The days of old, of going to the library and heading to the reference section to pull out the encyclopaedia with the corresponding letter of the topic which you are researching, to then sit down for hours with your notepad, pen and highlighter are well behind us.

It now takes seconds for us to check what information is true and which is false.

However, with the onslaught of information which is thrown our way, now as we check the validity of that information, this opens up new pathways for misconception and misunderstanding. More importantly, the opportunity for those preying on the fans of instant information and those who do not dig deeper, lays a new virus which is quickly infecting our culture today, fake news!

How do we stop this rising epidemic?

Not only do we as educators have to teach our students about questioning the validity of the sources from which they gather information, but we must also teach them about bias, relevance and facts.  Sometimes the first or second set of results which come up may not be entirely true.  Is the information factual?  Has anyone been allowed to contribute, edit or change this information?  Does the person writing this information have an agenda?  How are you questioning these sources?

At the SIS Group of Schools we have specific subjects like Global Perspectives which we use to help combat this problem.  Global Perspectives is a subject unlike any other in the sense that it provides several avenues for students to research, evaluate and analyze a variety of topics in a global context.  This allows them to opportunity to critically think about the validity of the information which they have come across and question its real purpose.  This kind of questioning is something which is vital to our students today and for their future.  It teaches students to not accept information at face value and dig deeper, much deeper and become more enlightened.  These skills are essential to the future job market demands and we at SIS are continually looking at ways to develop and harvest these skills.

On a much larger scale, the IB Diploma Programme is the ultimate warrior in this battle to sift through information and help students decipher ‘real and fake’ on a very granular level.  The Diploma Programme is the best curriculum in the world for Junior College students (Grades 11 and 12).  Not only through the philosophy upon which it is built, but with specific vessels like the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and the Extended Essay (EE), students are provided with many opportunities to research, evaluate and critically think about everything which is put in front of them.  There is truly no better programme in the world which is better designed to prepare students for university acceptance and the future job market. 

At the SIS Group of Schools we spend countless hours thinking and planning of how to prepare our students for an ever changing world.  Equipping them with 21st Century skills through innovative pedagogy and the world’s best curricula.