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submitted 1 month ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

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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[-] tiramichu@lemm.ee 83 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

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.

"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.

[-] Mothra@mander.xyz 6 points 1 month ago

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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[-] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

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.

[-] wewbull@feddit.uk 8 points 1 month ago

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.

[-] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago
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[-] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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!

[-] Eggyhead@kbin.run 53 points 1 month ago

Can they teach the adults as well?

[-] veganpizza69@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago

ThEy WAnT TO FoRCe PEOpLE INTo REEEEEEdUCATion CAmps!!!

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[-] Strawberry@sh.itjust.works 50 points 1 month ago

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

[-] Zachariah@lemmy.world 36 points 1 month ago

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@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

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

[-] frunch@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

It's biases all the way down!

[-] DrCake@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

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

[-] Cheems@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Education is typically left leaning

[-] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

Reality has a well-known left-wing bias.

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

[-] breadsmasher@lemmy.world 24 points 1 month ago

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

[-] Thrillhouse@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month 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.

[-] catch22@startrek.website 18 points 1 month 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.

[-] rambling_lunatic@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 month ago

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.

[-] JustARaccoon@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

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

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[-] todd_bonzalez@lemm.ee 17 points 1 month ago

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.

[-] prole 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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!

[-] LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee 16 points 1 month ago

"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.

[-] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 17 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

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

[-] Emmie@lemm.ee 15 points 1 month ago

Get them all some fine excerpts from ml comms

[-] Konis@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 month ago

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

[-] FundMECFSResearch 6 points 1 month ago

Hopefully this is more aimed at far right anti immigration bullshit

[-] li10@feddit.uk 17 points 1 month ago

Hopefully it tries to be as neutral as possible, and just gives kids the general tools to spot when something’s fake/exaggerated.

Introducing this sort of thing without trying to be strictly impartial sounds like a slippery slope.

[-] FundMECFSResearch 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Obviously. But I’m referring to why this was planned, ie. some events led to this being deemed necessary. I’m guessing it’s alt-right radicalisation and post-truth politics, and not the recent Israeli Invasion of Gaza.

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[-] mdwhite999@lemmy.sdf.org 11 points 1 month 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

[-] SanguineBrah@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 1 month ago

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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[-] RedIce25@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Isn't critical thinking taught everywhere?

[-] HK65@sopuli.xyz 27 points 1 month ago

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

[-] Snowpix@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month 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.

[-] MediaBiasFactChecker@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

The Guardian - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)Information for The Guardian:

MBFC: Left-Center - Credibility: Medium - Factual Reporting: Mixed - United Kingdom
Wikipedia about this source

Search topics on Ground.Newshttps://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/aug/10/uk-children-to-be-taught-how-to-spot-extremist-content-and-misinformation-online
Media Bias Fact Check | bot support

[-] absquatulate@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

This is rich, coming from the government that labels pro-palestine protestors as extremists and antisemites ( yes I'm aware that the government changed, but looks like the new ones are more than happy to continue the policies ).

[-] thetreesaysbark@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 month ago

There are many people in a government, and different people pull in different directions.

Regardless of other policies, this is a step in the right direction.

[-] absquatulate@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

There's admittedly some potential in there, like teaching them to analyse statistics and 'teaching critical thinking' whatever that implies.

Conspiracy theory belief however is emotional rather than rational. You cannot 'teach' people to not do it. I worry that they will condition kids to dismiss any news that deviates from official propaganda by just labelling them as conspiracies. And frankly with the UK being the police state that it is, that might just be the end goal.

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[-] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

BuT WHo DeCIdEs WHaT iS MiSInfOrMaTIoN #1984 ???

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[-] tacosanonymous@lemm.ee 6 points 1 month ago

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

[-] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 5 points 1 month 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.

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this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2024
632 points (100.0% liked)

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