Student Well-Being Obituary

Surgeon General Pushed Schools to Address AIDS

By Nirvi Shah — March 05, 2013 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

C. Everett Koop, who as the U.S. surgeon general in the 1980s became an outspoken advocate for teaching children in “the lowest grade possible” about a growing health threat called AIDS, died Feb. 25 at his home in Hanover, N.H. He was 96.

Dr. Koop, a retired pediatric surgeon tapped by President Ronald Reagan to be the nation’s doctor in 1981, found himself frustrated by the administration’s slowness in reacting to AIDS.

Dr. Koop also called for a smoke-free society by 2000 and accused the tobacco industry of marketing directly to children.

He argued that because education was the best AIDS-prevention strategy, sex education should begin in 3rd grade. HIV and AIDS have since become a staple of health and sex education classes. Dr. Koop disagreed with U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett’s position that abstaining from sex be the only preventive measure taught to students. Dr. Koop also advocated abstinence, but he wanted a more comprehensive approach, especially for young people at greatest risk of contracting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

At a congressional hearing in 1987, Dr. Koop warned that the United States was facing an “explosion” in the number of teenagers with AIDS. He advocated an abstinence-only approach, but noted that such a message, and one of monogamy, would not have an effect on some adolescents.

“I was talking to a group of teenagers recently about this problem of being monogamous, and I said, ‘I mean long-term monogamous,’ ” he told House lawmakers. “And this girl said, ‘How long? A semester?’ ”

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the March 06, 2013 edition of Education Week as Surgeon General Pushed Schools to Address AIDS

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being Opinion 4 Steps Students Can Take to Help Make Tough Decisions
When students feel stuck, they can harness the power of the nonconscious mind to help them move forward.
Kennon Sheldon
2 min read
Images shows a stylized artistic landscape with soothing colors.
Getty
Student Well-Being From Our Research Center Students Think Social Media Is Fine, But Teachers See a Mental Health Minefield
It's important for adults to recognize and understand teens’ perspectives in order to teach healthy social media habits.
8 min read
Custom illustration showing a young female student floating above a cell phone while in a protective bubble that looks like a split happy and sad emoji. Digital and techie textures applied to the background.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Student Well-Being Q&A 'It Terrifies Me': Clinical Psychologist on Tech Overuse in the Age of AI
Lisa Strohman has dedicated her career to connecting the dots between tech overuse/misuse and mental health problems.
4 min read
Custom illustration showing a young female student wearing a book bag and standing inside a protective bubble that looks like a split happy and sad emoji.
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Student Well-Being From Our Research Center Social Media Is Hurting Social-Emotional Skills. How 4 School Districts Are Fighting Back
A majority of educators believe social media negatively impacts students’ social-emotional skills, an EdWeek Research Center survey found.
7 min read
As part of a SEL lesson, 6th grade students at Swope Middle School in Reno, Nev., practice online safety measures.
As part of a social-emotional-learning lesson, 6th graders practice online safety measures at Swope Middle School in Reno, Nev., on March 19, 2024.
Emily Najera for Education Week