TOWAMENCIN – Shootings here and there, the untrustworthiness of politics, an augment in terroristic threats, and a plethora of other issues prove that the modern world is a mess. It’s crucial to understand both domestic and international issues, as it educates one how to support others and form complex ideas and opinions. North Penn High School has offered their first Contemporary Global Issues course for the 2016-2017 school year to discuss such matters.

The class discusses many interlacing world issues such as ISIS, human rights, the environment, law and justice, social injustice, sexual orientation, and how other countries differ from the U.S. This course tackles these subjects in class discussions, both online and in person, to hear and understand each other’s opinions and reasoning, and compare and contrast.

According to Dr. David Hall, Contemporary Global Issues teacher at NPHS, the class focuses on a specific skill to cultivate a higher level of thinking among the students enrolled in the course.

“The most important thing we’re developing here are critical thinking skills,” explained Hall. “The skills encouraged in the class involve thinking and analyzing by yourself. The teachers want students to learn to form their own opinions, and be able to defend them just as easily as their other classmates. The Contemporary Global Issues course teaches students factors they will need later on in life, whether it’s in the workforce, on the streets, or even in line to purchase your daily cup of coffee. It’s simple; the class teaches you to think for yourself  and to stand up for what you think is right.”

Class discussions include topics as recent as the first Presidential Debate, where Hall instructed his students to react as the debate was happening and express their thoughts in their convenient Google Classroom. Thoughts involved reacting to quotes from candidates, such as Trump’s “knock the hell out of ISIS.”, in which Melissa Braccia, a student in Hall’s class, responded, “He wants to bomb the entire Middle East…Does he want WWIII?”

Although discussions include everyone in the class, Hall prefers not to speak out about his own opinions.

“If I offer my own opinion, the discussion becomes a response to my opinion, which isn’t what I’m looking for,” stated Hall. “I’m looking for students to be able to critically think about tough issues in the world and interact just as respectfully with the people they disagree with as to those they agree with. The level of acceptance among young Americans runs high.”

Especially growing up in a modern world, the issues brought to discussion have opened eyes and hearts, raising the social acceptance spectrum.

“The biggest influence comes from parents.” stated Hall.

Although some second generation immigrants have families with more of a conservative view, the community we grow up in also proves to play a hefty role in society’s thoughts and ideas.

The class also fosters critical, high level thinking in response to complex questions. A major mind-boggling question to be asked is, how do you find peace through conflict? Clearly, everyone has a different theory, but the point is to put some thought into it. These are real questions society asks themselves everyday, and students at North Penn High School are learning the answers not from the teachers, but from themselves. That’s one thing that sets this course apart from others. Contemporary Global Issues doesn’t solely help students to uncover information; more than anything, it helps students discover themselves.