( The Hill ) — Schools face challenges teaching children how to identify and handle misinformation without getting political, especially in recent days as false claims swirl surrounding the recent hurricanes and the upcoming election.
Some schools opt for a single, annual school-wide assembly on the subject, but others provided teachers with professional development courses so they can incorporate the topic into their classrooms.
“We’re located in upstate New York, and our community is very conservative, so with that comes a lot of information about the term ‘fake news,’ what is being presented to students, how information is collected and then what we do with it once we get it,” said Matthew Sloane, principal of Middleburgh Junior/Senior High School. “So often, students, they’re manipulated by what is presented to them. So, if they’re on a particular website, or if they’re, you know, talking to a relative, and they have strong opinions, they take that as fact, and don’t really understand the process for going a step further to verify the facts.”