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Current Issues Blog & More

 

The Close Up Current Issues Blog, updated weekly throughout the school year, helps teachers connect current events to their students and classrooms. We know that teaching the news can be time-consuming; by the time you find important issues and identify how to teach them, they are old news. That’s where our blog comes in: unpacking issues in the headlines by providing relevant context, links to classroom-ready news items, and suggested prompts for thoughtful discussion.

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Page 11 of 23

The Filibuster & Reform

Videos | April 9, 2021

During this Close Up Conversations webinar, Close Up’s, Mia Charity discusses ‘The Filibuster &. Reform’ with guest speaker Adam Jentleson. The Senate filibuster is arguably the most popular debate in Congress right now.  Join us for a conversation with Adam Jentleson the author of Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of […]


Filibuster

Time to Reform the Filibuster?

Post | April 6, 2021

The Senate is again considering changing its rules regarding the filibuster, a parliamentary procedure that gives individual senators the power to shape—and even block—legislation. The filibuster is “a loosely defined term for action designed to prolong debate and delay or prevent a vote on a bill, resolution, amendment, or other debatable question.”1 The filibuster is […]


Building Bridges – Women’s History Month – Part 2

Podcast | March 31, 2021

In this episode of Building Bridges we look at some additional remarkable women in American history: Lucy Parsons, Margaret Chase Smith, and Donna Brazile.


Andrew Harnik Press Pool

Women: A Majority in the United States, A Minority in U.S. Government

Post | March 29, 2021

The year 2021 has already been a ground-breaking one for women in national politics. Vice President Kamala Harris became the first woman and person of color to hold the office, the 117th Congress includes the largest number of female members in U.S. history, and President Joe Biden’s cabinet will ultimately include 11 women, setting a […]


Close Up Conversations – The 26th Amendment – 50 Years Later

Videos | March 26, 2021

 During this Close Up Conversations webinar, Close Up’s, Mia Charity discusses the 26th Amendment with distinguished guest speakers: Les Francis, Patricia Keefer, and Yael Bromberg, Esq. This year marks 50 years since the passage and ratification of the 26th Amendment which lowered the voting age to 18 in all states. Check out this conversation […]


student-protests-26th-amendment

The 50th Anniversary of the 26th Amendment

Post | March 22, 2021

Congress passed the 26th Amendment in March 1971; it was ratified by the states and signed by President Richard Nixon by July of that same year.1 The amendment lowered the voting age to 18. It reads: Section 1 The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to […]


How Can We Overcome Vaccine Skepticism?

Post | March 16, 2021

There’s been a lot of good news in the fight against COVID-19. The United States has authorized three vaccines for emergency use and drastically ramped up the distribution to states while increasing the administration of doses.1 More than 107 million shots have already been given, with an average of 2.3 million per day.2 President Joe […]


An In-Depth Look at Thomas Jefferson’s Legacy

Videos | March 12, 2021

During this Close Up Conversations webinar, Close Up’s, Mia Charity, discusses environmental justice issues with Dr. Regan F. Patterson of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.


Restoring Confidence or Destroying Democracy? The Fight Over Access to the Ballot

Post | March 8, 2021

The past several election cycles have seen high-stakes fights over access to the ballot and the rules that govern elections. In 2013, the Supreme Court invalidated provisions of the Voting Rights Act, thus making it easier for states to change their voting laws.1 In the years since, conservatives in Congress and in state legislatures have […]


Addressing Economic Inequality: Elizabeth Warren’s Wealth Tax Proposal

Post | March 4, 2021

During her 2020 presidential bid, Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., put forward a tax on the wealthiest Americans—a so-called ultra-millionaire tax—as one of her central proposals.1 And on March 1, 2021, Warren introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, which would “create an annual tax of 2 percent on the net worth of households and trusts between $50 […]


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