In the summer of 1973 we watched the Watergate hearings in my Social Studies class.

[milestogo]

Since it was summer school we had large blocks of time to watch the testimony and discuss. It made a big impression on me.

I recently asked a high school social studies teacher if she incorporated current events into the classroom. She said no way, its much too political. The same goes for school shootings.

It seems to me that this is like ignoring the elephant in the room. It seems absurd that you would not discuss current events in a social studies class. But I guess that's just one more way that school is no longer about teaching young people to process what's going on around them.

[elleng]

1. OMG!

Thankfully, my grands are too young for such.

[Novara]

2. Well, keep in mind that the J6 hearings started after most schools were done for the year.

I watched Watergate at home as a kid. I was 12. No summer school. I would have loved to have an adult to talk to about it so I could understand (my parents were working so they didn't see the hearings). I really didn't know the depth of the corruption but I knew who was on which side and that it was very, very serious and I knew Nixon was a liar and a crook, and he was being exposed. I hated Nixon even at 12 years old. He was so slimy.

But be careful what you ask for. If you want teachers to talk about the biggest political story of their generation, you may get GQP conspiracy morons with their slant. Let's not expose kids to that shit.

[milestogo]

13. Yeah, I was in Summer School during Watergate

But if I hadn't watched it in school, I doubt I would have watched it at all.

[Novara]

14. I don't remember why I got interested in watching the Watergate hearings ...

... I was only 12; I must have been having a boring summer. But I remember that once I started watching, I was hooked. Until then I wasn't really very aware of politics.

[Walleye]

3. When I was in school. We brought newspaper articles to our social studies class to discuss

I was already a grown-up when the Watergate hearings happened. In my early 20s. I don’t know whether I was working nights or what but I remember watching the whole thing

[RKP5637]

4. Same here, pick out some things and discuss them with the class. This was done on an ongoing basis.

Also, an enormous amount of time was spent on civics.

[Walleye]

5. We were taught to be good citizens. I guess that's too political now

[RKP5637]

8. Yep, and it was very well taught! n/t

[Hekate]

6. My niece's husband is a high school history teacher in So Cal, & public events are very much...

… in his curriculum.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

7. I know history and civics teachers who bring current events into the classroom; it's too bad your

friend feels like she can't.

[MyOwnPeace]

9. You were lucky you were not being 'ruled'by Governor DeSatan -

He would have had the Storm Troopers come into your room, take your TV, then put the entire class into a bus for a 6-week visit to a TRUE summer RE-PROGRAMMING, er, 'fun summer camp!'

[luvs2sing]

10. I was fifteen that summer.

My best friend and I either went to the pool or made boxed spaghetti and watched the hearings every day. I think we alternated days, or went to the pool in the morning and got back in time. We were mesmerized by Maureen Dean. I don’t know about my friend, but my parents and I discussed the hearings every night over dinner.

[Walleye]

11. Even now when I hear John Dean's voice I can picture that hearing room

[luvs2sing]

12. I know what you mean.

[Leith]

15. I was a teenager

and I watched it quite a bit. I thought that Sam Ervin was the smartest man with a wicked sense of humor I had ever seen and heard.

[yonder]

16. We were goinked out on whatever was available, but me and my pals still watched it.

Or at least most of it.