{photo by Kevin Morris}
Here’s a quick and encouraging story that parent Margie Peterson sent in the week of the Presidential debate on September 26th. Margie and her husband Ken have three kids, two of whom attend SLOCA: Josh (freshman) and Sandy (6th grade). This is their family’s 8th year at the school:
On Monday evening I told my three kids that we would be watching the first presidential debate together as a family. This idea was met with groans from my sloCAHS freshman son Josh, though I can’t really blame him! My two sons will be able to vote in the next presidential election, so the more they’re exposed to the process now, the more they’ll be prepared in 2020.
Josh sat quietly and listened for about 45 minutes before we shut it off. I thought he was bored out of his mind for being forced into this torture. Much to the astonishment of my husband and I, Josh sat up and said, “Well you can certainly tell that one candidate leans more toward the socialist, and the other is more capitalist.” He then went on to talk about what he’s been learning about 18th and 19th century European political philosophies. He provided names and dates. He spoke of Karl Marx, and contrasted him with Adam Smith who published his book on capitalism in 1776. He taught his sixth grade sister that a capitalist believes everyone can reach the top if they work hard. He mentioned other forms of government and political beliefs including Nationalism and Liberalism.
As parents, we were astounded to hear all that our soon to be 14-year-old freshman son has been learning in his first month at sloCAHS. Josh admits that history is probably his hardest class, but he loves it along with all his classes and teachers at sloCAHS!
Thanks for sharing, Margie! What a fantastic example of how our high school is teaching students to use those critical thinking skills and to apply what they are learning to current events!
