CWI Teacher Phil Comito / Staff Photographer
The mysterious mandatory seniors-only class: what is it? Why is it there? What goes on in the depths of the classroom? Called Current World Issues — or CWI — in its first semester and Government in its second, and led by beloved teacher Philip “Phil” Comito of “Where’s Comito?” fame, it takes up either first or second period for senior students.
First semester’s three main focuses were civil rights, education reform, and globalization. At the end of each week a student chose and presented topics for the rest of the class to attempt to engage in debate over. The topics have ranged from social issues to civil rights to science and mathematics and more. Students enjoy exchanging ideas and developing and expressing a position on subjects perhaps not considered before, as well as on politically relevant issues.
Part of the class has also been spent organizing and writing the senior papers on students’ chosen topics. Each student wrote roughly 10 pages — plus an annotated bibliography — taking a side on a debatable issue and defending that position through research and reasoning. Posters on these topics now decorate our halls, summarizing the basics and available to others without requiring the effort of studying 10 page research paper.
The class is now gearing up to work on senior projects, as well as entering into the “government” section of the year. Projects seek to challenge students and benefit the community before the time comes for graduation in just a few more months.