Six Ways to Encourage Your Student to Stay Abreast of World News
It's so easy to get caught up in the campus bubble when you live on campus! You can help your student stay in touch with the world through these simple        methods...

Send an email newswire with selected clips each week. This is easier than you think. All you need to do is complete a quick search on the Internet for the top news stories of the week. Then, you can either scan the articles briefly and provide a quick synopsis with the link to the full story or just include the headline with the link. Put three or four stories in one email and send it along.

Surprise your student with a magazine subscription. Get a magazine subscription to Time or Newsweek for your student and have it delivered directly to him on campus. Although it can be tough for students to find time to read "extras" during the school year, it's important! Even a quick scan is better than not knowing about anything.

Create an Internet scavenger hunt. Find some interesting news articles on a variety of websites. Challenge your student to find answers to a list of questions about these articles. You can even set it up so she can complete it with friends. Tell your student you'll even provide the winner with a surprise treat in the mail!
Plan a conversation dinner. If you live close to campus, invite your student and some of his friends home for dinner and discuss a topic in the news. If you don't live close, offer to provide the funds for the group to go out for a meal, as long as they promise to discuss current events.

Send news clippings. Whether it's something from your hometown paper or the Boston Globe, get your student reading — and learning — by cutting out interesting articles and sending them her way every few weeks.

Listen and share together. Plan to listen to National Public Radio or download a podcast on an important topic and then discuss what you heard afterwards. You can even "share" coffee and doughnuts from afar by both planning to purchase some good treats before you get on the phone together.