Editorial: Let’s talk about current events, kids

Today, our world faces a paradoxical reality. While information is abundant and communication is instant, people actually know less about their world. 

A 2007 study showed that, generally, people know less about their leaders and current events than they did in the late 1980s.

For instance, in 1989, 74 percent of people could name the vice president of the United States, compared to 69 percent in 2007. Additionally, 11 percent more people could name the president of Russia in 1989 than in 2007.

In more recent years, comedians like Jimmy Kimmel have poked fun at historical and current-event illiteracy, and this is a problem schools should address. 

A New York-based debate league is a shining example of effectively educating students on the value of current events.

According to a Nov. 17 New York Times article, the New York Debate League, which includes elite private institutions and charter schools like the Success Academy Charter Schools, is fostering current-events interest in students as young as 9 years old. The article states, “amid debates over National Security Agency surveillance and universal pre-kindergarten, they put away their iPods and mix during the breaks, seeming almost oblivious to their differences.”

Too often, there is talk in our society about the importance of history and current events. Schools providing this opportunity to students is an invaluable aspect of becoming an educated citizen. 

In the New York Debate League and other similar associations, students must research all sides of an issue before a competition, as they are not aware of which side they will be assigned to until right before the debate. Students must then learn to research and interpret information beyond standard partisan talking points. Learning high-level research skills and acquiring information without bias is crucial to students’ development and understanding of the world in which they live.

Thus, schools across the country should continue to invest in and adopt such programs. If students can learn the importance and complexities of current events at a young age, perhaps we can diminish civic apathy and increase interest in what’s happening in the news and how it diversely affects people.

Or, maybe you think that is not the case. After all, there is more than one side to every story. Feel free to debate about it.