Art
The legal and historic background of copyright, public domain and provenance — encouragement to create in the arts and sciences and to be rewarded — are introduced against the historic and current examples of looting of art, book banning and burning, and banishment and firing of those who make literature and arts accessible. Weekly means for inspiration and access to the arts, books and culture are also explored in Post Arts, Style and Entertainment.
The 2020 Census will impact the 118th Congress, taxation, allocation of federal funding and public policy. Since 1790 conducting a census has reflected the representative government and face of the American people.
The articles and suggested activities in this guide focus on the content and challenges in today’s children’s literature and the content of the character and challenges to Dreamers to remain in America, the only home they have known.
At home more people are walking, biking, hiking and camping, giving that segment of the economy a boost. While visits to museums are non-existent or severely limited during the pandemic, exhibits, tours and interactive activities have moved online for world-wide access. Ecotourism addresses questions surrounding sustainability, benefits and drawbacks, conservation and survival. People need updates to make real decisions.
Students are introduced to five countries that form North Africa as that region reflects on the ten years after the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution and the beginning of Arab Spring and evaluates its success. Western Sahara provides a case study as the Biden administration faces foreign policy challenges.
The power and potential of words is our theme. Rhetoric with rhetorical devices and rhetorical modes influences our reactions and actions. Language — adding new words, changing meanings and demoting others to footnotes. The way we express ourselves with words, communicates our culture and reflects our character.
From Abigail Adams to Febb Burn women asked men to remember the ladies in their legislative endeavors. Along the difficult journey to their enfranchisement, women took their pursuit into their own hands — they organized, petitioned and protested in front of the White House; they marched, they sang, and were arrested. They voted and ran for office. We focus on the 19th Amendment, women in the Supreme Court and a 2020 Election Toolkit.
There is always change, but 2020 was a year of extraordinary changes — global deaths due to a pandemic, marches for racial equality and justice, name changes of schools and teams, a woman of Indian and Jamaican heritage on the Democratic ticket, NASA’s return to space shuttles — and mundane curtailments that influenced culture. Students read, discuss and debate, and write about these changes and those who made a difference.
Students and teachers join in celebrating 20 years of KidsPost. They are encouraged to write profiles, news stories and comic strips; create Gyotaku prints; meet young activists; and publish a newspaper. Students also observe Bethany Beach fireflies and learn the physics of roller coasters, Ferris wheels and observation wheels.
Pandemics have spread across the globe before, but like the novel coronavirus they always bring new challenges. The personal impact as well as the tests to businesses, the medical community and local, state and federal governments are included in readings and activities.
