�Digital literacy will probably be the only kind of literacy there is�

Interview with Matthew D�Ancona, political columnist for the Guardian and the New York Times
by Marilyn Achiron, Editor, Directorate for Education and Skills

�Learning how to navigate the web with discernment is the most pressing cultural mission of our age.� So asserts Matthew D�Ancona, political columnist for the Guardian and the New York Times, in his timely and passionately argued new book, Post-Truth: The War on Truth and How to Fight Back. D�Ancona writes that he sees his book as an exploration of �the declining value of truth as society�s reserve currency� and asks: �So what happens when lies not only proliferate but also seem to matter less � or even not at all?� We met with D�Ancona in June, when he spoke at the OECD Forum in Paris.

Marilyn Achiron: How can schools help educate young people to be able to tell fact from fiction when they�re using the Internet?

Matthew D�Ancona: It�s a bit like be given a car without being taught to drive, isn�t it? Kids have access to digital devices from a very early age. You can be sure that, in a classroom of 7- or 8-year-olds, a good few of them will already have access to the Internet; perhaps more, and perhaps younger. I think digital literacy should be taught as a separate subject, and I would teach it from the age of 5. At the moment, it�s basically left to parents to decide how they police their children on line. But we�re living in a transitional era, where a lot of parents don�t know what is on line. Many of them may have become comfortable with e-mail and perhaps even have a Facebook page, but perhaps they don�t understand how deep and wide the Internet is. So there is a definite role for formal education in this. And to me, it�s a no-brainer. One of the basic tasks of education in any system is to teach children how to read a text. First, how to read it, and then, as they grow older, how to understand it.

At the moment, schools treat the Internet as if it was just another tool, as a means of writing essays on their laptops or going to Google. But there�s very little attempt to encourage kids to say: �When I go to this website or access social media, how can I be sure that it�s reliable?� I think it should be instilled in kids from a very early age that the Internet is an unbelievably powerful tool and it can be powerful in the best possible ways; but it can also be a kind of engine of falsehood. I don�t think you can expect children to know that instinctively any more than you can expect them to understand Shakespeare or Proust instinctively. It�s something that is taught; it�s a skill. The difficulty is, at the moment, there isn�t a very large cohort of teachers who have those skills. So one of things governments will have to do is legislate and devote resources to training teachers how to do this�We are preparing our children for a future where digital literacy will probably be the only kind of literacy there is.

MA: We seem to be living in a culture of lying. People lie on social media, they lie on their CVs�

MD�A: It�s become easier to lie. Anonymity and physical distance have enabled people to lie. It�s extremely easy on social media to create an entirely illusory self. And people find a kind of therapeutic value in that. Of course it�s enormously dangerous. At its extreme version, it can be used for the most appalling manipulations of children, for instance.

MA: Is it because parents and teachers are not teaching the value of the truth anymore?

MD�A: I don�t think teachers have failed; I just think the task has become infinitely more difficult. It goes back to the whole question of digital literacy. It is terrifying to me that Holocaust denial has become so prevalent again. When you look back at the past 30 years, there was the famous trial of David Irving that was meant to be the great drawing-of-a-line under that: Holocaust denial had been taken to court and destroyed. But it�s still around � and, arguably, reaching more peole than ever because [David Irving] is now an online icon for these people. That�s another reality: with the Internet, nothing is settled; you have to be permanently vigilent.

I think that what will happen, as in years past, is that we�ll see almost a consumerist approach to information, which I think is very sensible. We�ll opt more and more for Kitemarks* and validations: �this website is realiable; you can trust this�. In the UK, you have Which?, the consumer association; for restaurants, you have the Michelin guide. It�s not difficult to establish trusted forms of vetting. I think that bigger and more adventurous examples of that, crowdfunded or even possibly even publicly funded, will be essential, so that there is a Kitemark on the top of websites saying �this website has been judged��. But this requires people to take the time; and the problem is where 10 or 20 years ago you�d be talking about hundreds of media brands, you�re now talking about millions of webpages. That�s the difficulty. But you have to start somewhere, and I think the good can drive out the bad.

Links
OECD Forum 2017
Schools should teach pupils how to spot 'fake news', by Sean Coughlan, BBC, 18 March 2017.

* The British Standards Institution�s Kitemark is a �quality mark [that] confirms that a product or service has been thoroughly tested and checked, time and again, and proven to meet a recognised industry standard or need. It�s a voluntary mark manufacturers and service industries use to demonstrate safety, reliability and quality�.

Photo credit: @shutterstock 

Strike Out Cancer

Last night, our local baseball team had their annual Strike Out Cancer night.  I didn't get to go last year because we were out of town, but the stars aligned this year!



I'm sad this isn't advertised better in the community.  It would be fun to get a bunch of Pink Alliance ladies out here, too.

After the bottom of the 4th inning, they invited cancer survivors and their families and friends to do a walk around the bases, in honor of either yourself or your loved one.  During the walk, they announced the names of survivors.

Finally, we released balloons in the many cancer colors for the honorees.  

Another cool thing:  All the Boobers! had their names on the jerseys that were auctioned off!



It was a pleasant, cloudy July evening, where we could support our fellow survivors and hope for a cure.

Goble that Cancer + Hair + Shoes!!!

My doctor appointment interfered with a swim party, so I left early, letting the boys swim, headed to Dr. G, and went straight back to the pool.  

Things seem to be going well.  My MRI looks good from the radiation oncologist's POV, too.  Dr. G checked my breathing, reflexes, and strength.  He didn't know about my bone infarction, but after I explained, he mentioned what a crazy year it's been for me!  

My only question was if Dr. F should schedule my MRI's, or if he wanted his office to do that.  We discussed it would probably be better for Fleener's office to schedule, so that my other tests could be organized the best.  

As the doctor who told me my hair probably wouldn't grow back, he also noticed that, indeed, it IS GROWING BACK!!!  I shaved it all off a few weeks ago.  It started in slowly....

...and then it kept on growing!  It's all nice and gray, but it's growing!  

Oh, yeah.  Big news:  I wore heels to church for the first time since my bone infarction.  It's a red-letter day!!!  

People on the move: growing mobility, increasing diversity

by Marc Fuster
Consultant, Directorate for Education and Skills

In August 2015, a newspaper published a story about Sam Cookney�s commute to work. Pretty boring, one would think, as long commutes are nothing new for most of us. However, Sam�s story is not so common. He works in London and commutes, several times per month, from Barcelona!

International human mobility is on the rise. Increasing numbers of people are regularly coming and going across borders, and societies are growing increasingly diverse as a result. This raises some important questions. How can we ensure public services are accessible to a more diverse population? How can we ensure that respectful communication across languages and cultures is supported in society? A new Trends Shaping Education Spotlight discusses how education can be harnessed to tackle these questions and other implications of increasing mobility and diversity.

We know that students thrive in learning environments that are supportive of their needs regardless of their linguistic, cultural and ethnic background. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has consistently shown that on average students from migrant backgrounds tend to have lower levels of educational achievement in reading, maths and science. Data from PISA 2015 illustrates the achievement gap in science is above 50 score points on average across OECD countries, although in some countries, such as Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand, no substantial differences are observed.  As argued by the OECD elsewhere, proficiency in the language of instruction at school is crucial for migrant students� academic performance and social integration.

In addition to academic outcomes, attributes such as tolerance, global-mindedness, and skills in collaborative problem solving and communication are of growing importance for individuals to live and work effectively in multicultural settings. All students need opportunities to develop and practice global competence, which refers to the acquisition of in-depth knowledge and understanding of global and intercultural issues; the ability to learn from and live with people from diverse backgrounds; and the attitudes and values that support respectful interactions with others.

Therefore, improving the capacity of teachers to work effectively in diverse classrooms is necessary to respond to student�s needs and facilitate the development of global competence. Teachers need to be able to assess students� prior knowledge and skills, master different instructional approaches, and increase their knowledge of second language development to better support the learning of all pupils. There is a need for professional development in this area: about 13% of participants in the 2013 OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) reported a high level of need for professional development in teaching in multicultural or multilingual settings.

Beyond the classroom, schools can contribute to building an environment that reflects and celebrates diversity by adapting certain cultural and organisational elements. Ensuring equal opportunities for participation in school activities for all students is central to building a culture of non-discrimination. Another approach is to ensure diversity in the schools� staff composition.

Furthermore, many families need support in navigating education system structures to find and harness opportunities to support the development of their children. They may want their children to access mother tongue education programmes, for example, which are available in different forms across many OECD countries. Parents may even directly contribute to these initiatives by undertaking teaching or learning support roles. Actively involving them and the wider community can make a difference.

Finally, education systems need to be flexible to adapt to multiple migration processes and circumstances. This includes voluntary, more temporary migration of workers and students, but also forced mobility resulting from political and environmental conflicts. Education systems need to be responsive and equipped to address the needs of children arriving later than the academic year starts, young adults changing countries in various stages of their education, or those that have left their countries under the most adverse conditions, such as natural disasters, war or persecution.

Perhaps, not many people will voluntarily commute 1200 km as Sam does. Nevertheless, mobility- and diversity-proofing our education systems should be one of our top priorities if we want to give our children an equal opportunity to reach their full potential in our new diverse world.

Links
Trends Shaping Education 2016
Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) 
Immigrant Students at School: Easing the Journey towards Integration
Language in a Better World: Learning for Better Cultural Understanding
Educating Teachers for Diversity: Meeting the Challenge

Join us on Edmodo

Photo credit: Bully symbol for download @shutterstock 

Can bullying be stopped?

by Mario Piacentini
Analyst, Directorate for Education and Skills

The latest PISA in Focus tells some basic facts about bullying. First, bullying is widespread. Second, all types of students � boys and girls, rich and poor � face some risk of being bullied. Third, bullying is strongly associated with low performance and psychological distress. Fourth, the quality of the school climate is related to the incidence of bullying at school.

Reports of bullying are alarmingly high in almost every country. Some 4% of students across OECD countries reported that they are hit or pushed around by other students at least a few times per month. Another 8% of students reported they are hit or pushed a few times per year. Around 8% of students reported that they are frequently the object of nasty rumours in school. Physical bullying is less common among girls, but girls are more often victims of more subtle forms of harassment, such as nasty rumours, that can be just as harmful as more visible types of violence. Recently arrived immigrant students are often the target of bullies.

Bullied students are more likely to underperform at school, and schools where bullying is more frequent perform at much lower levels in PISA than schools where bullying is less frequent, even after accounting for other student characteristics, such as socio-economic status. As in general for analysis based on PISA data, we cannot really talk about a causal impact. However, results from PISA confirm a rich body of evidence showing that the stress experienced by victims of physical or relational bullying can lead to anxiety, and in some cases depression, and makes it very hard for victims to concentrate on school tasks and perform well at school.
 
The basic message is clear: we must do more to reduce bullying in schools. With cyberbullying on the rise, action is more urgent today than it has ever been. But can bullying be stopped? Evidence shows that it is possible to considerably reduce the incidence of bullying. PISA data suggest that environmental factors, such as the attitudes and behaviour of the teaching staff, can influence the extent to which bullying problems will manifest themselves in school. Schools where teachers can keep the class quiet when they teach, and where students perceive they are treated fairly by their teachers, have a lower incidence of bullying than schools with a poor disciplinary climate and negative teacher-student relations. Reducing the incidence of bullying is thus easier in a school environment characterised by warmth, attention and interest from adults; firm limits on unacceptable behavior; and adults who act as authorities and positive role models.

Creating a school culture that helps curb bullying requires a whole-school approach, with co-ordinated engagement among school staff, students and parents. Several of the anti-bullying programmes that have proved to be successful (such as the KiVA initiative in Finland or the School Learning Environment Plan in the Spanish province of Castilla y Leon) include training for teachers on how to handle bullying behaviour and its associated group processes, anonymous surveys of students to monitor the prevalence of bullying, and strategies to provide information to and engage with parents. Programmes also need to be long-term, and frequently monitored and evaluated to be effective.

Bullying will not disappear any time soon; but with a joint effort by schools, parents and students, going to school can become a healthier and happier experience. Public policy can support the implementation of anti-bullying programmes at schools and facilitate more research and evaluations to increase the effectiveness of these programmes.

Links
PISA in Focus No. 74: How much of a problem is bullying at school? 
PISA 2015 Results (Volume III) - Students' Well-Being
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
Follow the conversation on twitter: #OECDPISA

Join our OECD Teacher Community on Edmodo

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H&P #25

I'm changing things up and having treatment on a Thursday.  (My regular schedule for next week would've put me needing treatment while on vacation.  I had a visit with Dr. Fleener first thing.  She again smiled while discussing the results of my latest MRI--it still looks great!  We talked about my vision issues, which have-thankfully-not been too much of a problem since our last appointment.  

"Maybe I'm just getting old and need some reading glasses!" I said.

"You're not old!" was her response.  

I'll see her again in a few weeks to revisit the pill, as long as my body starts to cooperate!

I met a few new patients in the chemo chair today.  The husband of a woman who was getting her first treatment told me, "Just getting to talk to you and hear your story is such a comfort to us.  Thank you for that."

The COMFORT stood out to me, for in my scripture reading a few weeks ago, I came across a verse that stood out to me like it never before had:

For the Lord God shall COMFORT Zion, 

he will COMFORT all her waste places; 

and he will make her wilderness like Eden, 

and her desert like the garden of the Lord.  

JOY and GLADNESS shall be found therein,

thanksgiving and the voice of MELODY.

                                                           2 Nephi 8:3

Obviously, the "Melody" caught my attention, as if He was speaking straight to me.  I was also touched by the testimony that God comforts us in our "waste places."  Whether that be in sickness, hardship, trials, or temptations.  He doesn't take all the bad out of our lives, but comforts us while we are in our wilderness. He can provide enough comfort that walking through our deserts can seem like a plentiful garden.  God offers protection or help to weather the storm, by strengthening our souls and through people He brings into our lives or even through prayers and kindness of strangers. 

Beyond just the comfort to make it through hard times, we can actually have joy and gladness if we strive to find it.  There is always a reason for thanksgiving, even if it might seem small to others.  Honestly, I'm not one of those people who is truly GLAD for cancer.  I wish it didn't have to define my life.  There might be lessons I've learned through the experience that could have been difficult to learn other ways, but even that doesn't make me happy that I have cancer.  I do have gratitude for remission and in the little things.  I can give thanks to God for each day I have to spend with my family.  And, I have felt joy and gladness over more days than I can count.  It's not as if I dance around, smiling and singing, without a care in the world,  all day, every day.  God's comfort has allowed me to see sunshine in the storm and seek out and find the many blessings I have.  That has helped to notice joy and gladness through the pain.  

Although it looks as if I'll never "beat" cancer in this life, there is still hope.  I hope I'll be healthy enough to raise my boys for many years.  I hope I can be a support to others.  I hope for the strength to accomplish daily tasks.  I hope that I can endure whatever challenges come my way.  Hope opens the way for joy, and everyone deserves to feel it.  

(You heard it from the voice of Melodee.)