One of the problems I find with certain research is that people seem to find out what they want to find out about certain subjects. Perhaps I am cynical in this area, but time and again, I can predict the outcome of research I am doing by looking at the source of the research. For example, the tobacco companies were doing research for years – hiring doctors, scientists, and a host of very well educated people to determine if, in fact, tobacco had an addictive potential. Guess what they found out? It didn’t. No problems with tobacco. In fact, research showed little to no adverse effects. That was certainly a big relief to all the tobacco users out there. Other governmental reports that caused more alarm after September 11, 2001 showed that Iraq was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. They were everywhere, according to these reports, and we responded accordingly. Our nation was certainly thankful that we had this data, until, of course, the reports were shown to be, well, exaggerated – to say the least. A more current study near my home showed that the levels of PCPs in the Hudson River was so dangerous, that immediate action was necessary. This lead to a massive project of “dredging” the Hudson to remove these chemicals. That was smart. The only problem is that new reports are showing that this may not really help with the PCPs. More recent reports show the process may be making things worse. But the good news is that research by the company doing the dredging has proven that the project is doing exactly what it was intended to do, so I guess those are the reports to believe.
And that is the point. Who do we chose to believe? And maybe more importantly, who do we teach our children to believe? In my interactions as a teacher, I have found that children believe much of what they read online. That makes sense to me. When I was growing up I believed things that I saw on television, especially if it was on a television news show. I also believed things that were in newspapers, and magazines. These seemed like official sources of information. I wonder if kids today feel the same way. My experience has shown me that most adults certainly do not. I’m not sure when the shift came, but believing what you see and hear on television, and in the newspapers and magazines is a thing of the past. Some would say that we have “wised up”, and others might say that we have lost our objective and honest reporters. In any case, it is clear that the receiver of any and all information must truly beware of what they believe these days. I do know that many kids today view information from the internet as accurate and reliable. If you don’t believe this, spend some time with your child on the website: All About Explorers. It looks very official and authentic. Ask your child to research one of the explorers listed on the site and tell you what they find out. I have done this numerous times with students in grades 4 – 6 that were all identified as being gifted and talented. This identification meant that their thinking skills were 3 to 4 grade levels above their current grade “so they were ‘performing at 7 – 10th grade level.” The interesting part is, that when these gifted students went to the website and did some research, the majority of them did not figure out that the information was false. And the false information is not subtle. Children were reporting on Henry Hudson’s abduction by aliens, and Christopher Columbus’s reliance on his laptop to discover America. And I am not making these stories up! If this seems far fetched to you, try it with your own kids: http://www.allaboutexplorers.com/
I was reminded recently that the human brain does not fully develop until the early 20’s. I have also talked to a number of parents about a common topic: forgetting how young our kids are. Young people today are exposed to more by the time they begin school than many of us were exposed to by fifth or sixth grade. That is a consequence of our technological advancements. The good news is that most of these forms of media require two things that we adults need to provide. The first is money to buy the items, and the second is access to these sources of information. In these areas, grown ups are in charge – or at least they can be, if they decide to be. I hope that you will decide to be today. I also hope that you will decide to talk with the young people in your life about the importance of finding accurate, honest information. Invite kids to ask you about things that they read, see, and download. Become a reliable source and a resource for our children – they need it now more than ever!
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