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VIEWS & OPINION The internet: the good, the


bad, and the ugly Comment by THEODORE PAPPAS, Executive Editor, Encyclopaedia Britannica


For more than 250 years the Britannica Group has compiled and published trusted information. Now we are partnering with social media sites and YouTube to combat the problem of misinformation. Why are we intervening? The volume of


information on the Internet is growing at an exponential rate and shows no sign of slowing down. We have to ask: how much of this content is false, misleading, or even dangerous and what can we do about it? Schools need to take an active role in teaching their students to distinguish fact from opinion and disinformation whilst also identifying providers of researched and proven information. Encyclopaedia Britannica’s nonpartisan freely accessible website


ProCon.org recently asked readers to tell us how much they trust the information they find on the Internet. • Nearly 60 per cent of respondents admitted difficulty in determining if information online was truthful • 43 per cent believed much of the content on the Internet was false • Only 19 per cent believed online information was true • An overwhelming 77 per cent desired a more effective way of


managing and filtering information on the Internet Britannica recently spoke with Jacqui Borteye, who is head of the IT


department at Ghana’s Association International School (AIS). Jacqui told us that she will start the lesson on a particular topic or theme by getting the students to research Britannica Digital for relevant information. Once they have done this, they then go on to the broader Internet including Wikipedia and start to explore the plethora of information on the same topic. It offers a powerful lesson on how to employ critical thinking to vet the information that is presented to them. As Jacqui said, “The safeguard that Britannica offers is the knowledge that it’s authentic, so the students know they can cite any related content in their written work.” We have developed free services such as ‘Britannica Insights’, a browser


extension that brings up trustworthy information, within a search engine, free features like Demystified, which provides revealing answers to common questions such as why are Flamingos pink, and lesson activities including ‘The five ‘W’s of website evaluation’ designed to give students the knowledge to identify legitimate, credible learning content. Of course, we are not the only source of high-quality learning content.


Whatever source of trusted information you use, it is vital that students acquire the skills and habits of mind to separate fact from fiction in any source they look at. Teachers, parents, publishers, and technologists have an active role to


play in stemming this epidemic of fake information. Simple steps might include raising awareness, providing a list of trusted sources and encouraging students to stop for a few seconds to question the information can strengthen critical thinking. But fake news and misinformation do not just stem from corporations


and conspirators. Young people must also take responsibility and ensure that they do not contribute to the problem by posting or sharing anything they haven’t checked out for themselves.


Retaining the 44% - we need to make a change if we are to protect the industry


Comment by ALISON KRIEL, founder of Above & Beyond Education


Recent figures from the NEU showed 44% of teachers could be set to leave the profession by 2027. It’s a shocking figure, but unfortunately one we’ve been able to see coming for some time. Figures from NASUWT’s Teacher


Wellbeing Survey go some way to delving into why so many are looking to leave. Their study found a massive 90% of teachers said they experienced more work-related stress in the year previous. An even more concerning 91% say the job has adversely affected their mental health over the same period - and 64% their physical health. Some of the reasons cited included the conditions, disruption and


changes to teaching methods thrown upon the sector by COVID-19, whilst more than half said growing workloads were a major contributor to worsening mental health. The turmoil of the pandemic was evidently an exceptional set of


circumstances and something few of us could have prepared for, yet it only compounded issues with roots that predate the start of 2020. Workloads have been growing, even before schools had to make the overnight switch to online teaching. Fundamentally, teachers’ time is often


July/August 2022


taken for granted - work extends far longer than the school day, and encroaches well into the school holidays, and finding space for family time or your own wellbeing can feel increasingly out of reach for many. Year on year, teachers are expected to take on greater responsibilities, but only offered the same time frames to meet ever-greater targets. Whilst working days seem to be growing, we’re now in a situation where teachers are earning less than they were 6 years ago, or needing to work second jobs just to get by. And this mounting pressure was evident in my own personal experience


too. In 2014 I absolutely hit a wall - I had a successful school, extraordinary results, all of those things that look good on the surface, but the pressure I was facing meant I became incredibly unwell. It’s not something I would wish on anyone, and it’s a problem we really need to address. We are increasingly hearing the word ‘burnout’ being discussed across


industries, and it’s definitely keenly felt in education. It’s not just a case of feeling tired after a busy few weeks, but a systemic issue that can come at a cost - mentally, physically and financially. It goes beyond mental illness, and can be seen as an occupational psychological injury. Therefore the huge levels of stress faced by teachers, paired with the normalisation of working out of hours can even be considered an issue of workplace health and safety. It's not something we can afford to ignore any longer. It can sound simple in the face of widespread challenges across the


sector, but the power of community and taking time to celebrate one another cannot be overstated. We can all help champion those who come from underrepresented backgrounds, and create safe and inclusive spaces for discussion and support. When people look for advice we can take the time to listen and understand, rather than going in for the attack as can be seen all too often on mainstream social platforms. When we work alongside one another, rather than against each other,


there is so much we can gain. And as the challenges continue to come at schools and teachers from all angles, we must work as a collective to try and rediscover and protect the joy that so many of us find in the job.


www.education-today.co.uk 31


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