The Guide to Teaching
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Using Newspapers in the Classroom
Date: Fri, 07 Nov 97 10:00:56 -0500
From: "Sue Davis" <daviss@gvsu.edu>
I have had several good experiences using newspapers, etc in class.
I have used the Washington Post Weekly for AmGov, the New York Times
for Comparative classes, and the Economist for IR.
The Economist works very well. It comes once a week and students
prefer that to an everyday newspaper. Plus it allows us to spend part
of one day each week discussing current events with reference to one
basic source. It provides them a different perspective than American
papers, it is more in depth and is quite literate. They offer an
educational discount and a free copy to the instructor. We used it
this semester for 13 weeks (I do not start the subscription till week
2 and end it prior to finals when the students have no time to read
anyway) and it cost the students about $20. A very good deal.
I agree with your assessment that tying current events to theory
and coursework is a good idea. The students really like that. This
semester I have gone a little further and have had students write two
short papers tying the Economist and coursework together. Their first
paper was on the Mid-East Peace Accords since Netanyahu's election and
the other is on the Kurdish question in Turkey. Their assignments
were to discuss the basic issue and address what interests the US had
in these conflicts, our policy options, and so on. The students have
learned alot and enjoyed it.
Sue Davis
Grand Valley State University
daviss@gvsu.edu
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