Bias

I was talking to one of the sixth grade teachers at school the other day about writing. She told me about a unit they are doing on persuasive writing. As part of the unit, the class looks at bias in news reporting. The kids learn how to identify examples of bias in the articles and really examine what constitutes objectivity and balanced reporting. As part of the exercise, they take a series of articles and rate them according to their levels of objectivity and bias. The teacher related a surprising discovery. All of the kids were able to identify the article that presented the most objective treatment of the subject. They were also able to identify which articles were biased and what the author's goal was in presenting the facts in a less than balanced way. So far, so good. But here is the really interesting part. When the teacher asked the kids which article they most trusted and would choose if they needed information on the subject, almost all of the kids chose the biased article that most closely supported their own point of view. They rejected the article that they themselves had determined to be the most objective in favor of the one that affirmed their personal beliefs. Hhhhmmmmmm. Wow, that explains some things. Like the popularity of left/right wing talk shows,talking heads, and my firm belief that butter, sugar, and cream--prepared properly--is actually good for you. As early as sixth grade, we don't want truth--we just want to be right.