Critical Thinking in the Post-Truth World

In 2012 Donald Trump claimed that climate change was a Chinese hoax.

The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012

Once he took office, the Trump administration began to dismantle science-based policy in the US.

The Trump Administration Has Attacked Science 100 Times ... and Counting

The Trump administration’s unprecedented record on science will harm people across the country, especially the most disenfranchised. While the sheer number of attacks on science is shocking, what a lack of science-informed policy means for our country is even more shocking. The administration’s rollback of protections from exposure to dangerous chemicals means that more people will become ill, develop chronic diseases or die from encountering these hazardous substances.

A good example comes from an early 2018 issue when Trump administration officials blocked the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) from publishing a draft toxicology report on a class of potentially hazardous chemicals commonly found in drinking water and groundwater

Science Under Attack: How Trump is Sidelining Researchers and Their Work

Political appointees have shut down government studies, reduced the influence of scientists over regulatory decisions and in some cases pressured researchers not to speak publicly. The administration has particularly challenged scientific findings related to the environment and public health opposed by industries such as oil drilling and coal mining. It has also impeded research around human-caused climate change, which President Trump has dismissed despite a global scientific consensus.

But the erosion of science reaches well beyond the environment and climate: In San Francisco, a study of the effects of chemicals on pregnant women has stalled after federal funding abruptly ended. In Washington, D.C., a scientific committee that provided expertise in defending against invasive insects has been disbanded. In Kansas City, Mo., the hasty relocation of two agricultural agencies that fund crop science and study the economics of farming has led to an exodus of employees and delayed hundreds of millions of dollars in research.

The Trump administration is following in the footsteps of the Texas school board member who (talking about science standards for schools) claimed that someone has to "stand up to experts" who are using science to develop policy.

The constant anti-science drumbeat that comes from Washington has led a large number of Americans (mostly supporters of the President) to become distrustful of experts, medical experts in the case of the current pandemic. This has led to an increased number of coronavirus skeptics and deniers.

Some skepticism comes from ignorance based on racism fueled by political rhetoric, like the county official in Kansas who claimed that the coronavirus wasn't a problem for them because they don't have any Chinese people living nearby.

For others, it's the almighty market. They want to protect Wall Street by canceling all the shelter-at-home orders and get the economy rolling again. Just ignore that COVID-19 death behind the curtain.

In a recent interview, Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history of science at Harvard, explained why some experts are believed and some are not. It turns out that, Simon and Garfunkel were right. "...a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

People trust their dentists. People trust their car mechanics. In general, people use experts all the time, and most of us don’t spend a lot of time second-guessing experts on most issues. There are some definite exceptions to that...the big exception has to do with what I’ve written about, which is implicatory denial. That is to say, we reject scientific findings because we don’t like their implications.

HAVE WE LOST THE ABILITY TO JUDGE WHAT IS TRUE AND WHAT IS NOT?

When you have an established, scientific, emergent truth, it is true whether or not you believe in it, and the sooner you understand that, the faster we can get on with the political conversations about how to solve the problems that face us.

Americans are having trouble with the truth. The truth comes from sources we trust, and for many, the only source worthy of trust is their own ideological bubble. America's education system is left with the task of teaching students how to identify truth and how to recognize propaganda and hyperbole. In that way, perhaps, we might move on from a "post-truth world" to a world where experience and expertise are valued, and where there is a common basis for truth.

There are teachers in America's public schools who are teaching children to identify propaganda and learn to identify the truth. In the following video (go to 19:50) we see a teacher helping middle school children learn to identify misleading information. The teacher, Melissa Lau, who was trained by the National Center for Science Education, believes that her job is to help the students learn to "navigate" the world of online information. The narrator is shocked that children in sixth grade are having to learn how to decipher misinformation and recognize fake experts, logical fallacies, cherry-picking, and conspiracy theories. What is shocking is that many Americans regularly fall for these techniques when they read the news and otherwise gather information.

"It's a survival skill in this day and age."

One thing is clear. Purveyors of misinformation will keep on doing what they're doing as long as they are profiting -- economically or socially -- by it. It's our job as educators to help students understand misleading content and sift through the massive amounts of information coming at them and learn to be critical readers and thinkers. Students need to understand how to identify propaganda, recognize "spin," and learn how to find truth in a "post-truth" world.

Maybe if we are successful some of it will rub off on their parents.

📡⚗️🔭🧲🔬

Random Quotes - May 2015

TESTING

No need to test every student

From Stephen Krashen

There is no need to test every student every year. We can get the same information from low-pressure testing of small samples of students, each student taking only a part of the test, and extrapolating the results to larger groups, as is now done with the NAEP test. This will save money, reduce anxiety, and give teachers more time to teach.

When you go to the doctor, they don't take all your blood. They only take a sample. 

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Standardized Testing (HBO)

Learning isn't supposed to make you sick. Stress is not always negative...except when it is...and the stress associated with high stakes tests for children beginning at about age 8 is bad. Why do we do this to our children?

From John Oliver

"Something is wrong with our system when we just assume a certain number of students will vomit."

SCHOOL FUNDING

News of Stephen Colbert's generosity goes viral, spurs more donations nationwide

Thank you to Stephen Colbert for helping the children of South Carolina. But why should he have to? Why isn't the education of our children a big enough priority for us to fully fund?

From Daily Show writer Daniel Radosh

It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and Stephen Colbert has to buy the Air Force a bomber.

IMAGINE…

We need to invest in our public schools...not private charter schools operating without public oversight.

From Gail Cosby (IPS School Board Member)

Imagine if this board and administration were willing to invest in our own schools, our own students, our own leaders, and our own teachers in the same manner in which we keep investing IN OUTSIDE ENTITIES.

(Phalen Academy will be receiving at least 1.2 million dollars more than school 103 received to educate the same children.)

TEACHING

Testing: Who is Advocating for the Students?

Many good, dedicated, inspirational teachers are leaving the profession in large numbers. We're driving the best out of the profession.

From an Indiana Teacher

"I still love teaching and working with young children, but the testing and culture are killing the profession..."

Stephen Colbert throws Peter Cunningham under the bus.

Take a look around: Barack Obama, Arne Duncan, George W. Bush, Margaret Spellings, Bill Gates, the Walton Family, Michael Bloomberg, Jeb Bush...these "reformers" don't know anything about the day to day business of public education. Yet they have, over the last couple of decades, tried to buy  expertise and tell teachers what they are doing wrong.

From Fred Klonsky

...there is something very wrong when billion dollar philanthropies run by people who know nothing about teaching give all that money to people who know nothing about teaching to tell teachers that they are wrong about what they know about teaching.

NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON

Two appropriate quotes from Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson Graduation Speech, Western New England University

From Neil deGrasse Tyson

...when you know how to think it empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.

Neil deGrasse Tyson Has Super Stellar Reply To Girl's Question About Learning Disabilities

From Neil deGrasse Tyson

At a recent talk, a girl walks up to the microphone and asks the astrophysicist if there are people with dyslexia in his field. Tyson explains that yes, there are, as well as colleagues with a number of other types of learning disabilities. Citing autism, dyscalculia and ADD as examples, Tyson explains that rather than seeing these conditions and disorders as a hindrance, they are empowering.

“The answer is yes, but it’s a hurdle,” Tyson says. “But in the Olympics, what do you do when you come up to a hurdle? You jump over it.”

DO SOMETHING

We Have To Do Something

My Random Quotes pages wouldn't be complete lately without something from blogger extraordinaire, Peter Greene. Here he reminds us that the object is not just "to do something." We have to do something that makes sense. If something is harmful, doesn't work, or wastes time and money -- like our national high stakes testing obsession -- then we ought to stop doing it.

From Peter Greene

Even if we accept "We have to do something" as a Real Thing (which it isn't, because the "crisis" is manufactured, but even if), it does not follow that an urgent Need To Do Something means that we must urgently Do Something Stupid.

If the treatment is damaging, don't use it. If the food is harmful, don't eat it. And if the test is a bad test that wastes time and money, makes the students miserable, damages the credibility of the school, and returns no useful data-- then don't give it!!

What can retired teachers do? Help win a Supreme Court decision.

Retired teachers, public school activists, supporters of public education...have helped turn around anti-educator legislation in Illinois by winning at the state supreme court. While giving economic breaks to the wealthy, the political forces in Illinois blamed teacher pensions for making "Illinois broke."

Who kept track of this injustice as they formed grassroots groups of people in addition to alerting, networking, goading, and educating while contacting unions and government agencies and media sources and legislators and social networking organizations?

Among others...five retirees.

The important quote from this blog post by Ken Previti...

“A hero is a man who does what he can.” – Romain Rolland

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Support Teachers of Conscience

The narrow pursuit of test results has sidelined education issues of enduring importance such as poverty, equity in school funding, school segregation, health and physical education, science, the arts, access to early childhood education, class size, and curriculum development. We have witnessed the erosion of teachers’ professional autonomy, a narrowing of curriculum, and classrooms saturated with “test score-raising” instructional practices that betray our understandings of child development and our commitment to educating for artistry and critical thinking. And so now we are faced with “a crisis of pedagogy”–teaching in a system that no longer resembles the democratic ideals or tolerates the critical thinking and critical decision-making that we hope to impart on the students we teach.

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Stop the Testing Insanity!

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Vermont State Board of Education: Statement and Resolution on Assessment and Accountability, Adopted August 19, 2014

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words - Nov.2012

Here are some pictures, graphic images and cartoons from FaceBook -- plus my own 2 cents worth of comments. Click on any image to see the full sized version.

On Being a Teacher

Teaching to "the test" is not included!

Bipartisan Agreement

This is my "election day" thought. No matter who wins today's Presidential election, unless we, as teachers, parents, and concerned citizens, do something to change people's minds, nothing will change. The selling/privatization of the nation's public schools is a mistake.

Who Will Choose to Teach?

Teach Them to Think...

...not just bubble an answer. Critical and creative thinking aren't being measured by today's tests, yet critical and creative thinking are essential for the success of our society.

Shock Therapy

I'm reminded of the discussion in The Shock Doctine, about shock therapy used on individuals and societies as a means to privatization.

...those in power use times of crisis to push through undemocratic and extreme free market economic policies...

such as mayoral control of school systems, instead of elected school boards...corporate charter boards instead of elected school boards...

Public School Teachers: Miracles Performed Daily

We have millions of dedicated, hard working, competent teachers in public school classrooms around the country. They deserve better than to be mis-characterized as lazy, incompetent, money-grubbing, selfish union thugs. We teach because we value learning and children.

“I touch the future. I teach.” -- Christa McAuliffe

Exploration

Reading

We teach reading to create a society of life-long learners.

Values

What does our society value?

Do we value creativity? Understanding? Or do we value money and power. Why are billionaires who have never attended or worked in a public school accepted as experts on education? Why do politicians, pundits and policy makers ignore the experience of teachers when they make their punitive attacks on public education, public school teachers and public sector unions? Why aren't the people who caused our current economic problems held accountable?

Why does one of the richest nation's on Earth allow a fourth of their children to live in poverty?

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Stop the Testing Insanity!

Sign the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing!

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Time to Think Critically about Critical Thinking

Stephen Colbert on the Texas GOP's view of critical thinking...

(for mature audiences)

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

In contrast take a look at the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education's platform. It starts with...

To build a school, family, and community partnership that fosters learning, creativity, critical thinking skills, and success among our children...

See also, Valerie Strauss' analysis at Texas GOP rejects ‘critical thinking’ skills. Really.

To be fair, the Texas GOP claims that the plank was included in their platform by accident.

“[The chairman of the Texas GOP's Education Subcommittee] indicated that it was an oversight of the committee, that the plank should not have included ‘critical thinking skills’ after ‘values clarification,’” Elam said. “And it was not the intent of the subcommittee to present a plank that would have indicated that the RPT in any way opposed the development of critical thinking skills.”

It seems that the Texas GOP's Education Subcommittee could have used someone with critical thinking skills...

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Stop the Testing Insanity!

Sign the National Resolution on High Stakes Testing!

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