Its been said that those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it. In a world beset by conflicting views and information, the skills to think critically are crucial to our ability to learn and think for ourselves, and these are fundamentally the skills of the historian.

The importance of teaching critical thinking and analysis is becoming ever more apparent and, in the UK, September 2017 saw  the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Literacy launch the Commission on Fake News and the Teaching of Critical Literacy Skills in Schools.

This follows the publication of a new report from the National Literacy Trust, Fake news and critical literacy evidence review, which stresses that children and young people in England do not have the critical literacy skills they need to identify fake news. It argues that these skills need to be taught.

Since the US election the concept of ‘fake news’ and ‘alternative facts’ has become common but many believe that the failing trust in fact, information, knowledge and expertise threatens democracy and confidence in governance.

This challenge, of learning to identify information sources and assess them critically, is one which affects everyone. But children who can’t question and determine the reliability of the information they find are facing an overwhelming burden given the amount of information available in the digital age.

The key theme of Tolerance 2017 is becoming Truth Detectives. The idea is to provide children, through lessons, books, games and more, with the tools to assess and understand sources of information, bias and misrepresentation. Only by developing the ability to think critically about what we learn or are told, learn to assess information and fight bias, can we underpin the practice of tolerance effectively. That means it’s important to embed this thinking within education as a whole.

So this year we have created the Truth Detectives themselves, characters which can help pupils develop their thinking and questioning skills across the board, as well as a Young Journalist Competition which will allow them to practice their writing and research skills. We have also launched a history project – 42 Moments in World History.

This giant colourful poster activity, produced in partnership with ‘What on Earth Books?’, asks children to step back and connect the dots of the past.  On the poster they will fill in what they consider to be the 42 key moments of history, 7 for each region of the world.  It will broaden children’s perspectives and get them to acknowledge the role all cultures have played in creating the world we live in today. 

The project will support children in thinking about history in a different way. It should

• broaden student’s perceptions about what ‘counts’ as history
• ask students to think about why and how historians decide what to include and what to exclude?
• develop student’s awareness that the history of humanity is one thing
• Help children think for themselves and understand the world as it is, not always as we are told it is

We hope you enjoy it.
 
 

September is a time of new beginnings at school, and an opportunity to think again about what we want our children to gain from education.

The curriculum is there for a reason, set to prepare children for the challenges and demands of the modern world that lie ahead. But underlying the curriculum runs the question of what is education for? Is it to fill children’s heads with facts, is it to socialise them for a world of work, or is it a place to teach them the skills to navigate a complex and ever- changing world?

One idea which has been gaining momentum over the last few years is Carol Dweck’s work on the important of mindset. A mindset is a set of assumptions, methods, or notations that is so established that it encourages people or groups to continue to adopt or accept prior behaviours, choices, or tools. The idea is that the stories you tell yourself (as well as the things you believe about yourself) can either prevent change or allow the development of new ideas and skills.

After studying the behaviour of thousands of children, Dr. Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. When students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. Therefore they put in extra time and effort, and that leads to higher achievement. When they are given an opportunity to contribute and to be part of a learning community, they are able to experience the value of their contribution and their part in the learning process. This can prove the basis of life-long learning.

One way in which we can achieve growth mindset is to broaden the scope of children's learning through enquiry and the exploration of ideas, using processes such as P4C. Children learn that their ideas have value, and that the ideas of other people have value too. Professor Michael Hand has made a case for philosophy being included as part of compulsory education on the basis that it introduces aspects of a good education, such as ethics and politics, in a way that no other subject can. But it can also do so much more than this.

Peter Worley, chief executive of the Philosophy Foundation reminds us, “Philosophy emerges from humans being human, and some would say that it emerges from one of the features that, like cooking and storytelling, sets us apart from other animals: namely, contemplation.” Philosophical discussion, enquiry and debate demand awareness which in itself leads to self-conscious, self-aware monitoring and control of one’s own learning.

Encourage critical thinking and social awareness in one fell swoop, by signing up to the 2017 Tolerance Day programme at www.toleranceday.org. You can also enter our journalism competition for the under 11’s and win a workshop at the Guardian Education Centre.

This article first appeared in the September issue of Education Today
.