veronica_rich | Writer's Block: Educate Me

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Well, sports have clearly been overhyped for a while, from a purely unbalanced standpoint. Fitness is important, but Christ, you can't really go out and learn calculus without some substantial help.

I think media consumerism should be taught to all high-schoolers - at least one semester. We have so many people who don't know how to critically examine news stories for bias or tell news from entertainment, or what to look for in a reputable news organization (not perfect or unflawed, but reputable), or who don't understand why they shouldn't get all their news from one source. We have so many people who blanket blame "the media" for society's ills without understanding WHY they should or shouldn't, and they could better understand the structure of how such an organization works (i.e. ownership, that the underpaid reporter doesn't pick the stories, what an editor is responsible for, etc.). Basic stuff it wouldn't take long to teach and would last a lifetime.

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News isn't just about politics, and you don't need to dwell on personal beliefs to spot responsible journalism - in fact, that's the point of responsible reporting and editorial content, to give more than one POV. That's akin to saying I can't do my job because of my personal beliefs, which is not true. I've been doing it for almost 20 years with very few complaints. I never had a GOOD editor who would've let me get by with writing something blatantly partisan without a counter elsewhere on the same topic.

Besides, perpetuating their ignorance that close to adulthood doesn't do them or us any favors. A kid can vote and join the military, and enter into contracts at age 18. Saying we don't tackle something that contains politics would pretty much keep history out of schools, don't you think? And geography and literature (think of Swift and so many other writers)? And sex education?

ETA2 because I can't damn well spell: Forgot this part - we had a class when I was in jr. high on life skills you mention, and I've never heard of anyone else having this in school. As I said below, you could couple this with my idea for a semester, and make the other semester basic Economics as a requirement to graduate (that's what ours was).

Edited 2012-04-04 18:29 (UTC)

What I'm saying is that many teachers cannot tell the difference between responsible journalism, lazy journalism, and spin, and many perpetuate the latter two, I'd bet. I'm not saying or even remotely implying that YOU can't do it.

Reporting on the politics of history is different than rewriting it, like many do. Sorry, call me jaded, but I live in an area surrounded by conservatives, so my view may be skewed, but there are many pockets with this mentality, so maybe not. Meetings where I work make me feel like I'm from another planet, and have given me a very bad taste for topics like this where the idea is that things are supposed to be "thorough, fair, and balanced." Here, they are definitely not. On the other hand, it's been a very long time since I've been in a high school classroom, and I don't know how it is here these days.

And sex education was a complete joke when I was in school. But since I'm tuned in to these issues because of my involvement with the lgbt community, I'm sure that in many places, it's no better now than it was then.

Well, this is why schools would need someone like me to teach the class, not some teacher who isn't trained for it. I actually know what I'm talking about. *G*

As far as history, think about it: Imagine teaching kids about Roosevelt and the New Deal. It was 80 years ago, but can you imagine it wouldn't bring up a discussion about privatization of Social Security now? Shoot, people still can't agree on whether Vietnam was a war or a police action, but it's teachable history because it was so long ago. I think this is where you bring in community leaders to talk to the class, like old people, former teachers, ex-military, activists you might know, a city councilperson, see if you can get a state rep., etc.

I remember Mr. K's history class - we had a lot of fun, but boy, we weren't P.C. or avoidant at all. We debated, we argued, we even raised our voices. Mr. K stayed neutral or asked questions, and he would shut us up if we got too rowdy, but it turned out to be good for us, I think. And this was on old stuff, not just current world events (1980s, that is). It was a good chance for him to teach a bunch of kids about how to disagree and be civil (and I have always lived in conservative areas, so I empathize with you - and I was even a liberal kid. I remember disagreeing all the time with Mom and Dad - hell, Mom didn't agree with me on almost anything other than abortion, until I was in my 30s; Dad still doesn't).

Sex education wasn't too bad for us. Most vividly I remember having to watch a film about childbirth - that sealed my childfree-ness for me. I remember thinking ARRRGGHHHH DO NOT WANT!

I am childless, also, but not because of anything I learned in school.

Wow! Imagine a history class that has lively discussion and debate. Never happened in any of my classes, except for government. Most of the teachers droned on, and they would go off-topic, because they were bored of themselves, too. ;-P

I didn't give a rat's ass about history until I visited some historic places as an adult, where I could see and touch things.

My sixth-grade class was taught to balance a checkbook, and I had to take Consumer Ed in both Junior High and High School.

And do you realize you're advocating that schools teach something that will enable children to think for themselves? *gaspandswoon* Heaven forbid that the extremists tolerate that! (note sarcasm)

It's a radical notion, I know, I know. There are adults who don't know how to think for themselves. (Pro tip: When you're calling the editor to complain about the government wasting money on specific businesses and specific numbers, it's a good idea to cite some source more ... research-oriented, than Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck. I'm pretty sure I stumped the guy when I dryly remarked, "And we know how trustworthy THEIR information is." I wish people knew the difference between a pundit and a reporter.)

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