Rationale
I first realized how confusing misinformation can be for students around December 21, 2012. The rumor was that the world was coming to an end. As the 21st approached, a look of anxiety marked many of my students’ faces. Even those who didn’t believe in Armageddon were still uneasy because of the looming message whispered throughout the halls. This was the oddest bandwagon discussion I had ever encountered, and I realized its effect on my students’ minds. At the time, I merely educated them about where such misguided information came from and the majority went on break with some sense of relief.
Later in my career, my students were again befuddled by public news media, specifically the Mexican News Station, as they learned that a giant 9.8 earthquake was set to hit California at 3:47 PM on May 28, 2015. I asked how many students had actually researched this topic. The answer was none. I went online, with my students, to see what source was spewing this information. We found several conspiracy theory websites describing an alignment between planets that was sure to devastate the population of our city. The fact that the movie San Andreas had just been released was of no reassurance to my students. They were certain the world was going to come to an end. If students showed up that day, they left with glum faces, ready to face the end of their world.
My epiphany moment came when a student asked me how it was possible that cats have nine lives. I couldn’t believe it. I thought they no longer believed in fairy tales, superstition, and rumor. I was wrong. How does this happen? What kind of mind must students have if they so easily believe what they are told? These examples illustrate the immediate need for critical thinking in my classroom and in my students’ lives.
I realized that my students are bombarded with all sorts of information throughout their day. Who knows how much is disinformation. Furthermore, they hold selfies and Instagram in higher regard than understanding the facts that California is quickly running out of water, the world population is increasing at unsustainable rates, and child labor means kids their age are working to death to make the products they take for granted daily. In a rapidly changing world, my goal is to wake my students up and inspire them into action.
Every topic discussed throughout this unit helps students move toward a deeper understanding of how modern society affects the environment. Although environmentalism is the underlying theme of the unit, students will digest content by learning and utilizing critical reading and thinking skills. Furthermore, by coupling fiction and nonfiction sources of information, students will have many avenues for understanding and relating to the material.
The variety of viewpoints and types of information that this unit provides are reflective of the real world. Students must have the ability to sift through and analyze all the information they receive. If they cannot think critically about a topic, then we are doomed as a society and our effort as educators will be wasted. Education should be a tool for making connections and understanding the world around us. Let’s teach this skill to our students so they may become a brighter and highly educated addition to our society.
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