Vietnam and El Salvador can serve as models depicting the failure of American education to teach students to critically and objectively examine a current event. Only a decade after the Vietnam debacle, public schools are once again equating critical inquiry into the formulation of American foreign policy with anti-Americanism. (RM)

Whittle Communications' Channel One and Cable News Network's Newsroom are two popular media that facilitate the study of current events in U.S. classrooms. Atlanta and Austin public school teachers identified three issues: usage inconsistencies, problems in linking programs to instruction, and treatment of controversial content. There seemed to be…

Many teachers advocate teaching students to deliberate on controversial political issues as a powerful way of preparing them for political participation. Support for this approach recently came from a Civic Mission of the Schools report, which endorsed including political controversies in the curriculum. Specifically, it recommends that schools:…

Outlines a lesson in which students learn how the constitutional protection of religious freedom has been applied to the Amish. Includes readings from which students can analyze three seemingly contradictory decisions related to the Amish and attempt to understand judicial interpretation. Asks students to apply the concept of judicial…

Reviewed is the debate over research and approval of the use of this drug in the United States. Potential benefits and side effects of the drug are discussed. The points of view of several government officials, scientists, and social activists are presented. (CW)

Discusses strategies for teaching controversial topics through an examination of the cultural and political geographic concept of iconography using as an example the recent debates over flying the Confederate flag this decade in the American South. Conveys that there is not a conclusive model or solution to teaching controversial topics. (CMK)

A newspaper's reporting and documenting of a local issue is used as a curricular starting point in many subject areas. (Author/KM)

This activity book highlights recent changes in international political and economic systems of the world. Teachers of geography, history, economics, political science, current issues, foreign languages, and journalism will find these activities useful in integrating the "State of the World Atlas" into their curriculum. Two introductory activities…

A research study assessed the awareness of a group of fourth through sixth graders about current events, including busing, energy, inflation, and the Bicentennial. Awareness was found to differ significantly according to location of school and grade in school. Causes for the differences may include life style, curricular emphases, and teacher…

Includes an excerpt from "Tail Tigerswallow and the Great Tobacco War." Suggests using a similar story to design a social studies lesson to help students ask relevant social issue questions. Employs role playing, simulation, debate, and writing letters to editors in the lesson plans. (NL)

Offers a critical look at the media's role in presenting social issues, in particular, the reporting on riots in Los Angeles in spring 1992. Describes the Metropolitan Area Educators for Social Responsibility's Resolving Conflict Creatively Program and efforts to help teachers cope with children's questions and fears. (DMM)

Does a current controversial issue become part of the social studies curriculum in a context where the media focus largely on the issue? A study explored this question through surveys and in-depth interviews that investigated K-12 social studies teachers' perspectives on the incorporation of current controversial issues into the curriculum. A…

Provides background information on the topic of Internet filtering in schools and libraries, particularly related to the use of the Internet by children. Includes discussion questions, Web sites that present more information on Internet filtering, and three activities: (1) staging a simulation; (2) writing a policy statement; and (3) conducting a…

With America at war, schools struggle to help students understand cause and effect of conflict. Interviewed in early March, some teachers say they try not to let impressionable adolescents know how they feel about the controversial American policy on use of force in Iraq. Others say that while they present both sides of the issue, it is only right…

Reviews discoveries and reports of dinosaurs to help put them into paleontological perspective. Proposes that discoveries not be announced from the field, but submitted to professional evaluation and peer review before release to the public. (Author/RT)