Reliable Sources, Even in Spanish Class

If you let kids loose on the Internet and ask them to summarize what they learned, be prepared for absurd responses. In It must be true, I read it on the Internet: Elusive 'tree octopus' proves how gullible web generation is, Donald Leu recounts how students were convinced that wrong information was correct and then shared that information with others.

It is important to reiterate to students that not everything on the Internet is true, even in Spanish class. Students need to check multiple, reliable sources to validate and information. In Spanish class, students should learn about the conquest from the perspectives of  the conquistadors and also from the native people that the Spaniards encountered. Both recount history in very different ways. Christopher Columbus (actually his name was Cristóforo Colombo, and then Cristobal Colón ) reports his own biases about the Taíno people in his diary to the king and queen of Spain. Teachers, ask students, "What was Colón's purpose in writing a diary to the king and queen of Spain? What did he want?" Decedents of the Tainos, historians and scientists and recount different versions of what happened. Ask students, "Who is the author and what are his resources?" Students also need to evaluate the author's purpose, read reports from multiple sources and perspectives, and draw their own conclusions.

Unfortunately, misleading or bias reports may lead to bullying and racism that leads to generations of oppression. Here is how some modern day indigenous people reacted to the celebration of Columbus Day. Requiring students to draw their own conclusions after researching information from varying sources is not just higher order thinking, but also responsible citizenship.