AMONG the letters TIME'S editors receive from readers all over the world, there is a batch every now and then from the half-industrial, half suburban city of San Leandro, Calif, (pop. 64,714), 17 miles from San Francisco. The reason, we learned last week, is an attractive schoolmarm named Adele Fridhandler Levine, 30, who teaches the popular world-affairs course at San Leandro High School. Her students' main textbook: TIME, The Weekly Newsmagazine.

Three years ago, when Canadian-born Mrs. Levine was handed the world-affairs assignment, her first act was to buy 35 TIME subscriptions, one for each student, out of the school budget. The day the first copies came, she went through them page by page with her students. Soon the students began to argue--so vigorously that Mrs. Levine asked them to push their chairs into a huge circle against the wall (see cut) so that the debaters could look one another in the eye while voicing their opinions.

Mrs. Levine then told her students it was not enough to read and be aware; they should also participate--write letters to TIME'S editors, to their Congressmen, to news commentators. One boy objected: "No one will listen to us kids." Replied Mrs. Levine, "Try it and see." In fact, see LETTERS.

For every student letter printed in TIME, Adele Levine awards an extra A. Another stimulus to discussion is the packet of teaching aids (maps, special reports, news quizzes, etc.) sent out by TIME'S education department.

The world-affairs class became so popular that the second year it almost doubled in size, had to be split into two sections. This year it was so over-enrolled that 70 applicants had to be rejected. To get a firsthand look at Teacher Levine's newsminded students, TIME'S San Francisco Bureau Chief Richard Pollard visited both sections last week, reported:

"The class is the most refreshing thing that has happened to the high school curriculum in years. The kids are obviously enchanted with their teacher and absorbed in their subject. And despite the fact that the class is almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats (Adele Levine is a resolute Democrat), there is a remarkably high level of tolerance for the other's views. In the two classes I attended today, the students discussed the French crisis, Billy Graham, TIME'S movie reviews, nuclear testing (violent disagreement), Dick Nixon, and Bill Knowland (violent disagreement here, too) . . . Twenty-five TIME covers are displayed on the back wall."

Correspondent Pollard asked Teacher Levine why she chose TIME as the class textbook. Her answer: "It is the most readable and complete newsmagazine in America."

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