How do we teach kids to develop listening skills? How do we teach them to watch and read the news thoughtfully to be able to form their own judgements? To be able to listen effectively seems more important than ever. Without diving into the mucky waters of politics let’s face it the past 12 months our democratic process has been tested. And what worries me is how our children are taking it all in. There is such a deluge of information, and often negative in tone, as the daily news feed drones on. I hope their youth and naiveté is keeping them a bit removed while at the same time we need to be there as parents and educators to help them sift through the media overload.
Time Magazine reported, “Most American kids fall for fake news. A survey from Common Sense Media found that less than 45% of Americans ages 10 to 18 said they could accurately suss out fake news in their social-media feeds, and nearly a third of respondents said they had shared inaccurate news before realizing it.” How alarming is that data? It seems that often news stories true or not gain traction quickly. We are all bombarded with “breaking news alerts” so let’s dig in a bit on how we might be able to help kids learn how to decipher and why it’s so important.
Teach kids to receive information on current events from a plethora of resources:
- Think about what the reporter’s sources might be.
- Encourage teens and young adults to utilize more than social-media to be updated.
- Reading vs. watching or listening: kids need to learn to make their own personal take-aways.
- Youtube can sometimes be distorted. Tweets can be thoughtless. Snapchat is a snapshot.
News reporting in any form should be:
- Neutral – reporters should remain neutral in reporting the news.
- Civil – respect on all sides is paramount. Our kids are watching and listening.
- Demonstrate an unbiased viewpoint – “Just the facts” or in the alternative identify oneself as a commentator.
The next generation needs to know the historical background to understand current newsworthy situations and crises:
- Take many history classes – American, Middle Eastern, European, etc. – if we don’t want history to repeat itself our kids have to know the background and gain a historical perspective.
- Need to build a global understanding – to learn to respect and appreciate multiple points of view.
- Need to know geography – building global awareness and understanding.
- Historical biographies of men and women should be part of each and every child’s education.
The beauty of our amazing country is freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to pursue religious beliefs, freedom to choose which newspaper to read, news show to watch or which app/blog to follow. With that freedom comes the privilege to make up your own mind. When well-educated students can learn to break down what they are reading, and decipher it and gradually form their own point of view that is a win win. Of course we are all influenced by family and educational settings that is normative as we mature. But let’s make sure our kids learn and recognize there are many news sources and ways to receive and understand information.
A strong, expansive education is at the core of a strong, resilient democracy. The next generation needs to be encouraged and taught how to break down, decipher and/or simply filter the constant news feed with both their mind and their heart.
Laine