Why do schools exist? Students spend much of their day, and their year, at school, but many children wonder why they have to go. Research shows that schools serve many purposes beyond simply simply teaching students how to read, write, and do math. They also teach kids how to become responsible citizens and build a sense of national unity. Listen to hear about the important roles schools play in the lives of students and their communities.
Story Length: 3:10
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Democracy is a form of government in which citizens have input into the rules that govern them. In the United States, people elect representatives at the local, state, and national levels, and those elected representatives make laws. Listen to learn about how democracy works in the United States and how voting rights have changed since the nation began.
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Early humans traded goods to get what they needed, but bartering was not practical when one person did not want or need what the other had to offer. Eventually money was invented to make economic exchanges easier and more practical. Listen to hear how our money system evolved, what early currencies looked like, and why people must agree on the worth of currency for it to have value.
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Colors have certain cultural meanings and associations. Purple, for example, is often associated with royalty or magic. The color green is the universal symbol meaning "go." Throughout the world, drivers understand that a green light means it's safe to move forward. In this audio story, a historian explains how this came to be. Listen to learn why railroads started using green lights to signal trains and where the idea that green means “go” may have first originated.
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