Education allows students to gain a worldly knowledge that future benefits and allows an understanding of how society works. The application of concepts is a necessary component for successful learning. Recent events between Russia and Ukraine have sparked discussion across the globe. Discussion about this subject has been absent in the classroom, but such teaching opportunities could allow students to apply learned skills to modern issues. 

Mr. Imhoff, educator of AP World History and AP Human Geography, agrees there’s value in relating school curriculums to today’s news.  

“I think it’s important to teach about this so students can see the warning signs of movements like this [Russian actions],” Imhoff said. “This is also a war of information. The Russian government is clearly trying to obfuscate and provide a lot of misinformation about this topic, and I think it’s really critical that students learn to get their news from reputable news sources.” 

Ally Brown (‘23) is enrolled in AP Language and Composition where she recently studied the prevalence of woodenheaded-ness, a closed-minded mentality, in society and its effects. The class examined how such fixed mindsets can lead to devastating effects, similar to what Putin is orchestrating currently. 

“I’m surprised we didn’t mention Ukraine and Russia when talking about how woodenheaded-ness can be really harmful. Especially considering we talked about the Holocaust and overall the killings of innocent lives due to biased beliefs,” Brown said. 

Evan Delibro (‘24), a student of AP United States Government and Politics, was involved in a class discussion about the two neighboring countries and the potential US engagement. 

“We had a little bit of a discussion about it, but it kind of got out of hand. We were talking about how NATO and the US might get involved,” Delibro said. 

Evidently, there are many occurrences to relate present day topics to school learning, however some material may be too sensitive to review. It’s best to ask questions when given the chance and seek chances to discuss.