What I learned in school about Civics...

When I was a kid in elementary school, I was one of those kids who was lucky enough to have a scholarship to an "elite" Jewish private school. Seriously, I was lucky with that scholarship because tuition alone was more than I paid for one year at University... and this was 1987! We learned all the normal topics: math, science, history...etc. but we also learned about the State of Israel and the State of Michigan during the social studies lesson plans that the teachers worked on. It was meticulous planning because there was a lot of information to be crammed into a half-day of school. At my private school, we were subjected to a half-day of Hebrew lessons and a half-day of English lessons. Hebrew lessons included Torah study and learning the Hebrew language while the English portion of our day was math, science, history, civics...etc.

Like I said, a lot of information to cram into a half day.

Recently, a teacher-friend of mine told me about something her students were reading: a weekly magazine of sorts that allow kids to practice their reading while learning about the local world around them. I did a bit more digging and discovered that this magazine teaches civics, science, and math - it made me wish it was around when I was kid.

Studies Weekly is such a great asset for any school district. I think this would have kept me entertained and more excited about science (my arch nemesis). Currently, only nine states utilize Studies Weekly - which really surprised me because you'd think more teachers would demand a publication like this!

What about Mom's who home-school? I actually took that question to my friend Liz who was home-schooled and now home schools her two kids. She admitted that her Mom was a bit busy raising 10 kids and home schooling them all to really focus on civics lesson. With her kids, she finds it hard to teach them about Michigan AND keep them entertained. She and I agreed, Studies Weekly would be a HUGE asset to parents like her.

OK, so WHY am I telling you this? Because I believe in your kid's education. Kids are becoming more resistant to old-school teaching and I really think a publication like Studies Weekly could help kids learn without the use of computers. What do you think? Do you think your kids would read something from Studies Weekly?