Iran, it is the geopolitical position of Iran that is responsible for bringing the two nations closer, whether covertly or overtly. The hostage issue is just the catalyst for the process. Angsu Narayan Bhattacharya Calcutta

From Day One it has been apparent that President Reagan's decisions, if not his thinking, are based almost totally on his simplistic view of the world rather than on the complex realities that exist. The media have winked at this fundamental flaw, and most Americans have gone along, because they too prefer the simple illusions to the harsh facts. If the press had only held our President's feet to the fires of reality and truth, events would never have descended to their present deplorable level and both the President and the nation would have been spared this ultimate embarrassment and disgrace. Charles V. Worth Gainesville, Fla.

I am an ardent supporter of President Reagan, but his policy of dealing with Iran has hit even us diehard Reaganites. Perhaps his intentions were in America's best interest, but the result is that he has surrendered more than he has gained. The President has given away the prestige and respect of the greatest nation in the world. Derek Montero Muscat, Oman

Selling South African Stock

Your report about companies leaving South Africa [WORLD, Nov. 3] says "at least 15 states, including New York ... have either completed or announced plans to sell their stock in companies with South African holdings." The $32 billion New York State pension fund has not sold any stocks and bonds of U.S. companies doing business in South Africa. Rather, we have been leaders in what you describe as an effective "relentless campaign" of using shareholder petitions to force company withdrawal from that country to protest apartheid. Edward V. Regan New York State Comptroller Albany

Loyalty to Rome

By treating the meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops [RELIGION, Nov. 24] as if it were a political campaign, you mislead your readers. The church is not a democracy, nor should it be. It is a congregation of people who accept the Pope's pronouncements on faith and morals as the teachings of Christ. If a member cannot accept the doctrine, he or she should leave the church and join another religion. James H. Walter Rancho Murieta, Calif.

Through divisiveness brought about by centuries of unacceptable domination imposed by Rome, the world has a Greek Catholic Church, a Russian Catholic Church and an English Catholic Church. The time is ripe for an American Catholic Church. The U.S. bishops should begin now to circumvent the archaisms of Rome and formulate a relevant church in which all American Catholics can thrive in their religious lives. Emily Langford Bennett Princeton, N.J.

IQs and Genes

The article "Nakasone's World-Class Blunder" [EDUCATION, Oct. 6] contains errors. First, you claim that H.H. Goddard "insisted that on the basis of IQ scores vast numbers of Italian, Jewish and Russian immigrants were 'high-grade defectives' or morons. "Goddard never wrote any such thing. What he wrote was that of those immigrants screened at Ellis Island who were suspected of being "feeble-minded" on the basis of casual observations, a majority scored in the "feeble-minded" range on certain verbal and performance tests. They were never claimed by Goddard to be a representative sample of any national group of immigrants ever tested at Ellis Island.

Second, TIME states "most scholars today believe that so-called intelligence and achievement differences stem largely from environmental factors." A recent survey in the Public Interest, responded to by 661 experts, found that those interviewed "believe 60% of the individual differences in IQ in the American white population to be due to differences in genes." When asked to give their opinion of the source of the black-white difference in IQ, 53% of those interviewed believe that genes and environment are both involved, compared with only 17% who attribute the cause entirely to the environment. Arthur R. Jensen Professor of Educational Psychology University of California, Berkeley

TIME regrets the error.

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