As students progress through Schreiber, they likely notice a rather prominent consistency: modern history is overlooked. In classes covering world and US history, many modern politics, records, and important concepts are labeled as common knowledge, with them being mere afterthoughts after a year of grueling learning of what got society to the present day. However, as important as history is, modern issues should be discussed more often without a political bias, as it can help students learn about issues affecting their lives through school rather than TikTok or Instagram.
Even though students learn through the Cold War in most classes, many Americans still debate about the topic. Politics seep into every aspect of daily life, but only one electrive at Schreiber discusses modern politics. Although everyone will have their own political opinions, simply explaining what Democrats and Republicans stand for and elaborating on the many common debates between them can help students learn the major issues the US is facing.
Similarly, most modern foreign conflicts are not even glanced at. The foundations of the Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine wars are briefly discussed, but it is possible to further explore them from a strictly factual perspective. Instead of debating about the war itself, Schreiber can teach students about what the war is being fought over and provide an overview of the political issues foreign nations are experiencing.
As important as historical knowledge is and how much it paved the way for today’s conflicts, it does not completely encapsulate what Schreiber students will face in the real world. With social media becoming more popular as people’s main source of information, Schreiber needs to counter this shift by providing information of its own. Furthermore, once students from Schreiber go to college, many will not be equipped with accurate modern political knowledge unless they choose to conduct research themselves, which is not common given the ease of consuming influencer content. Modern issues should not be viewed as off-limits at Schreiber because of how divisive they can be. Without education on these topics, debates will continue to be filled with more fiction than fact.
History is certainly something that Schreiber needs to focus on, but exploring modern political tensions, both domestic and foreign, should also be in the curriculum. Even though these discussions can be polarizing, without them, education on these topics will be isolated to filtered and biased media, leading to a more divisive America by the day.