The Big Sort and Political Misinformation

Reminders:

1. I am caught up on grading!  Check the gradebook to see if you are missing anything.  If you have questions, come see me.  Remember, if you were missing a bunch of starters, you cannot make them up at this point.
2. Tests should be graded by Monday.  No test corrections on these!  The grades stand.

 
INTRO:
Transitioning into Model Senate!  General timeline…

1. A few weeks looking at political parties/positions/values and the question, “Is Congress Broken?”
2. We’ll also do senator assignments during this time
3. Issue Studies: Overview of each issue, followed by party caucuses to determine the general guidelines for your legislation.  Issues we'll tackle this year are:  Climate change/energy policy, College loans/tuition, and Immigration.
4. Writing legislation, consulting with experts, revising legislation
5. Parly pro practice
6. Model Senate! (2-3 days, end of November)

 
Big Questions for Today:  

1. How much do truth and fact matter in political opinions?
2. How do different cognitive biases and other trends impact the information we’re exposed to and how we react to it?

 
Starter 20: Bill Bishop interview on Daily Show 
Watch the video of author Bill Bishop talking about the Big Sort (note…the data in this interview is old, but more recent research has actually shown that not only is what he talks about still happening, it’s actually gotten more pronounced!)

1. What’s the Big Sort?  Describe it in as much detail as possible.
2. How do you see the big sort in Durango?  In your own life?  Think about the lifestyle markers he talks about, and what lifestyle markers you see around you!  Try to give specific examples.

 
Big Sort Brainstorm

1. Data old, but still relevant
2. In your group, brainstorm all the ways we are sorted- make the list as big as possible
3. Make a BIG list on the whiteboard
4. How does being sorted that way impact the information you take in?  Your political views?

 
Power of Political Misinformation

1. Read it
2. Highlight/underline phrases/words that particularly strike you.
3. With your partner, summarize the main ideas and findings
4. Quickwrite:  How much do you think this applies to you?  Explain.

 
Group Discussions
Could let the class vote here on if they want to do small group discussions or large class seminar style

1. What is the main source where you get information about the world?  What perspective does that source show you?
2. What is “the Big Sort?”  How do you see it in your own life? 
3. What is the message of the article “The Power of Political Misinformation?”  How does it connect to you?  Do you see this trend?
4. How does “The Power of Political Misinformation” connect to the Big Sort? 
5. How do both of these articles/concepts connect to naïve cynicism?
6. What implications do these articles have for democracy?
7. Is there a way around the problems these articles pose?  Are there solutions, or are we doomed to a misinformed life in a bubble?
8. How does this connect to the debate?  To what you observe in politics and our community today?

 
Debate FactCheck (IF TIME)
Okay, let’s turn our attention to the debate.  We’re not going to watch it in here, but we are going to look at a factcheck.  Some fact checking sites are better than others.  Factcheck.org is my favorite, because they source their checks, and give an in-depth analysis.  Here’s what you need to do:

1. Discuss with your Partner:  How important do you think it is that political candidates are truthful?  Why?
2. Go here:  http://www.factcheck.org/2016/09/factchecking-the-first-debate/
3. First, read the summary.
4. Now, choose ONE example from each candidate.  Choose the one that you think is most severe/important.
5. Scroll down, and find the in-depth analysis for each of the examples you chose.
6. Read those two examples
7. Discuss:  In your small groups or with your partners, discuss the following questions:
   1. What did you learn from the FactCheck website?
   2. What role do you think the media should play in terms of fact-checking candidates?
   3. How does this connect to the Big Sort?  To Political Misinformation article?
   4. How much fact-checking do YOU do of candidates (especially of those you agree with)?  Talk about why/how.

 
HOMEWORK:  None!