The World is a Mess- Don't tell the Kids

 The World is a Mess, Don’t Tell the Kids

 

It is a good thing that our high school students have no idea about what Is happening in the world. If they do, it certainly isn’t because they have learned about it in school.

Barely half of the states require a course in world history or world geography as a requirement for a diploma.  Is it any wonder that the vast majority of Americans doesn’t even know where Ukraine is?

Forget Critical Race Theory in schools, there is a movement in the U.S. that would also forbid teaching about world events that are “troublesome” to students.  If we lived in Russia, we would not be allowed to call what is happening now a “war”.  You could go to jail for that.   Here in the U.S., you won't go to jail for talking about the war in Ukraine, but we aren't going to teach you anything about it either.  Some of our political leaders believe these topics are "too depressing" for students to discuss.

Teachers will be asked by their students, what is happening in Ukraine?  Why is it happening and are we going to war?   Teachers need to not only be responsive to these questions but they also need to be allowed to guide the students to seek their own correct answers by helping them to seek out the background information so they can come to their own conclusions. 

Sadly, the United States has been involved in multiple wars throughout its history.  Some of those fights were warranted even in light of today’s events.  Others not so much.  We might have been better off to have entered those conflicts sooner rather than later.

Educating for American Democracy Roadmap, a new set of guidelines for social studies education that was released last year has seven central themes.   One of those themes is, “A People in the World”.  It offers several driving concepts including what is the role of the United States on the world stage.  These issues are going to impact our students' lives as the world becomes more interconnected.  If they are not taught to study American roles in previous foreign wars and humanitarian crises, how are they going to become informed citizens to participate in our democracy.

Yes, learning about what is happening in Ukraine right now is very uncomfortable.  But not nearly as uncomfortable for the millions of people whose lives have been completely disrupted by Russian aggression.  If we want these world fights to stay on other continents, it would be good for the kids to know as much as possible about how we get to armed conflict and what they can do to keep it from our shores.  We can tell the kids, because like sex, they probably already know about the fight.