Sorting Facts From Fiction- What Districts Can Do to Combat Misinformation in the Current Culture Wars
Many of the current media narratives around social-emotional and civic learning in school provide both opportunities and challenges for school leadership as we enter into the new school year on the eve of a midterm election season. What can districts do to combat misinformation and create a school climate to help students, staff and the community navigate the brewing “culture wars?”
Dr. Darlene Ruscitti and the Illinois Civics Hub at the DuPage Regional Office of Education recently hosted a webinar to explore proactive measures administrators can take to create a supportive school climate for all stakeholders. Participants explored how to sort facts from fiction with leading experts in school climate, civics, news literacy, and social-emotional learning.
- Jonathan Cohen, Ph.D. Co-president at International Observatory for School Climate and Violence Prevention provided a keynote on School Climate/SEL ImprovementProcess: Returning to school – Understandings and Next Steps. Dr. Cohen also shared this Thriving School Guide that details the range of ways that school leaders can be intentional, strategic, and collaborative.
- Maurice Elias, Ph.D. Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab, and co-director of the Academy for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools joined Dr. Cohen to answer participant questions about the important role of SEL to support students and staff. Dr. Elias also shared resources for Morning Classroom Conversations.
- Shawn P. Healy, Ph.D. Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy at iCivics addressed some of the common myths around civic learning and partisanship in the classroom with data.
- Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Ph.D. Director of CIRCLE at Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University discussed how school leaders might think about civic learning across disciplines and how to inform community partners about classroom practices. Dr. Kawashima-Ginsberg referenced the new Educating for Democracy Roadmap, a cross-ideological approach to K-12 civics and history.
- Peter Adams, Senior Vice President of Education, News Literacy Project shared strategies and resources to incorporate news literacy across the curriculum.
A recording of the webinar is available on the Illinois Civics Hub Webinar Archive. The Illinois Civics Hub at the DuPage Regional Office of Education will continue to explore these topics in the upcoming school year with both virtual and in-person professional development.