Current events were something I always struggled with when I was in school. We were taught out of textbooks and seldom, if ever, were we taught about events happening in the here and now. For that reason, I often felt extremely unintelligent when listening to adults around me discussing current situations. Watching the news and reading my newspapers with my children from a young age on, made this an area that we learned in together. Places and events are often on the news that I’d never heard of. The questions and researching the answers came naturally to us as a family. Thus began our constant investigating into what is happening currently.
With things the way they are in the country now, I feel this is the most beneficial subject we cover on pretty much a daily basis.
Some ways to easily incorporate current events into your curriculum are to watch news together or read a newspaper each day. This naturally leads into an hour or so of research and forming opinions based on facts and informing ourselves daily about what is happening around us. Also focusing on learning to be discerning while watching newscasts and learning about bias in the media.
Some current examples that we’ve studied recently or are currently studying are:
How can there be a government shutdown?
Has this happened before? For what reasons and what length of time? What were the consequences? What results will be achieved by this current shutdown? Who is most affected by it?
Pros/cons of building a wall on the border of Mexico.
What are the desired outcomes by the president of this wall? How is it viewed by foreigners? How will this affect the U.S. long-term both if it erected and if it is not?
How common are earthquakes in the U.S.? Which areas are most susceptible to earthquakes and why? Do earthquakes generally happen more during certain seasons?
What are opioids? Why are they generally prescribed? Were they always known to be as addictive as they’ve become? Who is at fault for this current opioid epidemic? How do you know what is addictive? Ideas on how to curb this epidemic?
Who are junk food ads aimed at? Who pays the highest price for these ads? Which companies target youth? Consequences from these ads? What could be changed in an effort to deter childhood obesity?
What are financial crises and housing crashes? Why do so many speak of an impending financial crisis? How should this cause one to handle their money?
What is a trade war? What are tariffs? How does this affect our economy?
What is the NROL-17 spacecraft? What is a spy satellite? What do you suspect is it’s mission?
As you can see from these examples, there is so much to be learned by bringing current events into your household on a daily basis.
Although news can be scary, it is still imperative to expose our children to what is happening in the world around them. I’m often amazed at just how in depth my children’s research goes into the areas that are of the most interest to them. Even my youngest, now 11, has insights and understandings that many adults lack.
Do you incorporate current events into your daily life? If so, how? If not, why not?