Jacqueline did a yeoman's job (ok, yeoperson's) in tracking down the =
rumor. But we can extend the piece of 'being a critical
consumer'. This started on a somewhat political note, I'll try to be =
careful and return back to school oriented example later.
Though with two fairly politically aware HS kids at home, I could well =
imagine this topic becoming a research paper or informed
opinion piece...
Yes, the exaggerated bits of the rumor (barring passage to Canada, etc) =
were disproved. However, the bill is sitting in committee.
Want to do some research on how long or quickly it could take to land on =
a president's desk? And an Ebsco search for "Selective
Service" board AND volunteer And 2004 brings up several newspaper, =
magazine, and Congressional Digest articles. Many don't
specifically cite their source ('Selective Service officials...') while =
others cite names. Such as these quotes in the 06/07/2004
Chicago Tribune article by Michael Kilian: "Asked at a Pentagon town =
meeting with military personnel last month if there would be a
draft after the election, Rumsfeld replied: "I don't think so." And "Lt. =
Col. Franklin Childress, spokesman for the Army's personnel
branch, ....
He added, however, "You never know what's going to happen in the =
future." (title: New Troop Strengthening Measures Fuel Persistent
Rumors of Draft's Return).
This is just one or two searches in a single general database. I'd =
imagine a really curious person (especially one in cohouts with
librarians who really knew their resources) could come up with a lengthy =
list of names and quotes on the topic to start a more
serious investigation. And what part of the reporter's notes or =
observations didn't make the story or past the editor?
So often, our research is for the one fact, the one statement. We don't =
always look at the sum total of the available information
and look at the bigger picture. And the 'find 5 resources' assignment =
doesn't entail the depth that further digging would provide.=20
So, have any of the quoted sources said anything more?, Are the quoted =
sources reliable and consistent? Taking a basic bit of
information from any one article, does it fit to the general pattern of =
information?, There was a surge of stories in a couple of
months, did the story just not 'gain traction' or did reporters not =
continue to pursue it, looking for something more headline
producing?, Do budget allocations for this and next year seem in line =
with previous years?, Any articles out there discussing the
other articles?, Are the quotes reliable?, Dig around in transcripts, =
anything thing there?. Note that the FactCheck.org site only
cites 2 newspaper articles, was very recently modified and we don't know =
what was changed, quotes only one available Rumsfeld
source, and is basically a persuasive piece. And I like FactCheck.org!
If a kid were in the library doing a report on child abuse for health =
class, we would work with them to find a reliable source of
statistics. That may entail comparing 2-3 places. We'd look for some =
resources that other people cite (ie, weblinks and 'further
reading' from the encyclopedia article). Trying to compile a list of =
probable causes might require looking a several lists and
looking for commonalities and asking about the outliers. Trying to group =
various causes into categories would kick us up the Bloom
ladder. Or has someone already looked at doing that?=20
OK, I tried to come up with some 'skeptical bone' and Vioxx witticism, =
but I'm probably in enough trouble.
And I do agree, our jobs become more important every year. We are no =
longer only the storers nor the getters of information, we
should be providing the tools needed to help all learn importance of, =
and the tools needed, to be critical consumers of information.
Robert Eiffert, Librarian
Pacific Middle School, Vancouver WA
Pac.egreen.wednet.edu/library
Beiffert at egreen wednet edu
Beiffert at Comcast net
Jacqueline Henry wrote (heavily snipped):
> So - I have learned my lesson. I defintely should know better. I =
know
> that a .org is NO guarantee of reliable information. I DID fact check
> the existence of the bill - but I should have gone much further and
> checked the other allegations. It will be a very good example to =
share
> with my students. And it raises my concern again about how easy it is
> to fall into the trap of misinformation.
>=20
> Our jobs get more important every year.
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