by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…)
Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com
Train up a child…
Can Kids Tell Facts from Opinions?
It is too bad that many adults don’t seem to be able to discern facts from opinions. Learning to do so can begin in childhood. It is interesting to observe that many times children seem to be more adept than adults in recognizing truth and facts from opinion. Unfortunately, sometimes they lose this ability as they grow older. When individuals cannot discern opinion from fact, their picture of society becomes skewed.
Textbooks in schools often include sections addressing facts vs. fiction and facts vs. opinion. Often teachers hesitate to use limited time to address this important aspect of learning. There are things parents and others working with children can do to enhance this ability in children. Adults need to be alert to opportunities in everyday conversation to draw attention to what is fact and what is opinion. Wise use of questions can require children to use facts to back up their own opinions. Discussion of conversations of acquaintances and news programs can draw attention to the need of careful scrutiny of information presented.
It is easy to glibly go about our activities and not pay attention to what children are saying. We mistakenly think “they will grow out of it” when we actually do listen and hear things that are not accurate. We need to be more alert and “jump in” at opportune times to point out the difference in fact and opinion when we hear children talking about something. General statements need to be broken down and analyzed to help children see truth. It is easy to say, “That teacher is no good!” Children often say this when they are having a hard time with some work. In such cases, adults need to require children to be detailed and give facts to support the claim. Sometimes a child simply needs to be told, “That is your opinion. Perhaps other children think differently.” Since the child will probably give only negative information, positive facts should be used to counter what the child says to show both sides. Children express opinions very often. Finding an opportunity to work with the child on facts should not be difficult.
The value of using questions with children cannot be overemphasized. Questions require thinking. When opinions are expressed, a good question to use is, “What are the facts you are using to back up your opinion?” Another question to use is, “Where did you get your information?” Still another is “Is the source of your information dependable?” “Can you think of some facts that people may use to form a different opinion?” is yet another good question. This forces the child to look at the other side.
School age children should watch some news on TV each day, but it should be screened first. Parents need to discuss the news with the children to help them see the difference between facts and opinions of the reporters. In addition, opinions expressed by friends of the family should be discussed and facts presented.
In my opinion, it is impossible for reporters and others to be completely void of expressing opinion no matter how hard they try. It is like requiring a person to change his/her basic makeup to expect complete impartiality. Even though a reporter may not say words to favor a certain point of view, there is still the matter of choice as to what is actually reported. Body language often speaks louder than the words spoken. Individuals may simply ignore what they do not like and emphasize the news that fits their opinions. It is so very important that children learn to decide for themselves the difference between facts and opinion.