Illinois Is the First State to Have High Schools Teach News Literacy
Part of the primary school curriculum here in Norway is how to be critical of source material, no matter where it comes from. We call it “source criticism.” Summed up, it&#x27;s about how trustworthy a source is, what <i>method</i> was used to obtain the data or opinions in the material (if any), whether the observations or claims in it are first hand or second hand, and whether its conclusions are reasonably objective or subjective. From there on, you can start to make up an opinion as to whether a source is “good” or “bad,” or neutral or biased. Good teachers will try to keep politics out of it, but there are definitively examples of teachers who for whatever reason keeps a political slant. In theory they could lose their job if they&#x27;re caught indoctrinating their pupils, but in reality it&#x27;s almost never an issue. On the other hand, in today&#x27;s hyper-politicized world, I trust that most of the pupils quickly catch on if they try.