Combating misinformation in the classroom: Palmer High teacher tackles media literacy
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Inside Paul Blakesley's social studies class, history and media literacy collide.
"I don’t think it’s too early to start thinking about what do I believe, what do I find important, how do I get that information, who do I listen to, what do I read," said Blakesley.
Blakesley has taught at Palmer High School for ten years. He's tackled discussions with his students about how to identify trustworthy sources and his efforts ramped up with the 2018 midterm election.
His lessons were recently the subject of a New York Times article.
"How am I forming my political opinions and what information goes into that? All those things, they're important even for a 14 or 15-year-old because soon they’ll be voting and they have the power to represent us in government," said Blakesley.
Today's students have several social media platforms at their fingertips. Ella Gustafson, a junior in one of Blakesley's classes, explained what sites she frequents.
"I’m on Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram," said Gustafson.
A recent study shows that one in five TikTok videos has misinformation when it comes to political topics.
"If you’re thinking in terms of history or if you’re going to write a history paper, my juniors and seniors do, you have to find lots of sources that are quality sources. Students and adults realize that when it comes to writing about history. What they don’t realize, whether you’re talking about students or adults, is you got to do the same kinds of things when you’re scrolling through your social media feed online," said Blakesley.
A reminder for Gustafson and her classmates to keep asking those questions.
"This class has definitely made me think more critically about the news I’m consuming and what they’re trying to get us to think and if we should really believe that or not," said Gustafson.
Colorado has taken steps to teach media literacy. In 2021, Governor Polis signed a bill requiring the Department of Education to create and maintain an online recourse bank containing materials for media literacy.
