Although keeping up with every aspect of the news can feel overwhelming, students who maintain a general grasp of current events beyond what they see on social media can improve their ability to contribute to conversations, writing skills and overall understanding of their government and culture.
High school students are continually around teachers and adults with differing views discussing politics and current events, which often influences their own thoughts or feelings about those issues. Exposure to others’ views and beliefs is crucial, but students should also seek to learn about cultural issues for themselves and form their own opinions.
Students who can develop a habit of staying informed will be more engaged with culture and more likely to participate in political processes when they reach voting age.
Additionally, individuals who regularly read news articles can learn about topics useful to include in a variety of writing assignments and situations. A student’s performance in English and journalism classes largely depends on their ability to write. Keeping up with current events typically involves reading articles that can introduce readers to a variety of new vocabulary and sentence structures that can be useful when writing for school.
Students can also apply the information they learn in history and government classes to what they see in the news, ultimately gaining a better understanding of the world and how the United States government functions. If students can make connections from their class work to the real world, they will see the value in it and, hopefully, be more interested in actually retaining the information.
While some feel that the news is irrelevant for teenagers, high school students are only years away from being able to vote and are impacted by the decisions being made by the adults around them. It is unfair to expect them to agree blindly with whatever comments their parents or teachers make about current events.
Regardless of the political views or opinions students hold, they can educate themselves and gain valuable skills by keeping up with current events and engaging with important issues.