Years before I attended and graduated from law school, what most people do not know about me is that I worked as a high school social studies teacher in South Philadelphia. It was an all-girls Catholic high school and I tried to teach practical lessons my students could carry with them after graduation.
The course, as these programs do, had a text which, in this case, was a small paperback book, almost a pamphlet, but somewhat more. It still had the tinge of Cold War slant in discussing current and more recent events and definitely had some opinions regarding what happened regarding specific events and why.
My students, understandably, did not pay much attention to the text since I also did not and instead relied more often on course materials and open discussion.
One day I told my sixth period class to bring in the book which they did and we read a portion of a chapter with description of an event. I then told them to put the text away under their desk and I opened by saying “Now, I am going to tell you what really happened” and proceeded to provide further information and context which substantially changed the understanding described in the textbook.
One of my students raised her hand and asked “Mrs. Colliton, do you mean to say that someone could publish a book and the information could not be true?” The innocence of that question still haunts me today. I think I know what she meant. She thought that armies of fact checkers were at work validating their sources and providing context and, while it is true that some publications work that way some do not.
I responded to her “If there is nothing else you learn in this class I want you to learn this…” meaning that additional information is always needed to validate what is stated. Information is not whatever you want to believe and perspective needs to be taken into account — a lesson that is especially important in today’s social media environment where anyone can be quoted and almost anything can be stated as fact and has been. This cheapening of information affects our decision making and can cause us to believe things that are obviously and manifestly untrue.
Although I do not often say this I note that, on a regular basis when preparing my columns, I check and recheck information before presenting it as “the truth.” I read original statutes and regulations to make sure they say what they are reported as saying. When I do not find at least two reliable sources for information I do not rely on information provided. I ask where people got their information and how they validated it. When I read something on social media or in publications I look to see what individual or organization generated the information and what interest or slant is given to the discussion as a result. Who issued the statement? What was the purpose? It does not mean necessarily that the information is incorrect but it places it in context and might explain why it was described in that way.
I think it would be a good idea if high school and later courses were taught in this way, where possible. I also think it would be good to approach information in this way for the public as a whole. If information is examined critically and either discounted or validated based on facts there could be much less conflict and greater understanding among groups.
There is another motivation behind my thoughts that is personal. Several years ago when I struck out on my own as an attorney I was fortunate enough to have Rotary friends and one of them invited me to join. It has provided support to me and others like me over the years and builds bridges among groups. The Rotary Four Way Test that is accepted worldwide states “Is it the Truth?” “Is It Fair to All concerned?” “Does It Build Good Will and Better Friendships?” “Is It Beneficial To All Concerned?” I remember it begins with “Is it the Truth?”
I wonder sometimes what experiences my sophomore high school student later had. I hope her high school experience and that of her classmates helped her to examine her sources and build bridges with others.
Janet Colliton is a Certified Elder Law Attorney approved as a specialty under the American Bar Association and the Pa. Supreme Court and limits her practice to elder law, retirement, life care, special needs, and estate planning and estate administration with offices at 790 East Market St., Suite 250, West Chester, 610-436-6674, [email protected]. She is a member of the National Academy and Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, co-founder of Life Transition Services LLC, a service for families with long term care needs.
