In the wake of a divisive election cycle filled with misinformation, many families will be sitting down at the Thanksgiving table with loved ones. can't see eye to eyeIn North Salem, New York, a seventh-grade media literacy class is preparing for that challenge by learning how to have difficult but empathetic conversations.
“One of the most important things to know about media literacy education is that it is not partisan,” Cynthia Sandler, who teaches the class, told CBS News. “It's about asking questions. It's about critical thinking. It's about teaching students and people how to think, not what to think.”
There is a growing desire for media literacy classes like Sandler's across the country. Over the past 15 years, 19 states have added some type of media literacy standards to their education requirements, according to a Media Literacy Now's 2023 ReportThe report found that at least seven more states have legislation pending on the topic, including New York, which has the nation's largest public school district.
learning to have productive conversations
A week before Thanksgiving, Sandler's students role-played scenarios such as how to have a productive discussion with someone who does not believe the truth and how to tell the difference between fact and opinion.
“Facts can be proven, like pumpkin pie has less sugar and apple pie has more nutritional value,” said one student, after debating which kind of pie is best.
In another group, a student said that the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade – a New York City tradition Which started in 1924 – was happening in Florida this year. His scene partner helped him determine that the website showing the false location was satirical.
The student explained, “Satire can be a form of telling a joke.” “But sarcasm can be dangerous, because some people can fall for it. Like you might have gone to buy a plane ticket to Florida.”
Although the topic is not as in-depth as political debate, the skills students are learning are easily transferable. Sandler uses an acronym for the method: CARE
Add:Empathize and relate
Ask: to question without attacking
Research:Share your insights
Educated: Suggest ways to verify information
Sandler believes this training is invaluable not only to her students, but to everyone.
“Classes are a microcosm of society,” he said. “What we can simulate in a classroom – listening, questioning, talking to each other, respecting each other – is what is possible in society.”
Misinformation has been mixed with information
Recent surveys show that the need for these types of classes is increasing.
In May 2024, News Literacy Project survey 1,110 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 across the US reported on their media diets and literacy skills. Eighty percent of teens who responded said they regularly look up conspiracy theories online. Of that group, 80% self-reported believing in at least one. These conspiracy theories vary from the Earth being flat to government officials actually being “lizard people.”
In addition to those worrying statistics, most students struggle to read media correctly in general. More than half of the students could not tell the difference between branded content and reported articles and did not recognize that an op-ed was based on opinion, not fact.
Sandler said, “We've always talked about media in relation to books. English teachers will talk about, 'Here's a book, and this is the context in which it was written.' “We don't have the skills for what's happening on social media. We don't have the skills for the flurry of activity on different websites… different channels.”
Students are also taught how to share what they have learned in their lives with adults. In North Salem, Sandler said parents said they wished they could get this training.
“We're dealing with a citizenry that doesn't know who to trust,” Sandler said.
“Misinformation gets confused with information. And eventually, you can get to the point where no one knows who to trust, and no one trusts anything, and that's a terrible place to be.” It's a terrible place to be in a democracy, it's a terrible place to be as a person.”
An integral part of American education
It's not just teachers and parents who see the need for these classes. In the same News Literacy Project survey, 94% of teens said they wanted media literacy classes, but only 39% said they had taken one.
NLP is working with schools to help them build some form of media literacy into their curriculum. Some schools have created dedicated media literacy classes, such as the one in North Salem. Others are incorporating elements of media literacy into their content classes, such as science and social studies.
“We need to make sure every student is taught these skills and abilities before they graduate,” says Charles Salter, president and CEO of Harvard Business School. NLP.