Actually one of the best courses I’ve taken against this kinda thing was a “Logic” course in the philosophy track in college that had a huge section devoted to how media tries to manipulate a person. Not typical high school stuff but maybe it should be, and fully up to date for social media. There’s a practical course for the 21st century.
When I was in 3rd grade, I had a teacher who did a week-long lesson about recognizing propoganda. She talked about how talking or displaying something a certain way can alter how you think about it.
Looking back, this short propoganda course for 3rd graders wasn’t in any official lesson plan, wasn’t in a textbook, and may not have been on the up-and-up with the school.
It may have been, it’s relatively common for something like this to be included in coverage of Vietnam and the cold war. Current events related blocks are also often put in social studies curriculum and propaganda is a often a suggested tie-in.
While your teacher sounds like they went above and beyond, they probably weren’t working against the system. And that’s coming from a burned out ex-teacher. We have issues in our schools but for the most part curriculum designers are trying to help. For every terrible Florida-like headline depicting a leap backwards there are many steps forward taken under the radar
Yeah, this was a bit later for me but I remember a whole school year in like 7th or 8th grade that was all about dystopian literature and Nazism. Then it continued a little more in specific classes in HS. While I don’t remember an overt discussion of American propaganda there was a lot of discussion around 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and the portrayal of Jewish people in a book I can’t remember. Which I think broadly covers the ideas propaganda.
I know other groups read The Things They Carried (I think) which may have covered American propaganda more directly since it’s about the Vietnam war.
I’ve had a long ongoing rant/debate (not really a debate because we all pretty much agree with each other), that logic, and critical thinking should be the focus of earlier education. Sure, focus on the skills everyone needs, like writing and such, but when you get to highschool, we should be focusing more on core logic and critical thinking skills.
Teach a person a thing, and they’ll know it… maybe. Teach someone to think, and they’ll be able to figure out anything.
Let me first say i agree but also let me be little bit hopefully constructively critical.
There is something called (backwards) rationalism.
… a defense mechanism in which apparent logical reasons are given to justify behavior that is motivated by unconscious instinctual impulses. …
Rationalism also uses logic but not in sense as e.g. math of physic does. So logic is not enough in this broad sense.
So I think that basic science is the way to go in the early education stages alongside with teaching of accepting self critique and mistakes. Showing that everyone can be wrong and can become better at the thing by fixing their mistakes.
So in other words philosophy could make sense in high schools to some degree.
Actually one of the best courses I’ve taken against this kinda thing was a “Logic” course in the philosophy track in college that had a huge section devoted to how media tries to manipulate a person. Not typical high school stuff but maybe it should be, and fully up to date for social media. There’s a practical course for the 21st century.
When I was in 3rd grade, I had a teacher who did a week-long lesson about recognizing propoganda. She talked about how talking or displaying something a certain way can alter how you think about it.
Looking back, this short propoganda course for 3rd graders wasn’t in any official lesson plan, wasn’t in a textbook, and may not have been on the up-and-up with the school.
It may have been, it’s relatively common for something like this to be included in coverage of Vietnam and the cold war. Current events related blocks are also often put in social studies curriculum and propaganda is a often a suggested tie-in.
While your teacher sounds like they went above and beyond, they probably weren’t working against the system. And that’s coming from a burned out ex-teacher. We have issues in our schools but for the most part curriculum designers are trying to help. For every terrible Florida-like headline depicting a leap backwards there are many steps forward taken under the radar
Yeah, this was a bit later for me but I remember a whole school year in like 7th or 8th grade that was all about dystopian literature and Nazism. Then it continued a little more in specific classes in HS. While I don’t remember an overt discussion of American propaganda there was a lot of discussion around 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and the portrayal of Jewish people in a book I can’t remember. Which I think broadly covers the ideas propaganda.
I know other groups read The Things They Carried (I think) which may have covered American propaganda more directly since it’s about the Vietnam war.
I’ve had a long ongoing rant/debate (not really a debate because we all pretty much agree with each other), that logic, and critical thinking should be the focus of earlier education. Sure, focus on the skills everyone needs, like writing and such, but when you get to highschool, we should be focusing more on core logic and critical thinking skills.
Teach a person a thing, and they’ll know it… maybe. Teach someone to think, and they’ll be able to figure out anything.
Let me first say i agree but also let me be little bit hopefully constructively critical.
There is something called (backwards) rationalism.
Rationalism also uses logic but not in sense as e.g. math of physic does. So logic is not enough in this broad sense.
So I think that basic science is the way to go in the early education stages alongside with teaching of accepting self critique and mistakes. Showing that everyone can be wrong and can become better at the thing by fixing their mistakes.
So in other words philosophy could make sense in high schools to some degree.
There is also a danger in having a lack of understanding around logic, as Norm so eloquently shows us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oseqh7SMIvo
Corporate psychology…
I was super fortunate to take classes with Sutt Jhally at Umass Amherst. That man changed my life for the better in every way possible.