Lawmakers again introduce measures to strengthen civic education and media literacy

Hawaii lawmakers are renewing efforts to help students identify fake news and improve their understanding of how government works.

One proposal calls for schools to implement programs to combat misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.

Another would fund two full-time civics teachers within the state Department of Education.

A third would require the Capitol Public Access Room to create an outreach and engagement program for the DOE and the University of Hawaii.

State Rep. Amy Perruso said she would introduce the bills with other lawmakers. She noted that this topic has been a concern for some time.

“For me, the stakes are high because we already run the risk that people will not be able to see beyond the half-truths, the misinformation and critically analyze what is really happening around power and politics,” she said. “Not just in Hawaii, but on a broader scale.”

Measures on this issue failed in the last legislative session.

The renewed efforts come after the November elections and the mockery statewide youth elections.

Kids Voting Hawaiʻi recently revealed results that show Donald Trump received more votes than Kamala Harris. However, students largely voted for Democrats in other races and were more progressive in their election issues.

Sophia Howell, a junior at Punahou School, said some students might have voted based on their name and what they saw on social media.

“When I think back to myself, in 2016, I was in third grade,” she said. “So the media has been dominated by Donald Trump ever since, while Kamala Harris entered the fray 100 days before the election. In comparison, there isn’t much time between it and the elections.”

“The second reason is its involvement in non-traditional media spaces,” she continued. “One of his campaign strategies was to reach young people through podcasts, through social media, and I think he did that very effectively. Young people may simply have had more access to his positions on issues and aligned with his views.

Civic education in the age of modern technology

Brooke Nasser, an English and journalism teacher at Kalani High School, pointed out that society lives in a technology-dependent age. When she recently surveyed two classes, her students couldn’t give her the definition of civic engagement.

“You can’t introduce technology to students without also teaching them digital and media literacy,” she said. “The extent and scope of media literacy teaching depends on the school, the teacher and the subject, so there is no universal guideline on how this teaching is delivered. “

She said it varies between schools in terms of the amount of media literacy and civics taught to students.

“When students understand bias, misinformation or disinformation, and when they have the skills to recognize them, they naturally become more civically engaged,” she said. “They want to be informed. They want facts.

“They can’t vote yet, but they understand that they can debate issues, that they can volunteer, that their time and energy can be devoted to causes they care about,” he said. she continued.

The Pew Research Center found that 4 in 10 young adults get their news from TikTok.

Donna Phillips, president and CEO of the California-based Center for Civic Education, cited at least six states that require information literacy standards in their education.

“We have experienced several decades of federal policies that have deprioritized social studies and civics education throughout history,” she said. “I think we see the negative consequences of that when we start to see national results on the NAEP assessment from people who don’t know what our three branches are and why we should vote.”

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a national report card that measures knowledge in a given subject area.

According to the 2022 NAEP Civics Assessmentonly 49% of responding students across the country reported having a course focused on civics or American government.

Phillips said states like Arizona, California, New York and Virginia have civic seals for diplomas. Schools may recognize high school graduates who have demonstrated an understanding of civic knowledge and participation. Phillips said Hawaii is working to get its seal.

She stressed that it is important to teach students civics and information in primary school.

“If we’re reaching them right when they’re already teenagers and they haven’t had a good civics education earlier, then it’s a really hard sell,” she said.