Published Friday, August 11, 2023

One of the most important classes that every student in the Edwardsville School District is required to take is Government (often called Civics). At some point in their high school career every student will be learning the history and inner workings of our local, state, and national government.
If you, or someone you know, are one of those students, or if you simply want to know more about our world and how it works, Student Resources in Context has a wealth of information about the founding, the history, and present state of American democracy.

Student Resources in Context is divided into broad categories. Want to listen to an NPR report on how Hip Hop is impacting American diplomacy? It’s there. Need a photo of what a winter storm in St. Louis looks like? They have one. Looking for an article on the newest Lunar Rover being constructed for the next moon mission? Right here. There are over 1400 separate subject headings including history, government, science and health, sports, world cultures and religions. But, right now we are talking government. So, under the government tab you can find more subject headings ranging from The Great Society and Drones, to the Supreme Court, the Executive Branch, and the First Amendment.

For the moment let’s choose one of our hot button current issues, the First Amendment and freedom of speech. Under that heading you will find journal articles, magazine articles, biographies and more. Under Photos you can find images such as this.

A photo of Mary Beth Tinker and her brother, whose trip to the supreme court in 1969 help codify the idea of a student’s right to free speech at the end of the turbulent sixties.

Under video you will find eminent judges, lawyers, and academics discussing how we navigate thorny issues. The balancing act between obscene speech and protected speech in entertainment is explained by Chief Magistrate Nannette Baker of Missouri.

Or, search for Primary Documents that helped to set the standard of free speech and ensured that our traditions have endured for two centuries.

Above you can see the original text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights drafted by a United Nations committee, chaired by Eleonore Roosevelt, after World War II.

The information contained in Student Resources in Context can also be searched by keyword just like the rest of the internet. Typing the term “Pirates” will return over 10,000 results including Pirates of the Caribbean (2003 movie starring Johnny Depp), Terry and the Pirates (a newspaper comic strip that debuted in 1934), the rise in pirate attacks off the Somali Coast and the Horn of Africa beginning in 2005.

These resources are all waiting for those of us who simply enjoy history, or students who have assignments to complete. Student Resources in Context is full of useful and reliable information that is easy to find. Resources within the database also give students copy/paste citations to use in their assignments.