Context for Questions
Critical thinking, information literacy, media literacy, and narrative analysis are more important than ever in the digital age. America's founders couldn't have anticipated the technological advancements we now take for granted, but they understood that a democracy's existence depends on an informed electorate. To ensure America's survival, its earliest leaders established a free press and a free, liberal, public education system.
Technology--social media specifically--has drastically altered the free press. Social media in particular has blurred the lines between journalism, entertainment, and political persuasion. The unclear boundaries have harmed citizens' ability to stay accurately informed and vote accordingly, putting America's democracy at risk. Evidence abounds in the increasing political and social polarization at every level of American society.
America's political polarization is particularly evident in its journalism and education systems. Both were conceived as liberal according to the definition of liberal as democratic, broadly focused, interdisciplinary, open to new ideas, and respectful of opinions other than one's own but have shifted in recent decades to the definition of liberal as aligning with the Democrat political platform. Many studies reveal that shift:
Tim Groseclose, UCLA's Marvin Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics, and Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, summarize studies showing that explain that "nearly all mainstream news outlets have a liberal bias." They "estimate that the bias has shifted the views of voters by about 25 'PQ' points on a 100-point scale."
A 2020 analysis of research studies conducted by Sam Abrams and Amna Khalid for Heterodox Academy found that "The data for three campus constituencies unequivocally show that liberals are considerably overrepresented on university and college campuses. And the research on campus climate reveals a decrease in openness to non-liberal viewpoints" (Abrams and Khalid).
Such hegemony increases the likelihood that biases won't be identified and opinions won't be questioned, dismantling their ability to model the critical thinking they exist to further.
A key solution to empowering citizens and securing democracy is teaching students to recognize the differences between reporting facts and shaping narratives, informing and persuading, educating and indoctrinating. Such discernment depends on educators helping students developing critical thinking, information literacy, media literacy, and narrative analysis skills.
Origin of Questions
With profound gratitude to the Minnesota State Colleges system and North Hennepin Community College for their financial support, I present this collection of educator tools for preparing students to live an informed and engaged life in America's digital age.
These tools are available for educators to adapt and use free of charge as long as they credit Lisa Whalen and this site:
Educator's Guide for Identifying Personal Biases
Reviews of expert materials on Generation Z and Generation Alpha
Reviews of expert materials on journalism in the digital age
Educator materials for teaching journalism
Educator materials teaching critical thinking, media literacy, information literacy, and narrative analysis in a variety of fields
Rubrics for evaluating student work
Assessment options for measuring student learning.
Questions to Pair with Any Lesson on This Site
Discussion based on the Socratic Method forms the cornerstone of higher education. To that end, educators can pose the following questions to students in conjunction with any materials on this site.
These questions encapsulate the purpose of my sabbatical project and reveal the relationship between democracy and education:
Media
What role, if any, does social media play in news production, consumption, or spread?
Example: false reports of police shooting
Example: revelation of police misconduct
Example: controversy over Twitter algorithm, Twitter audit, New York Post
What role, if any, should social media play in news production, consumption, or spread?
Do the media's responsibilities extend beyond reporting facts?
Should the media's responsibilities extend beyond reporting facts?
Example: reporter calls out employer
Example: media and Hunter Biden laptop, New York Times, Reason, Wall Street Journal, New York Post
What role, if any, should citizens play in news production, consumption, or spread?
What responsibilities, if any, should citizens uphold in news production, consumption, or spread?
Do you think political bias exists in American journalism? Why or why not?
What role, if any, should government play in regulating the media? Or, what role, if any, should government play in ensuring news reporting is factual rather than subjective?
What conflicts of interest might complicate government regulation of media?
Should media organizations be publicly or privately owned/funded?
What conflicts of interest might complicate public ownership/funding?
What conflicts of interest might complicate private ownership/funding?
Should news organizations allow advertising in their publications or broadcasts? Why or why not?
What assumptions underlie this news report? [Give students a specific report to examine.]
What biases can you identify, if any, in this news report? [Give students a specific report to examine.]
Education
Do you think political bias exists in America's educational system? Why or why not?
A maxim claims education should teach students how to think but not what to think? Explain why you agree or disagree.
How might a conservative/Republican bias in education harm students? American society?
How might a liberal/Democrat bias in education harm students? American society?
What role, if any, should government play in regulating education?
What responsibilities, if any, does government hold related to education?
Example: The 1619 Project
What role, if any, should citizens play in shaping American public education?
What responsibilities, if any, do citizens hold in shaping American public education?