Discernment

The further we progress into the 21st century the more strongly I feel the need for us to teach discernment. In fact, if I had to settle on one skill as crucial for our children beyond the basics of literacy and numeracy, I think this would be it. It fits within the Key Competency of Thinking, and it is (should be) assuming ever greater importance. Before we had the sage on the stage teacher and the fireside chats from parents to help us know right from wrong, and more importantly, how to tell.

Now we have google in our pocket, we have constant access to, and are all but constantly immersed in, information. We live in a print saturated, image saturated, talk-back saturated, social connectivity saturated, sound saturated, video saturated, environment. The numbers for Facebook, Twitter, Flicker, You-Tube, and iTunes are mind boggling in the extreme.

On the face of it, google in our pocket seems to be such a boon. Access is not the purpose, understanding is. We need to look at how our children (parent community and teachers) are using google. The pattern tends to be that most searchers sample the first link or two, and very few go past the first page or two.

Our children tend to give credence to whatever they find on the internet - "if it's on the internet, it must be true."

Alan November has shared some thought provoking sessions on verifying what we find when we search on the web. whois.com is a useful tool recommended by Alan. He shares the search results from google on 'Doctor Martin Luther King'. On first look, the fourth entry on google's result page appears to be a considered, erudite review of the great man's life. However, the further into that site you go the more controversial and disparaging becomes the material until it eventually leads children to a set of flyers they can print out and distribute in their community. The source - the Ku Klux Klan. You can guess their motives.

Discernment:

When faced with challenges outside our knowledge, we need the right tools and dispositions.

It’s not knowing the answer anymore.

It’s not even being able to find the answer.

It’s knowing how to behave intelligently when I don’t know the answer.

Previously we sought answers - usually simple and factual, to finite questions. Now our students are beginning to realise there is a difference between Information and Knowledge.

One touches the surface - lands and sinks.

One involves understanding - lands and generates ripples.

Previously for information we had a handful of go-to-sources...

Britannica

Encarta

Atlas

Dictionary.

Now we still a handful of go-to-sources...

Google

Bing

Yahoo

Dictionary

The problem now is not access to information, nor is it the up-to-date-ness of information.

Instead the issue is

Veracity - Reliability ?

Usefulness ?

Source ?

Slant - Bias - Hidden Agenda ?

And it’s not just Google....

Fox News openly and deliberately and consistently presents a Right Wing, Conservative, Pro Republican, Pro Business, Pro Gun Lobby, Anti Gay, Anti Abortion, anti Minorities, WASP slant to almost all of its news.

Al Jazira, meanwhile is widely regarded as presenting a thoughtful, reasoned, considered and non partisan approach to presenting the News.

This of course could (and should) lead to discussions on...

What is News?

What is Newsworthy?

Who decides?

Is this right, fair, balanced, appropriate, useful, educational, promoting reasoned debate, edifying, elucidating etc.?

This could also lead to discussions on...

What is Infotainment?

Have we got the balance right?

What are the dangers of mass infotainment overwhelming mass debate and reasoned reflection and discussion?

So consider this.

If we don’t teach discernment to our children who will?

If we don’t teach discernment to our children what might the resultant outcomes be?

And finally - we need to ask questions that google doesn't know the answer to.