Finally, keep it simple,
Bomba says. Tell children
the news (“we’ve had an
election, and here’s who
won”), and then ask them
about the questions they have.

Don’t shun social media
“Twitter is our public conversation now,
but it can be very inappropriate for chil-
dren,” says Caroline Knorr, senior media
editor for Common Sense. The organization
is a national nonprofit that provides fami-
lies and schools with tech and entertainment
recommendations. But what’s said on Twitter makes its way
quickly to other news outlets. This can pro-
vide parents with many teachable moments,
Knorr says. The most obvious one for 2020 is
that politics is a “contact sport.” Political com-
ments are often emotional and designed to get
attention — two great points to make with
children. “It’s a good time to talk about your own
family values,” she says. Parents can say,
“When we disagree in our family, we are
respectful, and we use facts to support our
views,” she suggests.

A Common Sense survey revealed that kids
get most of their news from their families
and other kids, but they like to get news from
social media. Parents should not trivialize a
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
child’s inter-
est in social
media, Knorr
says, but use it as
another opportunity.

Find out how media lit-
erate your child is, she advises.

Common Sense also has a checklist to
help teens fact-check the news they consume
(see sidebar).

Ask these questions
After the 2016 election, many educators started
to look into how we consume news and con-
sider our news sources. Sarah McGrew, a
former teacher in Washington, D.C., is one
such researcher. McGrew works as an assis-
tant professor of education at the University
of Maryland, College Park, and studies how
students evaluate information online.

Parents should have conversations with
their children not only about the news, she
says, but also how the news is produced.

It’s easy for both adults and kids to jump
into appealing or riveting online content.

But they should first ask where the content
comes from and if that source is reliable and
recognizable. What makes a source reliable? Parents
should explain to kids how reputable news
sources have reporters who name their sources,
editors who read over stories and fact checkers
Raising a political junkie?
to verify
information. Reputable news
sources also print cor-
rections when they get
something wrong.

“That’s the process of news that leads
us to put our trust in an organization,”
she says.

The third question to consider is whether
there is evidence to support this news. What
do other sources say? This is particularly
important to evaluate as kids view videos,
photos and infographics, which they con-
sider to be reliable even when they are not,
McGrew says.

“One of the strengths of the internet is that
there are always other sources,” she says. “We
do not have a scarcity of information.”
A study from the Stanford History
Education Group released in 2016 revealed
that 82 percent of middle schoolers can’t
tell the difference between an online news
story and an online advertisement. It’s good
then for parents to review with children
the different types of content on a web-
site — news story, opinion, advertisement
and more, says McGrew, who was one of the
study’s co-authors.

“An informed citizenry is the bedrock of
democracy,” she says. “And we are increasingly
informing ourselves on the internet.” T
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Here are four books for kids hooked on civics, thanks to Keren Joshi, children’s librarian at D.C.

Public Library’s Deanwood Neighborhood Library. Visit baltimoreschild.com for more book
suggestions as well as website suggestions from Maryland Public Television.

“What’s the Big Deal About Elections” by Ruby Shamir | Nonfiction, grades K-4
Did you know that Election Day is on Tuesday because that was the best day for farmers to vote?
Or that George Washington was our only elected president who ran unopposed? Or that Native
Americans were only given the right to vote in 1924? It’s all true! Find out more election fun facts.

“Book Uncle and Me” by Uma Krishnaswami | Fiction, grades 2-5
Every day, 9-year-old Yasmin borrows a book from Book Uncle, a retired teacher who has set up
a free lending library next to her apartment building. But when the mayor tries to shut down the
rickety bookstand, Yasmin has to take her nose out of her book and do something.

“The Great Greene Heist” by Varian Johnson | Fiction, grades 5-8
Jackson Greene swears he’s given up scheming. Then school bully Keith Sinclair announces he’s
running for Student Council president, against Jackson’s former friend Gaby de la Cruz. Gaby
wants Jackson to stay out of it, but does he?
“Your Own Worst Enemy” by Gordon Jack | Fiction, grades 9-12
For fans of Andrew Smith and Frank Portman and movies such as “Election” and “Ferris Bueller’s
Day Off” comes a hilarious and satirical novel about the highs and (very low) lows of the electoral
process, proving that the popular vote is the one that matters most. T
26 Washington FAMILY JANUARY 2020



— ADVERTORIAL —
Teaching Shakespeare
in Middle-School
Wherefore, forsooth?
SUSAN GLAZIER, ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL, WESTMINSTER SCHOOL
W illiam Shakespeare died more than
400 years ago. His language seems
archaic, if not downright foreign.

Most of his characters and plots were bor-
rowed. What possible appeal could his works
have for middle-school students today?
Although the Bard was an inveterate bor-
rower, his dazzling language and fascinating
characters transformed musty histories
and half-forgotten legends into fresh, excit-
ing stories. As Marchette Chute wrote,
“Shakespeare told every kind of story –
comedy, tragedy, history, melodrama,
adventure, love stories and fairy tales – and
each of them so well that they have become
immortal.” Shakespeare’s stories shine past
the boundaries of time and culture. Modern
writers and film makers continue to adapt
his plays because they touch on deeply
meaningful relationships and life challenges.

Think of The Lion King (Hamlet), West Side
Story (Romeo and Juliet), Throne of Blood
(Macbeth) or 10 Things I Hate About You (The
Taming of the Shrew).

Inseparable from his stories are the char-
acters whose personalities drive the plots.

Events don’t just happen to the protagonist;
they spring from his or her own character.

Romeo’s romantic fancy leads him to crash
a party at the Capulet’s home, where he falls
hard for his enemy’s daughter. Juliet’s pas-
sionate nature catches fire and, from a bright
but forbidden beginning, their impetuous
love spirals ever downward into darkness
and death. Macbeth, an honored general,
meets three weird sisters who foretell an even
more glorious future. Macbeth’s deep-seated
ambition is ignited by their prophesy, explod-
ing into murder, tyranny, and ultimately,
despair. Even in a romantic comedy, such as
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the fickleness of
young lovers is translated into a madcap night
of love turned topsy-turvy. This intertwining
of character and fate rings true to our minds
and hearts. These people seem real to us, and
we believe the things that happen to them.

Of course, any lover of language must
embrace Shakespeare’s genius. His elo-
quence, originality and skill in poetry are
unsurpassed. Not only does his imagery
capture reality in startling and vivid detail,
but the words and phrases he invented still
course through modern English.

But how can we expect 12, 13, and 14 year
olds to embrace him? Because Shakespeare’s
breakthrough revelation of his characters’
multi-faceted inner lives corresponds pro-
foundly with adolescents’ most pressing
developmental challenge. Just at the time
when children are striving to transform
into young adults, when they are seeking to
define their own personhood distinct from
their peers and independent of their par-
ents, Shakespeare shows them that each
person is not a single entity represented by
an impermeable façade (cool guy, rich girl,
brainiac, nerd), but comprises many con-
flicting, and even unknown, parts.

By revealing characters with complex
inner worlds, Shakespeare demonstrates the
crucial process of self-discovery. Witness
Hamlet, who is buffeted by so many conflict-
ing thoughts and emotions that he becomes
nearly incapable of the action that his situ-
ation demands of him. Hamlet appears to
others as a madman, to himself as a coward
and to his audience as completely vulnerable.

That may be the most perfect description of
an adolescent we can find! Shakespeare’s
characters make it clear that the transfor-
mation young people seek is only possible if
they are willing to look within and discover
and express their own complexity.

That doesn’t mean Shakespeare is an easy
sell to middle-schoolers. At Westminster
School, where classics form the heart of the
literature program, students are introduced
to Shakespeare gradually. In younger grades,
they gain familiarity with Shakespeare by
watching older students perform one of his
plays (a traditional part of Westminster’s
K-8 drama program). In their required sum-
mer reading, rising 7th graders read Lamb’s
Tales from Shakespeare, followed by an early
school-year enrichment class highlighting
Shakespeare’s life, plays and sonnets. Then
they begin study and rehearsals for their
own Shakespeare play.

As they master the language and strive to
bring to life a unique and challenging char-
acter, each student finds new depths and
broader scope for expression of their own
personality. Through studying and perform-
ing Shakespeare, these youngsters discover
the value of giving up a protective façade
in order to discover the real, multi-faceted
person they have the potential to be.

Citations Mabillard, Amanda. “Why Study Shakespeare?”
Shakespeare Online. August 2000.

Fitzsimmons, Declan. “Shakespeare’s Characters
Show Us How Personal Growth Should Happen.”
Harvard Business Review. January 2017.

WashingtonFAMILY.com 27