Current Issues

President Trump has praised leaders of countries around the world who are known to have violated human rights. What should the U.S. stance toward such "strongmen" be? In this activity, students work together to match eight leaders with their country and with charges about their human rights abuses...

President Trump has proposed eliminating federal funding for public media and the arts. What do students think? In this activity, students learn about the debate, discuss it, and research one program they think either should or should not be funded.  

What led to the firing of Bill O'Reilly, Fox News' top host? Students explore the issue with a quiz, reading, and discussion.  

Students learn about and discuss the alt-right, its relationship to the Trump administration, and online cultures of hate.   

President Trump's federal budget plan would greatly increase military spending, and slash spending for other programs. Students explore the budget with a quiz, readings, and discussion.  

Democracy doesn't begin and end in the voting booth. In readings and discussion, students explore tactics people are using to pressure their elected officials, including the Tea Party on the right and Indivisible groups on the left.   

Students learn the definition of "transgender," discuss the controversy over ensuring safe access to bathrooms for transgender people, and consider ways they can be allies or upstanders for transgender students.   

Students learn about and discuss the debate over Obamacare, a Republican plan to replace it, and single-payer health insurance.   

With Republicans gaining control of all three branches of the federal government, unions are under increasing attack. For students, this raises some pertinent questions: What are unions? Why are they important? And how will the attack on unions affect working people in our country?  

Students discuss key issues in the evolving story over links between the Trump administration and Russia with a short quiz, reading, and discussion.