This presentation described "Contemporary Social Issues," a course taught by Eran DeSilva for senior level high school students at Notre Dame High School in San Jose, California.

In the digital age, students have a glut of information at their fingertips. Educators today must give students the tools to navigate this landscape in order to evaluate information and critically think about the events that are rapidly unfolding around them. Providing a framework to think ethically and actively about new innovations and technology is imperative for students to become involved "upstanders" in the 21st century.  

In this session participants engaged in conversation about how to best prepare high school students to develop the skills needed to tackle difficult questions in an interdisciplinary approach that includes science and the humanities. In Contemporary Social Issues, students will develop these skills while examining issues of race, immigration, gender, physical abilities in an interdisciplinary framework with a commitment to social justice.