Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again. So today, we're going to talk about

TikTok, World War III, and harnessing the correction. I got a question from a teacher that I think

might be useful for people trying to not only promote critical thinking, which is what the question is about,

but also those trying to combat sensationalism. Here's the question. I am a public high school teacher

in Redacted Name of Community. I teach in one of the poorest zip codes in the country. I am just finishing up my 17th year at my school, and I love my job.

I encourage my students to be curious, to question everything, even me.

As I observe them navigating a world that virtually discourages the empowerment of critical thinking. I strive to

cultivate a sense of wonder and inquiry. They so often come into class with half-heard truth.

They heard on TikTok or Instagram. So much of what I do is pushing them to at the very least vet sources.

So this all leads to my question. What should I tell my students when they ask me if we're about to enter World War III?

I want to validate their concerns, while at the same time encouraging calm measured evaluation.

Harness the power of correction.

Another byproduct of a society that is populated by people who are more often getting

their validation via social media is the desire to not be corrected by their peers and the

desire to correct others. Specifically

with the idea of World War III, there's a couple of things. First, their worry probably

isn't a concern about a world war exactly. Their concern is war in general and specifically

a large war.

But we'll come back to that in a minute.

You want to validate their concerns.

Makes sense.

Is there a risk of war?

...