Students learn about world by studying current events

Editor's note: This story has been edited to correct the spelling of the name of one of the students.

With news speeding past everyone -- including students -- high school current-events teachers try to help students keep it in perspective by giving them tools to process the information and form their own opinions.

The courses go under various names and fall under various categories, such as social studies, sociology or philosophy, but the purpose is to have a healthy debate on topics of the day from national and international news to happenings closer to home.

Upperclassmen mainly make up the classes, which this year have touched on incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, Donald Sterling, Bruce Levenson, Ray Rice, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Middle East and the missing Maylasian airliner, to name a few.

Sterling is the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers recorded making racist comments; Levenson, controlling owner of the Atlanta Hawks, announced he would sell his share of the team after an "offensive" email he disclosed; and Rice was recently suspended indefinitely from the NFL and released from the Baltimore Ravens for domestic violence.

Cape Girardeau Central High School

James Brake, who teaches a sociology course called Contemporary Issues, uses breaking news as a discussion starting point, or in slow news weeks, a more in-depth unit on something such as issues in education.

If there's breaking news that's important, he gives students direct access to the news. Once everyone has a chance to read it, they discuss it and infuse a bit of history, economics or government into the discussion.

Brake has students summarize their position on an article, where applicable, and ask further questions that the article didn't cover. Articles students read are relevant to local, state and national issues. He usually tries to steer toward politics, the economy or social issues.

"We try to do it to where they're going to be learning a larger lesson based on the social science curriculum," Brake said.

Students use tablet computers to read stories on the Internet during their discussion in Travis Dambach’s current events class Friday at Jackson High School. (Fred Lynch)

One example was the Rice incident, in which the football star was shown on video knocking his then-fiancee unconscious in an elevator and dragging her out by the feet. Brake noted the story brings up a discussion about domestic violence.

Racist or offensive comments by basketball team owners gives students a chance to talk about whether those owners should have been forced to sell their teams, because it touches on freedom of speech. Brake said they're not trying to defend these people, but attempting to look at the big picture, rather than just the individual story.

Ferguson popped up Aug. 9 when a white police officer shot and killed unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. The case, which is still under investigation, touched off protests and conflicts with police.

"Ultimately, the message I tried to deliver was 'Don't be too quick to form an opinion;' that's up to the legal system. We all know witness testimony is not always reliable. If you ask 50 different people, you're probably going to get 50 different stories," Brake said.

"Out of that one story, we had two weeks of things to talk about," he added.

Junior Alex Churchill said he thinks Brake has done a "really good job" of bringing out the other side to help students see both perspectives. "It gives you a wider spectrum of knowledge," Churchill said.

" ... So far, it's my favorite class out of all my eight classes. It's a little more laid back. It's work, but there's a lot of discussion," Churchill said.

Winnie Smee, a senior, said students feel like they can say what they're thinking in class.

"I just sometimes like to listen. Usually, I don't watch local news, so when I come in here, I get information from people. It keeps me up to date," Smee said, adding that when she does read news, she typically chooses the Southeast Missourian, because she likes local news.

Taking the class has helped her chime in when her parents talk about what's going on.

Churchill said he likes watching FOX News, but lives in a split Democratic-Republican household, so he'll sometimes turn on CNN or MSNBC to see what they have to say.

On their tablets, Wilson said, students use Bing news, which features recent events in different categories.

Usually, though, when Wilson turns on the TV it's to view ESPN.

Students can post their views on an article in a forum on the school's online course management system Moodle, and everyone has a chance to read and comment on it. Students who may not feel comfortable speaking in class often use that forum to participate, Brake said.

"I think we need to worry about state news," Wilson said. He added something that bugs him is when people talk about news like they know what they're talking about, but really don't.

"You need to know the basic information on what happened," Churchill said.

Notre Dame Regional High School

Kirk Boeller teaches current events and sociology at Notre Dame Regional High School. They roll with the topics that come up in the news. They were just getting started on sociology and a section on racial issues and group conflicts.

"What we try to do first is separate fact from opinion. That's a big thing that I talk about. That's a big thing that the kids talk about, too, is knowing what is real" and knowing what's hearsay, Boeller said.

After they talk about the story, Boeller said he encourages students to state their opinion and back it.

Senior Dhruvi Bhakta said students don't have opinions forced on them, but are encouraged to form their own. She said those opinions are expressed respectfully, although discussion sometimes gets heated with people "screaming across the room."

"But then once we leave the room, we're not still fighting over it," Bhakta said. "We leave it in the room, and the next day, we'll come back and resume what we were talking about."

Before forming an opinion, junior Andrew LeGrand said, a person doesn't want to take someone else's side just because they're a friend.

"You can inform your own opinion. Everybody respects that. It can be hard. I guess you've got to work at it. You've got to work up the courage and just say what you think."

Travis Dambach leads a discussion with students in his current events class Friday at Jackson High School. (Fred Lynch)

Jackson High School

Jackson High School offers a current events course taught by Travis Dumbach in which he tries to throw students curveballs and get them outside their comfort zone.

One of his battles is picking topics students don't know about, which means veering away from Southeast Missouri news, because the feeling is students already know about it. He also stays away from sports and Hollywood gossip, because students don't make that distinction.

If he does touch on sports, he uses it as a starting point to discuss a wider issue, like openly gay NBA player Jason Collins, or the Rice incident. He likes to use weekly or monthly publications because they offer more in-depth coverage.

Saxony Lutheran High School

Laura Hayden, who teaches world geography, American history and current events, said the school uses current events across the curriculum.

"For example, the language arts classes will use current events to provide the basis of their unit on persuasive speech," she said in an email.

World geography looks at events in different regions, taking into account the historical and cultural context of the situation, as well as conflict over geographical features such as water, oil and land. Religion classes may center on the role of Christians in today's world, and American history on the current events surrounding the struggle between state and federal power, Hayden wrote.

"Specifically looking at the events in the Middle East, we begin when the students are freshmen in world geography. We look at the historical development of the region and the religious tension that has existed for centuries," she wrote.

Students also spend time researching the conflict and goals of Middle Eastern nations from post-Israeli independence through today. The current events class takes a narrower approach, looking specifically at what's happening in the region today.

"Because of the work when the students were freshmen, they have already developed a strong foundation of knowledge. In current events, we spend a lot of time discussing the role of the United States and the role of the Christian church as a whole. In light of recent events, students have become familiarized with different organizations and governments found throughout the Middle East and how these groups are using violence and intimidation to control or eliminate large groups of people -- including Christians," Hayden said.

Scott City High School

Social studies teacher John Nanney usually focuses on more world and national news topics and tries to pick things students will have an opinion about. "Sometimes I sprinkle in regional and state level news as best I can," he wrote in an email.

To select topics, Nanney said he usually checks the CNN website every day for national or world news. Other times, students will come in and mention a topic that's been ongoing or something they heard about, and discussion sparks from there.

Concerning Ferguson, the class talked about the incident every day it was taking place, watching CNN video, reading articles and having discussions.

For the recent 9/11 terrorist attack anniversary, Nanney said he took his students to hear retired New York City fire chief Richard Picciotto speak at Academic Hall at Southeast Missouri State University.

Picciotto was the highest ranking firefighter to survive the World Trade Center attack. He was in the north tower when it fell and was among a small handful of survivors who were in stairwell B that did not completely collapse.

"His story was quite amazing and the students all seemed to enjoy the experience. We also talk about ISIS on a daily basis and whether or not the government is doing the right thing, are we going to have to send in ground troops to get rid of ISIS, etc.," Nanney said.

Asked if there is discussion of religion or racial history, Nanney said racial issues are talked about more than religion, especially given the events in Ferguson. "I try to teach the students to think before they speak and realize that they must put themselves in others' shoes at times, to understand that people come from different backgrounds and beliefs and that there is no good or evil, we are just different but yet the same," he said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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