Read the news every day
I am a retired high school social studies teacher.
Our students are woefully ignorant about news and geography. A teacher can select one story per day, or alternate days, to illustrate a point in history, geography, English, math, science. It expands the information they are getting from “dry” textbooks or other written sources.
In addition to articles from newspapers and magazines, I used videos made during news broadcasts for their visual effect. My students were mostly from low-income Hispanic families. They had trouble “connecting” with current events out there in the “white” world, as they saw it. The videos and articles brought a new reality into the classroom for them.
In fact, the news stories could be used to bridge the gap between Hispanic students and individuals from any of the cultures we serve in San Joaquin Valley communities. The greatest compliment I could imagine would come when a student would approach me after summer break, saying, “I watched the news this summer!”
Because teachers are always short on prep time, The Fresno Bee could hire a retired teacher to give “tips” on the use of stories, whether they illustrate points in social studies, math, science, geography or English.
Virginia Wilson, Lindsay
This story was originally published August 14, 2015 at 8:36 AM with the headline "Read the news every day."