Compromise rears its ugly head again, and we find connections between current events and what we have already covered. In the first unit, we listened to a <<short interview>> with Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein. Well, they are back on C-Span as Congressional scholars to talk about the dire circumstances before us in the shut-down. Great for extension or foder for your classroom discussions. They talk about their fantasy of a Congress that actually accomplishes something. I don't think that is happening. I am sure you don't either. The talk this week has also been on the fact that not only is Eric Cantor seizing control of the Republicans, but now Ted Cruz is jumping on board over on the Senate side of the buillding. Quite a crisis of leadership for Speaker Boehner... I wish y'all all the best.. Because all of the unintended consequences of not being able to promote the general welfare of our nation is really, well, bad karma. For the Rs and the Ds. And the TPs. (And the YOUs and MEs.)
0 Comments
Keeping up with current events is a daunting task, and I spend about two or more hours doing this... I thought it would be the best course of action to start of with how I do it. Here are my top ten current events resources. 1. NPR. I start and end my day with NPR. I commute about a half an hour to an hour each way, and I really like the way NPR covers news. They are liberally biased, but do a pretty good job at least presenting the opposing views. My favorite program to listen to by far is Fresh Air with Terri Gross. You get about a half an hour to forty five minutes of detailed interviews on all things current events at 3pm on WAMU, for those of you in the DC area. Diane Rehm also has great interviews when I catch them during planning (10-noon), and Morning Edition has great continuing series and coverage from correspondants from all sorts of media outlets. 2. Politico (& Politico Pro) Every morning I get a treat in my inbox from Politico Playbook. It is a rundown on what has happened in the digital media world overnight with all things current events. I also sign up for news from the Daily Congressional Digest... you just can't beat it. You get tweets, instagrams, and the insider's view of DC. Foreign Policy Magazine has in-box briefs that you can sign up for international news. 3. BreakingNews: This little website is just a scrolling feed of major headlines around the country. Some of it is pertinent, some of it is not. It definitely helps you out with breaking news. 4. RealClearPolitics: Better for resources from both sides of the aisle, and complete with poll results and other great academic resources. 5. The Learning Network from NYTimes: Here are larger stories in the media merged with lesson plans and additional resources. When I am in need of something to help explain complex issues succinctly. C-Span does similar lesson plans on current events and their coverage in Congress on C-Span Classroom, which is free!! 6. The Newseum: The Newseum is a treasure trove. When I want to specifically cover and address either the homogenization of the media via conglomerates OR how local media outlets cover national stories, I will go to the front page resources, either as a gallery or as a map. 7. The Week: A weekly magazine that scours media for a pretty balanced and digestable presentation of national and international stories. I ask PTA to pay for this, and they usually do... 8. Student News Daily: Again, a pretty easy resource for kids to use, and even has a daily quiz that kids can take to see if they would qualify for the foreign service. Or not. 9. WaPo digital subscription: I absolutley love the digital subscription... and if you are an educator you can contact early on to try and get a free subscription... but don't try after mid-September... they are usually gone by then... But the format is awesome... the software even reads stories to you, and you can take screen shots of the articles as they appear in the hard copies!!! 10. And just for fun... Here is another clearing house of resources from a fellow blogger. And some ideas of what to do with it... |
Photo via Flickr/Ted Eytan
Archives
September 2017
Categories
All
|