19. Teaching the Great Depression to children
The Great Depression is referenced almost innumerably in dialogue today, on newscasts, news sites, in magazines, and on radio broadcasts. Questions about it from children are inevitable. Younger children, before the fifth grade especially, lack the broad knowledge necessary to understand its causes, the efforts to fight it, the political bickering which accompanied it, and the permanent changes it wrought upon American society. Older children should be taught what occurred and why, though the parent teaching them may lack sufficient knowledge of economics to discuss the causes, and the effects of the steps to alleviate the downturn. The Great Depression, and the government’s response and actions, are divisive between conservatives and liberals. A myriad of books, articles, websites, documentaries, blogs, and other sources of information add to the divide.
The Great Depression was a series of downturns to the economy, followed by upturns, followed by another downturn. The 1930s saw growth in several markets, and near collapse of several others. Teaching it to older children brings in economic theory, political theory, the role of the federal government, social safety nets, stimulus packages, and many other subjects currently dominating American news and society. It followed an economic boom in the United States which lasted seven years (1922-29) that benefited the more affluent members of American society, but offered little to the less affluent and the poor. Teaching it to high school level students offers the opportunity to compare it to current events, and provide them with another insight into why knowing history is important.