this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2024
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Children will be taught how to spot extremist content and misinformation online under planned changes to the school curriculum, the education secretary said.

Bridget Phillipson said she was launching a review of the curriculum in primary and secondary schools to embed critical thinking across multiple subjects and arm children against “putrid conspiracy theories”.

One example may include pupils analysing newspaper articles in English lessons in a way that would help differentiate fabricated stories from true reporting.

In computer lessons, they could be taught how to spot fake news websites by their design, and maths lessons may include analysing statistics in context.

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[–] [email protected] 85 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

This is great, honestly.

If you go back to antiquity, education was about philosophy. It was about learning how to observe, and think critically, and see the world for what it is.

And then in modern times, education became about memorisation - learning facts and figures and how to do this and that. And that way of teaching and learning just doesn't fit any longer with what our digital age has become.

In my opinion, we are heavily overdue for a revamp of what education should be, and what skills are most important to society in this post-truth world. Critical thinking is an important foundation to real knowledge that we don't teach enough.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 months ago (5 children)

"Critical thinking" was a buzzword when I was at school in the 80s.

Memorisation is a component of learning, but the vast majority of any learning I've done has been understanding.

Certainly children need to learn to be skeptical, but I hope we can do better than showing them biased articles from newspapers.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Is it a buzzword though? I always took it as the ability to understand AND question in order to prove/disprove/ build upon said understanding.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

The difference between intelligence and wisdom. We have been prioritizing the former at the detriment of the latter.

This is how you end up with people like Elon Musk who I will give the benefit of the doubt and say he isn't dumb, but Christ he's a moron.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'm not sure you mean intelligence and wisdom.

Intelligence is the capability to apply your brain to problems. Wisdom is the lessons you learn through experience.

Maybe "knowledge Vs wisdom" is a better way of putting it.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

If you go back to antiquity, education was about philosophy.

Well, formal education was. I'm pretty sure ancient ~~Greeks~~ Athenians still had to be taught to do things like follow instructions, and to read and write (If they were in a social class where literacy was even expected).

Of course we should be doing a better job teaching students critical thinking skills, but let's not fool ourselves into thinking ancient Greek children all spent their days having deep conversations with Aristotle in a park. Plato is even on record against reading because he thought it interfered with students' ability to memorize things!

[–] [email protected] 52 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Can they teach the adults as well?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 months ago (2 children)

ThEy WAnT TO FoRCe PEOpLE INTo REEEEEEdUCATion CAmps!!!

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[–] Strawberry 50 points 2 months ago (5 children)

basic media literacy is really needed, hopefully it doesn't come with any political bias built in

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 months ago (2 children)

All information has a bias, so teach that it all has a bias and ways to figure out the biases. Also include that we all have biases in everything we think.

[–] Strawberry 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

that is probably the best way to go about it. I worry they'll simplify or strip away too much nuance. But if done well this can be great initiative

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

It's biases all the way down!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

I think that’s pretty much impossible to achieve. One persons far-right content, is another’s “common sense”

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

hopefully it doesn't come with any political bias built in

They would never do that! /s

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Education is typically left leaning

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago

Reality has a well-known left-wing bias.

That's why the right's only solution is to wage a war on reality.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Can someone teach the boomer generation too? They are vastly more susceptible to believing anything they read online

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago

Online literacy is really impacting boomers and elder gen x. Like QAnon or Covid Vaccines - some of them flip and just go psycho to the point it impacts their lives.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Just teach the kids elementary logic. That shit did more for my critical understanding of the world than anything. You can actually mathematically lay out an argument and prove it.

If more people understood the fundamentals of logic, Conservatism wouldn't stand a chance. Not a single mainstream conservative ideal passes a logic test.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

1000%. And the fucked up thing is that I didn't (formally) learn about it until college, and even then, it was an elective course that basically nobody took. The only reason I ever took it was because I hadn't declared my major yet. Turned out to probably be the most important classes I ever took throughout my entire education.

As someone in a STEM field, it's a major bummer to see how one-dimensional a lot of my peers' education was. And it becomes pretty obvious, pretty quickly.

I get why it's silo'd like that, but I really wish majors like engineering would require a bit of a more well-rounded education. I may have inadvertently turned a 4 year program into 5.5 years, or whatever (plus all that additional debt), but I think it was worth it in the long run because now I can understand the reasons my society is collapsing while I watch, rather than just watching!

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago

Maybe sanction the media outlets for pumping the hate and bullshit out, gbnews for example with all of the blatant racist bullshit they push.

The BBC also do it, but is generally state sanctioned and much more insidious, e.g. support for Israel, attacks on the left.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago

Get them all some fine excerpts from ml comms

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 months ago

Correction. English children will be taught this. Education is a devolved matter in the UK so this will not apply to the other parts of the UK

[–] rambling_lunatic 12 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I have mixed feelings. The UK has an incredibly broad definition of extremism. Socialism and antifascism are considered extremist ideologies.

The justification is to stop people like the ones doing pogroms rn, but giving the state power will always be a double-edged sword, one where the edge that swings left is sharper.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Idk critical thinking skills might be good as long as it's not politically backed to single out a specific ideology or propaganda source.

[–] rambling_lunatic 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don't know about you, but I have a sinking feeling that a country organized on liberal principles will integrate liberalism into its education.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This already happens, most people that become socialists only do it by university age, I still think teaching kids to identify fake news is a good thing, maybe they radicalize even earlier thanks to that.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

"Kids, when you see someone talk about the climate catastrophe or rebellion, report them immediately!"

I know this is a bit of a shitty take, but there just isn't a fix for shitty information constantly streaming in. As long as we allow some insane people that think maximizing profit above anything else to own the means of communication, things are going to continue to get shittier.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

Critical Thinking has been an established subject in many schools for a long time. My former GF did it in her last year as a mandatory subject.

The problem up until now is it has been mainly an A-Level subject and only really offered in Grammar schools.

I'm glad it's being rolled out

Here's one of the syllabi if anyone is interested

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This is nothing new. I was taught about analysing bias etc in news sources during "citizenship" classes 20+ years ago. Before that, it was called PSHE if I remember correctly.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Isn't critical thinking taught everywhere?

[–] [email protected] 26 points 2 months ago

Lol, no. How would shitheads get elected that way?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

If that were the case, the world wouldn't be as fucked up and run by morons as it is today. Unfortunately, a lack of critical thinking makes someone very easy to control and mislead, so not teaching critical thinking is very much in the interest of the ruling class to keep the populace subservient.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

This is supposed to be happening everywhere. In the US, librarians mostly lead this initiative.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

BuT WHo DeCIdEs WHaT iS MiSInfOrMaTIoN #1984 ???

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

One example may include pupils analysing newspaper articles in English lessons in a way that would help differentiate fabricated stories from true reporting.

In computer lessons, they could be taught how to spot fake news websites by their design...

and maths lessons may include analysing statistics in context.

That these lessons haven't been at the core of those subjects since forever is horrific.

We have the same problem in NZ. Several generations of citizens generally lacking basic information processing skills. I suppose they make better consumers.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I'm an oldish dude with fairly conservative liberal views and I think it's absolutely essential that our children get taught this. The risk that this is Orwell's 1984ish is minimal and the benefits far outweigh it.

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[–] Konis 3 points 2 months ago (8 children)

"Extremist content" == "not wanting Palestinians to be dehumanized, dispossessed and murdered by Israel"

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

A bit late, but sure.

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