Why Schools Need to Equip Students with Critical Reading Skills

The riots that we saw recently up and down the country following the horrific murders of three girls in Southport were shocking and senseless. They were also a timely reminder of how dangerous misinformation can be; how posts you see on social media, in particular, cannot necessarily be trusted, and how destructive a ‘gang/mob’ mentality is.

It also pushed sharply into focus how important it is to assess the things you read or hear in a critical way before believing everything.

This is why it is vital that schools equip students with critical reading skills.

The Danger of Misinformation

The dictionary definition of ‘misinformation’ is as follows: ‘false or inaccurate information, especially that which is deliberately intended to deceive.’

Immediately following the Southport attack, misinformation spread online about the attacker. It was said that he was an asylum seeker. That he was a Muslim, and that he had come over to Britain by boat. A false name was also posted online.

All of this, of course, proved to be untrue. However, the damage was already done.

The day after the attack in Southport, rioters took to the streets of the town. An angry mob attacked a local mosque, causing serious damage to its wall.

Elsewhere in the town, a Mini Mart was targeted. It would seem that the only reason this particular shop was attacked was because its owner was an immigrant – a man of Sri Lankan heritage. The shop was bricked and then looted with £10,000 worth of stock stolen.

Similar violence spread across various towns with Muslim communities, hotels housing asylum seekers, and immigrants in general becoming the main targets. In the ensuing days looting and damage to property also became widespread. Gangs and mobs set cars on fire and fought nightly battles with police.

The aftermath of the destruction

More than 150 people have already been sentenced for offences relating to the riots. The majority have been sent to prison with the average jail term being two years. Several young people have also been sent to Young Offenders Institutions.

Communities have come together in a remarkable way to repair the damage done by the riots. Similarly, several fundraisers have been set up. For example, a carer in Middlesbrough (an immigrant) returned home from a 12-hour shift to find his car burnt out and overturned. The fundraiser was set up to buy him a replacement vehicle raised more than £65,000.

The Need for Critical Reading

It would be wrong to blame all the recent unrest on misinformation spread on social media. It is clear that there is a sizeable number of people across the country who hold a strong anti-immigration sentiment.

However, it is undeniable that it was the misinformation that spread online that sparked the riots. Furthermore, there have been countless further examples of misinformation all over social media platforms in the last few weeks.

For example, a community library that was attacked in Liverpool. One ‘reason’ cited for the attack was the ‘fact’ that children’s reading books had been replaced with copies of the Quran. Of course, this was complete nonsense and not true at all.

Elsewhere online, certain posts claimed that there were 2 million asylum seekers currently staying in British hotels. The most recent official data is for September 2023 and the figure stands at 56,000.

All of this shows just how important it is for schools to teach young people that social media may disproportionately feature exaggerated or inaccurate information.

It is important that students are given strategies to critically assess the bias, reliability and accuracy of what they read online.