A couple mornings ago in the crazy rush to get out the door, Christian came in to see me. "Mom, can I get my globe and show you the country that they are talking about alot on the news?" Sure.
So off he ran, and came back with his globe. After spinning it around for a few minutes, he landed on Syria.
"Is this right?"
It sure is. By this time Connor had joined us.
"Where is the red line Pres. Obama was talking about?"
Ah ha, they've been listening to the news. Good boys.
They had a hard time understanding that the red line wasn't a physical line drawn on the globe somewhere. So finally I explained that a year or so ago, Pres. Obama said that if Pres. Assad of Syria started to move or use chemical weapons, then there would be serious consequences. Kind of like when I tell them that if they insist on playing soccer in the house and break a lamp, that there will be consequences (they did this recently).
So, I told them, that because chemical weapons were used in Syria, it was time for consequences. They started to understand.
While I didn't especially enjoy explaining the horrible things that happen with the use of chemical weapons, I did appreciate that my kids are paying attention to the news and wanting to understand what's going on in the world. They need to be aware of how our government works so that they can be informed and make smart choices--and understand when elected officials (at any level) are either overstepping or not living up to their responsibilities.
So, they'll be learning a lot about civics in this house. One cool place that I'm using to help them is a website developed by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, iCivics.
Justice O'Connor recently said "We have to ensure that our citizens are well informed and prepared to face tough challenges," she said. "If there is a single child not learning about civics or not being exposed to what they must do as citizens, then all our lives are poorer for that."
She's right. So, we'll keep studying civics and current events in our house.
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