According to Richard Rothstein in an article published in The New York Times on September 19, 2001 (p. 24), very few teachers in the United States were doing an adequate job of teaching critical thinking skills necessary to analyze this complicated topic during the week after September 11th. Much of the reason for this had to do with the fact that the event happened at the start of the school year, that teachers lacked the resources to bring media education into their classrooms, and that mandated curriculum fails to include enough time for media education and response to international events.
This curriculum, written by an award-winning social studies teacher, attempts to make media education relevant and real for teachers and students in 7-12 grade classrooms. It makes note of cross disciplinary or cross-regional comparisons that can be made between the “war on terrorism” and ongoing world issues. The themes raised in this curriculum—propaganda, terrorism, democracy, and free press—are issues that extend well beyond the conflict in Afghanistan.
