Dr. Chang on media literacy, civic readiness, and Future Ready NYC

Yeah.

So, Chair, I think this particular point, the dramatic pause around individualized, is extremely important, right?

At no point in time do we ever want for there to be any tool that shortcuts thinking that our students are doing.

We know that they have to do that.

I know you don't want there to be.

I'm not asking what you want.

I'm asking what the policies are in place because we want the same thing.

I don't think you don't.

I just want to be clear on that.

And I want to answer your question about digital literacy because you are correct.

State law requires that we are thinking about media literacy.

We're teaching for accuracy, biases, and facts.

Back in whether that's the Internet or Wikipedia, as students are writing their research papers,

it is a part of the curriculum that teachers are really thoughtful about engaging students in details about how we write research papers, how we're defending our facts and our citing where our work is coming from.

And so New York State Department of Education is actively updating that guidance to specifically require information around use of artificial intelligence.

And we are working with our higher education partners to learn together with them how we're addressing this particular issue about teaching not only, I would say, artificial intelligence literacy,

but I would also argue that there's a real civic readiness that we have to be prepared for.

Because as AI really infiltrates and our work is going to be more and more

works into our entire society, it is dramatically shaping how we are confronting

facts, how we're engaging in discourse, and it is extremely important that when we want our students to become leaders in our society, that they're working closely

with each other, with researchers, with our teachers, to be able to learn about this information and to be able to use it appropriately that is enhancing what it is that they're learning inside the classroom.

I love everything you said about what our students need to learn, what our teachers need to do, except

that you don't need to wait for state guidance to do it.

You are empowered as the Department of Education to determine what goes into our classrooms.

There are limitations and requirements, yes, but you have programs all the time.

You have civics for all week, and you spend just a week on it.

Just a week on civics to highlight what's going on perhaps through the year, but you have no...

In no way are we saying that we are waiting for the state to do that.

I said that we were collaborating with state ed to make sure that that guidance is updated.

We have tremendous examples of what is happening across our schools.

You have examples.

I know you do.

And I know you do, and I've seen it, and I've spoken to it.

I want to thank you for help setting up those meetings about discussing the seal of civic readiness.

There are incredible things going on in our schools.

And it seems time and time again.

You sometimes provide support for that and you celebrate it, but there doesn't seem to be.

an expectation that all of these wonderful things you're talking about happen in our schools.

And it does not seem to be a clear evaluative tool to ensure that even if you do expect it in our schools, that our teachers and our students are engaging in this type of learning, the very type of learning.

Trust me, I know you know, and I know that we need

in a society so now that seems so like at each other's throats that we absolutely need civics education, absolutely need digital literacy, but it is your job to ensure that this is happening in our school, not just provide the opportunity.

As a supervising superintendent that works with our high schools, that is helping to ensure successful implementation of Future Ready NYC, as one example where

we are working with industry partners, with our teachers, with college professors to make sure that is a key component.

And it is data that we are monitoring as part of our instructional work to make sure that students are prepared for this.

I'm going to turn it over to Councilmember Maloney for questions.