On December 3, 2024, the U.S.-Mexico Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute hosted the fourth edition of the Convocation program, coined Convocation 4.0. This event brought together thirteen former American, Canadian, and Mexican ambassadors to the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, along with two current ambassadors and various…

Before Heritage Middle School began working with the Participate Learning team to connect lessons to real-world issues, the teachers and leadership had established a goal to encourage students to become more empathic about issues in their community. Although a handful of students and teachers who participated in the school's gardening club were…

The study of current events can take several forms, and the right current event to study as a class depends on the educational purposes, the curricular standards the authors want to address, and the resources they have available to meet them, and what the needs and abilities are of the students present in the class. In this article, they focus on…

The call to promote social justice sets the social work profession in a political context. In an effort to enhance social workers' preparedness to engage in political advocacy, this article calls on educators to integrate a broad theoretical understanding of power into social policy curricula. We suggest the use of a multidimensional…

Students who experience a transcendent moment as they vicariously walk in the shoes of another person demonstrate the utilization of sociological imagination. Even though the concept of sociological imagination was advanced more than 50 years ago by sociologist C. Wright Mills, there is high value to revisit this concept and for its application to…

Have you ever avoided discussing controversial issues in the classroom? Teachers report often avoiding these types of discussions due to concerns about the unpredictability of student reactions, accusations of trying to push a political agenda, and insufficient knowledge or skills to work through complex issues. Debates, however, have been shown…

This article examines the social and political struggles out of which emerged the proposal to expand the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC). Situating the proposal in the contexts of the 1992 presidential campaign and the aftermath of the Los Angeles Uprising, the article discusses how particular struggles and debates structured the…

Social Security is a contemporary topic that exemplifies a social issue-centered approach to social studies, one that allows students to get beyond the school walls to analyze a contemporary topic that ultimately affects virtually everyone. In this article, the authors provide a brief history of Social Security, describe how it is funded and…

Discussed are efforts originating in the Netherlands to assist the Soviet Union and Eastern European counties to form and carry out significant air and water pollution improvement policies. Examples of proposals and programs being formed are described. (CW)

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)

Described are the efforts of a coalition of several environmental organizations to influence federal legislation regarding water pollution in the Great Lakes region. Statements from regional legislators are included. (CW)

A neglected part of the history of teaching sociology is the history of teaching high school sociology. The American Sociological Association's centennial in 2005 affords sociologists an opportunity to reflect on the teaching of sociology--anywhere and everywhere that it happens. In the spirit of contributing to the history of teaching sociology…

This paper outlines a project that provides a framework for engaging students in current events in such a way that they develop and improve critical sociological thinking through regular and structured writing assignments. Though this paper describes a news-analysis project that is similar to many that have been used in sociology classrooms both…

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)

Case study exercises, based on newsworthy current events, have been written for a biochemical audience that include elements of both "content" and "conflict." The cases have been written in such a way as to teach students basic biochemical principles. At the same time, a dilemma is posed to the students, who must use what they have learned about…