Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. — Voltaire
Who shall forbid a wise skepticism, seeing that there is no practical question on which any thing more than an approximate solution can be had? – Ralph Waldo Emerson
In a world awash with far more data than ever before, it is ironic indeed that many talk about ours as being a “post-truth” or “post-factual” society. Yet, we see it every day multiple times a day: a newspaper article that confuses correlation with causality, a blogger who deliberately cherry-picks facts that support his argument, a speaker whose bias colors her conclusions. There is so much data and, at the same time, so much imprecision, incorrectness, and just plain mendacity.
Teachers who use the internet in their classes realized early on that it was imperative that their students check online material carefully before they rely on it. Columbia University libraries suggest that researchers follow these guidelines:
- Always check authorship, publisher, and sponsorship.
- Try to ascertain the accuracy of the information by substantiating it elsewhere.
- Check footnotes and bibliographies when possible.
Classroom teachers are in a unique position to encourage skeptical thinking. In science and math classes, seeking proof or corroboration is built into the system, but humanities teachers should also create guidelines that urge skepticism in discussions and reading. For example, teachers can encourage students to take these three steps:
- Ask why or how, if an assertion is anything but obvious.
- Inquire into the objectivity of the speaker or author.
- Search for corroborating evidence.
It is important to remember that skepticism is not cynicism, nor is it pessimism. The skeptical person is not a naysayer, nor is he or she trying to tear down the world. Skepticism refers to an attitude, to a mode of thought in which one is “not easily convinced.” A skeptic is a person who does not accept arguments or “facts” at face value. Some evidence, some corroboration, should be required before one is willing to accept an argument or an assertion of another.
Some teachers may be hesitant to empower their students in this way, worried that class discussions will become wild free-for-alls, that their students will be harder to “control.” And it is true that encouraging our students to think skeptically will help them become more self-possessed individuals who will create livelier, more substantial debates and discussions. It may even, at times, make the teacher feel slightly uncomfortable. But isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t that preferable to blind obedience? Teachers, let’s give our students the space to think for themselves and to become the persons they are meant to be.
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Welcome to the fall 2017 issue of Independent Teacher. This issue contains an extraordinary range of topics and classroom experiences – from combining archeology with math to middle school election simulation to using neuroscience to inform pedagogy – that we hope will inspire and enlighten your teaching. We hope you enjoy these essays and that you will join the conversation by sending your comments and responses to [email protected].