• Develops literacy, vocabulary, geography, politics!
• Improves research skills!
• Explains the global issue simply and clearly, without bias!
• Helps make the current situation clear to the student!
• Encourages the student to "connect up", understand & look for solutions to problems!
• Hands-on activities make civics relevant to the student!
• Develops critical thinking skills!
• Develops study in a self-determined manner!
• Lesson plans are complete and ready to use!  Start now!

Another critical thinking program from STEPS!  This curriculum addresses a subject many people, young and old, don't understand. It discusses the history and technology of weapons used in war, includes research, geography, vocabulary (STEPS excels in including all of these areas in their curriculum in a way that is not intimidating, yet is challenging enough for students in a range of ages and abilities),questions that get you thinking outside the box, and a test at the end for those who want to see how well they retained the knowledge. This is not a memorization program and you will need daily access to the Internet.  Highly recommend to anyone who wants to understand our present day world situations.  K.B., Homeschool Mother
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STEPS series of Current Events courses, for ages 9-adult.

These courses each start by defining a global problem. Then, the course leads the student through directed research, so that the student can get a real grasp of the current situation for that global issue. The student follows this up with creative exercises which help define the issue and the student’s response to it as a concerned citizen of the world.

Man has been cursed by war for as long as there have been nations or city-states. It is a constant blight throughout history, and is responsible for much of what we call "history". The great American historian, Will Durant, claimed that during all of the recorded history of mankind, some 6,000 years, only 29 of those years was without a significant war of some sort, somewhere on Earth. The uncountable loss of life and destruction of property, the masses forced to flee their homelands, are a virulent plague through our history. Few human acts have a more devastating result than war. Our track record is not good.

What is a war? What is the history of war? Where are wars being fought today? Who are the combatants? How and why did they start? What are the consequences of current wars? What is being done to end current wars?

Through a series of articles and carefully structured research projects, the current state of the world is revealed. This course improves the student's ability to do research while helping him develop his own ideas and reactions to war.

17 full lessons, with a test and answer guide.

Subjects covered in this course include:

• A definition of "war"
• A history of war
• Historical alternatives to war
• A history of the weapons used in war
• War today
• An analysis of why people make war, and do so today
• Gandhi's non-violent approach to problem resolution
• Dishonest assessment on the part of combatants
• Propaganda and how it's used as a weapon of war
• An analysis of wars today
• What can be done