In this era of increased connectivity, many trends are on the rise. From memes to fidget spinners and to viral lottery winners, one devastating trend has been surging recently: fake news. It is becoming increasingly hard to find an unbiased source of news and information these days and Gianfranco Rosi proved himself worthy of the challenge. His documentary, Fire at Sea, offers a different perspective of one of the most morally challenging topics of the century. Fire at Sea should definitely be included in the high school curriculum because it encourages students to think for themselves, explore the issues that are happening in the world around them, and will help them gain critical literacy skills.
In the wake of the 2016 United States presidential elections, it has become commonplace to hear campaign slogans and political opinions thrown around the halls of Highland high school – the local high school I attend. Most of the time, it almost seems like students are just regurgitating what they have heard from their favorite movie stars, celebrities, or the dinner table without putting much research into the issues at hand – I, personally, am guilty of doing so too. The recent events have surely left an impact on youth and sparked an interest in politics. However, most in-class discussions about the unfolding political events have been heavily
…show more content…
1. Texts Illustrating the Complexity, Quality, and Range of Student Reading 6–12 (California State Board of Education, 78).
Moreover, only one of the California high school standards required literary texts was published in the twenty-first century. (see fig.1) However, it is important to supplement students with recent information that can stimulate their interest in their education and engage the students. Fire at Sea would be the perfect educational resource to allow students to reflect on the changes over time around the world and would be the perfect accessory to their newly-gained knowledge of history and