Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy • Hacker News Board

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#161

Post by lettergram » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

zapataband1 wrote: post #104

lettergram wrote: post #31

Growing up in Illinois and going to public schools, I have to say this is just making the situation worse. My wife (who went to the same school district) and I both recall situations where politics were in the classroom. I recall in grade school with vivid detail my teacher saying “anyone who voted for bush is an idiot” and kids in the class becoming upset and the teacher doubling down. My entire time at school (thro…

I'll take your anecdote and tell you I never experienced anything like this from teachers in public school in IL. Conservatives aren't demonized they are just disliked because of their political party affiliation and the actions of their elected representatives. I like conservatives, I would even say I love them, but I think they have moronic brain-dead opinions especially on things like CRT that they don't understan…

“Not demonized” just “Moronic [and] brain-dead” yeah sure. Lol

As I’m sure you’re aware, CRT discusses implicit bias and how to mitigate.. perhaps apply it outside of race?

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#162

Post by avs733 » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

temp8964 wrote: post #118

bko wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand why they wouldn't use historical examples or stuff about aliens or big foot. History is a great filter and we can now somewhat reasonably understand smear campaigns and propaganda from decades ago. It's not as clear what's being manipulated at the current moment. This just seems more like a way to influence children's political leanings.

Considering the 1619 project is being pushed into public schools, I am pretty sure history can be manipulated too.

You realize that a major portion of the 1619 project is discussing demonstrating HOW history HAS been manipulated.

What you are referring to is the history we choose to center something DIFFERENT is somehow now being treated as 'manipulated'

It's not. Choosing what to center and what not to center isn't inherently manipulative, its human nature. Its why I focus on my running and my research and my partner at the expense of learning a new language or instrument. I center things in my life that I'm good at and bring me joy.

The fact that people are angry about shifting the centering is why literacy is important - because identifying the centering rather than jumping to 'bias' or 'manipulation' is where the literacy comes from.

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#163

Post by ajsnigrutin » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

AustinDev wrote: post #157

ajsnigrutin wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh come on... > https://web.archive.org/web/20171106063502/https://www.thegu... > Trump dump: president throws entire box of fish food into precious koi carp pond > While his host, Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe, spoons small amounts of feed, the US leader gives the fish a large feast > Having apparently lost patience with tempting the fish to the edge with modest offerings of food, Trump simply upended his wooden…

Oh yeah I remember this whole charade. It happened rather early and was blatantly transparent.

yeah, and it's sad, because it wasn't something that was unverifiable, it wasn't an "unnamed source"... it was something recorded by many cameras and broadcasted in many places... figuring out it was a lie was a 5 minute process.

How can i trust them then with an "unnamed source" stories, when they lie about stuff recorded on camera?

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#164

Post by throwawayswede » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

minikites wrote: post #48

I'm surprised to see such negative reactions to this effort. Information and media literacy is sorely lacking in the present day USA and we could be doing much more to educate future generations on topics like this to help them make sense of an increasingly complex world of information.

The negativity is not about the effort, it's about who's doing it and what sort of bias they have.

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#165

Post by kyleee » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:06 PM UTC

ajsnigrutin wrote: post #134

SamoyedFurFluff wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read the article and I disagree that the 2016 election is a specific example of what students in class actually learn about (which is what I interpreted when you said “used on the kids”). The 2016 example is actually part of a study to claim there is evidence that students have poor ability to discern from good quality and bad quality news sources, such as a video of dubious origin on Facebook. The actual examples…

Oh come on... > https://web.archive.org/web/20171106063502/https://www.thegu... > Trump dump: president throws entire box of fish food into precious koi carp pond > While his host, Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe, spoons small amounts of feed, the US leader gives the fish a large feast > Having apparently lost patience with tempting the fish to the edge with modest offerings of food, Trump simply upended his wooden…

This is one of my favorite memories from the Trump years; and such a fun example of the depths to which our media establishment has sunk

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#166

Post by robxu9 » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:06 PM UTC

bonyt wrote: post #98

I've taken a news literacy class at Stony Brook about 10 years ago, when it was then a relatively new program. I think it's an incredibly valuable thing. It was taught in more the general sense of how to apply critical thinking to judge news stories. To the people saying that this just instills propaganda about specific news sources: consider learning a little bit more about the class. It teaches about how to tell jo…

I also took News Literacy at Stony Brook in 2013. I think that was one of the more popular classes for students by then, especially since it allowed students to choose which gen ed humanities requirement (out of two) to satisfy that was otherwise a bit tedious to get.

Most people I know who went into the course just for credits came out with a greater appreciation for the course in general.

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#167

Post by avs733 » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:07 PM UTC

chitowneats wrote: post #50

haswell wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like we read different articles. My takeaway is that they’re trying to teach students how to identify bad sources/reporting or outright fake news, not litigate specific news reports. Using 2016 as an example doesn’t invalidate that goal or imply bias.

Hunter Biden's laptop falls under this category. Corporate media and social media companies claim "fake news" and move to censor it a month before the election. An honest look at the actual reporting, as well as what followed, shows that this was not in fact the case.

As someone who actually engaged with that story, I found the reporting and posited facts to be incoherent and full of holes. It only made sense if one presumed the outcome. Literacy includes evaluating why something was covered by certain folks and not by others as well as the internal coherence and the inter-relationship.

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#168

Post by drunkpotato » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:08 PM UTC

re-actor wrote: post #87

blacktriangle wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

[flagged]

One of the nice things about HN is being exposed to a broad range of opinions. As fairly left wing myself, I don’t find it particularly welcoming nor hostile when it comes to political issues. Which is a refreshing change from the normal echo chambers both the left and right can get into. However, some people interpret “there exist people with different opinions than me” as somehow being a mob, which just seems like an angry attempt to silence discussion. (I’ve seen left and right complain about that on HN, so I think it’s less about politics alignment than it is about certain personality types that can be found across the political spectrum. The right’s equivalent of militant “SJW’s” or whatever the current bogeyman is.)

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#169

Post by s5300 » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:08 PM UTC

ameminator wrote: post #58

eplanit wrote: post #2

Given the primary example used on the kids, the 2016 election, this seems more about instilling bias under the name "news literacy". Are they going to do a section studying the "coverage" of hunter biden's laptop? Remember, for weeks it was cast as Russian propaganda. What about the origins of covid.. will they discuss how at first the lab leak theory was discarded as "misinformation"? I could not trust a public scho…

This week, a story broke how Hunter Biden had yet another laptop stolen from him, this time with videos of him doing "crazy sex acts". [0] Yet again, as in 2020, I was unable to share the link below in a private Facebook Messenger group. What else will be censored next, at the behest of the government? I severely mistrust when the government tells you what and who to believe, and that includes our schools. Teach crit…

>I was unable to share the link below in a private Facebook Messenger group. What else will be censored next, at the behest of the government?

>Facebook Messenger group

>the government

Does.

Not.

Compute.

Error

However, I do applaud your silliness as "Facebook government" almost sounds slightly correct for some swath of people.

Re: Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy

#170

Post by wolverine876 » Fri, Aug 13, 2021, 2:09 PM UTC

GiorgioG wrote: post #16

As an independent voter, I try to pinch my nose and read both parties' propaganda machines, but I just can't stomach it. All I want is facts. edit: We can thank Ronald Reagan for this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCC_fairness_doctrine

> I try to pinch my nose and read both parties' propaganda machines

There is a lot you can find that isn't in propaganda machines. One essential piece of propaganda is to say that everything is propaganda, like a liar saying everyone lies. The very good news is that, while nothing will meet a standard of perfection, there are excellent news sources - you have more access to quality news than anyone in history, thanks to the professionalization and expansion of journalism and to, of course, the Internet.

The first trick: Skip all opinion pieces. They are all BS from every side, IMHO.

Despite what those propagandists and opinion pieces say, the NY Times, Washington Post, and similar publications do provide quality news (don't read their opinion sections either).