Current Events with Young Students

So I am going to get up on my soapbox for a moment. :)

I participate in groups on Facebook for teachers. One was for Kinder teachers and the question someone asked was "are you going to talk about Ukraine with your students?" All 57 people who answered, said "no". "That's the parents' job". And my favorite: "no one teaches current events in Kinder, we teach community helpers".

I urge you to rethink this philosophy. First of all, students hear and know more than we give them credit for. Last year my student wrote a story called "Unicorn Lives Matter". They hear conversations or news reports. Why not make sure they have the correct information.

Secondly, this is your opportunity to make real-life connections. We have social studies objectives about why we celebrate holidays like July 4th. We discuss the freedoms we have here. But we also have to compare that to what happens in other countries around the world. Students must be exposed to pictures and stories from other places because that is the only way to develop a world view. Too many Americans do not know anything about the world outside the US.

Thirdly, it is an opportunity to allay their fears. One of my students came in the other day saying we were going to have World War III. We had a discussion about what was happening and looked at a map to show how far away the conflict was. 

My opinion is that children are capable of a lot more than we give them credit for. I know I personally am appalled as I learn the "real" history about people like Christopher Columbus or Mount Rushmore (do you know we stole that land from the Native Americans?).  Why weren't we taught the truth? 

These kids are watching TikTok in their spare time, they can handle the news.