Ad Hoc Social Studies

I guess I should talk about Polynesia, my 12-year-old, from time to time. He's the self-directed one, so I spend a lot less time with him, which isn't fair because he needs me just as much as Chee-Chee.

Some time this past fall I decided it was impossible for me to keep up with his curriculum and still try to teach Chee-Chee the basics. Instead, I gave it all to him--the languages, the history, the reading, and even partly, the math. What I decided to do was to read him something we could learn together and talk about. Since it was the election year we were very interested in politics and laws. One day we were discussing abortion and the importance of legal precedents when the term "Roe vs. Wade" came up. He got really excited and wanted to find out all about the important Supreme Court decisions that affected us over the years.

It was the perfect opportunity to introduce an important topic into our curriculum. I found this simple handbook from Amazon, called The Supremes' Greatest Hits: The 34 Supreme Court Cases That Most Directly Affect Your Life by Michael Trachtman. It gives us just enough background information, the major players, the decision, and the aftermath for each court case. We've been able to use this book as a springboard to discuss a variety of social, political, and religious issues. When learning about the Scopes "Monkey Trial" and Epperson vs. Arkansas, we discussed how religious rights hinge upon the interpretation of the "Establishment Clause" in the first Amendment, and how fragile this balance is. While Poly has no aspiration for a career in politics or law, I still want him to understand how important these things are.

One of my goals for educating my children is to make them informed citizens who will have a hand in shaping the culture and the government of the future. Learning to care is the first step.