About the Course
The Current Events and Critical Issues class will explore events of interest currently happening in our community, nation, and world. Through in-class activities and homework assignments, we'll learn the background information needed to knowledgeably discuss various sides of important topics. All questions, as well as opposing points of view, will be encouraged and honored; we will practice respectful disagreement and will learn to look for points on which we can build consensus. Topics will be guided by students’ interests but may include issues such as climate change, abortion, changing gender norms, gun rights, and food and housing insecurity. Students will be asked to keep up with news events and to contribute weekly to an online discussion board.
This class will not meet on the weeks of Jan 23 and Jan 30.
Your Instructor
Marilyn McGinnis
Marilyn McGinnis is a veteran homeschooler and was one of LEAD's first teachers when LEAD was established in the early 2000s. She has taught many age groups in many different settings, mostly focusing on history, geography, and civics education. In 2011, she established a summer camp to introduce middle schoolers to human rights and social justice issues and to help them identify ways they can create positive change in their communities. She continues to direct this camp each summer at Koinonia Farm in Americus, GA. She is also the co-founder of El Refugio, a hospitality house in Lumpkin, GA that supports immigrants detained at Stewart Detention Center and their families.