Teaching the Lessons of Egypt

February 11, 2011

"After Mubarak: A New Middle East?," a new installment of the Choices Program's online Teaching with the News offering, aims to help secondary school students learn the causes and implications of recent events in Egypt.

Using the materials, students can:
• explore the possible effects of Mubarak leaving office;
• identify the connection between the demonstrations in Egypt and other protests in the region; and
• consider the potential effects of the protests on democracy and stability in the Middle East.

Last week, as protests in Egypt grew, the Institute-affiliated Choices Program rapidly posted "Egypt Uprising," a first installment including video, a collection of protest images, and other materials introduces students to the demonstrations in Egypt, helps them consider the role of the media, and asks them to analyze the role of the United States in Egyptian politics.

Choices’ Teaching with the News initiative provides online curriculum materials and ideas to connect the content of the classroom to the headlines in the news. Topics cover a range of foreign policy and international issues, recently including “The Haitian Crisis: Thinking Historically,” “The Gulf Oil Disaster,” and “Pakistan’s Floods.”

With a library of some 35 curriculum units and an expanding collection of online materials, Choices develops teaching resources on historical and current international issues, provides professional development for classroom teachers, and sponsors programs that engage students beyond the classroom.