Ros Atkins On...

ROS ATKINS: Hello! I'm Ros Atkins. Welcome to BBC Teach. Welcome to the BBC newsroom. You might recognise where I'm sitting because this is precisely the spot where I record my news explainers, which you may have seen.We cover a vast array of subjects, from the war in Ukraine to British politics to climate change to lots of different issues that we know people care a great deal about.And when we set out making these explainers what we're trying to do is to give you all of the essential information so you feel properly informed on whatever the issue or the story is that you want to know more about.And in the last few months we've had some really lovely surprises. We've started hearing from teachers and children from lots of different countries in the world saying they're using our explainers in their classrooms to try and help them understand the news and also discuss the news.

ROS ATKINS: We, er, love seeing these tweets, these messages. Here's one from Melody Smith. She's a teacher in the US, who says – and I'm sure this is slightly overstating it – "Ros Atkins saves the day again explaining the situation in Ukraine way better than I did along with concepts from our last unit." Erm, and we're very grateful to all the teachers who've got in touch.

So we wanted to explore with the help of "BBC Teach" how these videos could be used in the classroom. And I'm joined by the education consultant Michelle Springer. Hi, Michelle. Thanks for coming in.

MICHELLE SPRINGER: Hi!

ROS ATKINS: So, erm, we make quite a few of these videos. How do you think teachers could put them to use?

MICHELLE SPRINGER: Students often come in, you know, knowing about things but not really very much about it. So they see most of their news on, you know, social media, maybe YouTube or Twitter or something, but don't really know exactly what they're-, what they're seeing or what they're-, what they're talking about.And they come in with, you know, bits of misinformation or, you know, half bits of- of knowledge.

And they talk about it amongst themselves. Erm, and really it's the school's duty to try and help them to understand that a bit better.Erm, quite-, it can be difficult at times because even teachers themselves might not understand fully, you know, the news story, especially when it's just broken. Erm, and something like the Ukraine war, for example, we, erm, might have had a- a difficult job explaining to- to students, erm, impartially, exactly what was happening, trying to go through everything.

Erm, and so for schools as a whole it-, they provide a really useful way of making sure that- that there's a-, there's a- a universal or a- a general, erm, equal way of seeing things, not just from the point of view of individual teachers.

ROS ATKINS: Now, one of the videos you wanted us to highlight was one we made recently about the government's Rwanda policy, which ties into its immigration policies. Let's have a look at the beginning of that one.

CAPTION V/T: Ros Atkins on… The Rwanda asylum seekers plan (June 2022)

ROS ATKINS V/T: In April the UK government announced a new immigration policy.

CAPTION V/T: Priti Patel MP, Home Secretary

PRITI PATEL V/T: Those who travel to the UK by illegal and dangerous routes, including by small boats across the Channel, may be relocated to Rwanda where they will have their asylum claims considered.

ROS ATKINS: Now, Michelle, you were suggesting that teachers could just stop the video right there after the first clip. Why was that?

MICHELLE SPRINGER: Well, I think that it's-, it highlights a particular part of this policy that students will have an opinion on, and they can start by talking about their views on it but also identify pros and cons straight away.And I think you then go on to explain a little bit more about the story, which can help them to also formulate their own views and also understand how you might take a bit of information and start to look at it critically.

ROS ATKINS: Well, one of the bits of information that we looked critically at in the case of one of our videos was a Sun headline which related to, er, a police investigation into a gathering that the l-, the opposition leader Keir Starmer attended.

CAPTION: THE SUNKeir Starmer enjoys beer with Labour workers despite lockdown rules banning indoor social gatherings1 May 2021

ROS ATKINS: Here's a headline from The Sun newspaper where they say "Keir Starmer enjoys beer with Labour workers despite lockdown rules banning indoor social gatherings." And that was one of many different sources we used in our video.And I guess it's perhaps useful for- for pupils and- and teachers to think about why we've used different sources in different ways.

MICHELLE SPRINGER: Yeah, it definitely is. I think throughout all of your videos and throughout the explainers they- they use different kinds of information, so clips from the BBC but also headlines from different types of newspapers and social media.And so students can look at that and, erm, with the help of teachers, think about what kind of stories are perhaps more- more accurate than others or what kinds of things that they're reading are fact and what- what things are opinion, look at the language in those things, and start to really analyse how the news is presented.

ROS ATKINS: There's also, I guess, a- a broader question of fairness, which- which connects to impartiality, which is we're always trying to think, whoever the protagonists are in a particular story or issue, have we fairly represented their perspective on a story.

MICHELLE SPRINGER: Mm, and impartiality is really important. And certainly in the-, in the citizenship curriculum, but across the- the school, across education, one of the things we're trying to teach students is how to see different people's points of view.Erm, and so one activity that they might do is to think about the different players in a situation and what their different needs might be, what their different views might be, and then-, and then work through that in groups or together as a class, and then they'll be able to watch and- and also see how you do it.And I guess that's something that you have-, you think quite a lot about when you-, when you do those, is it? [laughs]

ROS ATKINS: Yeah, we spend-, we spend an awful lot of time thinking about it because one of our, you know, core missions is to help people watching understand the perspectives of the deep-, different people in- inside a story.So here's one example. Recently we covered the- the rail workers' strike, organised by the RMT Union, one of the biggest strikes of its type for a generation.And at the heart of the debate about the merits of this strike or otherwise was the issue of inflation, the rise in the cost of living and how that connects to how much people should be paid.Now, the unions and the government, well, they both agreed that inflation was an issue but they'd both drawn quite different conclusions about what to do about it. Have a look.

CAPTION V/T: Ros Atkins on… Why rail strikes are happening (June 2022)

UNION REP: Our members haven't had a pay rise for up to three years. So, inflation is now 11.1% on the RPI scale. There's two years ahead of that where they've not had a pay deal. They are getting poorer.

ROS ATKINS V/T: No, in May 2019 the RMT did secure a pay deal for some of its members. As for inflation, it is high. But Boris Johnson says that's a reason to show restraint.

BORIS JOHNSON V/T: If wages continually chase the increase in prices then we risk a wage-price spiral.

CAPTION: FINANCIAL TIMES"When workers demand pay rises to match higher living costs – and [then] companies raise prices to protect their margins – in a repeating, self-fulfilling process"

ROS ATKINS V/T: The FT defines a wage spiral as when workers demand pay rises to match higher living costs, and then companies raise prices to protect their margins, to protect their profits, in what the FT calls "a repeating, self-fulfilling process."

CAPTION: "Energy prices are pushing up inflation – not wages"Trades Union Congress (TUC)

ROS ATKINS V/T: Now, unions counter this idea, arguing that energy prices are pushing up inflation, not wages. And while that analysis is contested, the government accepts wages, in this case, should rise.

CAPTION: Simon Clarke MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury

SIMON CLARKE MP V/T: No one is suggesting there's some kind of pay freeze required here. We all want to see a sensible pay increase.

ROS ATKINS: And that's-, I-, you know, one of quite a few examples I could give you of where we've tried to explain not who's right or wrong but why different actors, different protagonists within a story are doing what they're doing.

MICHELLE SPRINGER: And I think that's really important for the subject areas that s-, that students are- are learning about. So, you know, they might do those kinds of things in politics, or citi- citizenship, but in English, or any of the geography, any of the different subjects that they're studying, but it's also just a really key life skill, isn't it, the kind of, you know, being able to watch the news, being able to look at different sources and- and- and think about, you know, whose perspe- perspective it's being presented from or whether there are other perspectives that might be… that might impact on that or that- that they should be considering.So I think it's- it's a really good way of- of helping students to- to form those life skills too, and their digital literacy, and critical thinking in particular.

ROS ATKINS: And actually when I'm making them I often think about GCSE and A-level English and history where often you were being asked to see a story or see an experience through the perspective of one person or one party or one organisation or another. And actually the- the things we're trying to do here are- are quite similar to that.

MICHELLE SPRINGER: And I think with that- that storytelling also comes the w-, how you use evidence. So, often you're doing that as well, bringing in some of the other things.And you said in history. And in history, of course, they have to use sources all the time. And in their writing and in their- their work they're supposed to take all that information, put it together in some way, draw conclusions, and- and use evidence well.And so even just watching these, even if it's not specifically for the story that you're talking about, just for the- the way that it's structured, is also a really useful way of- of doing that.And in media too, that the students studying media at GCSE and A-level often have to think about things, not just the content but the way that it's formatted.

So, I guess that's another thing that- that you work on as well, the way that you put it all together in a-, in a package that's kind of short and concise.

ROS ATKINS: Yeah, we have a lot of different techniques, essentially, we're using to pass on information or pass on explanation.And I always think it's – I sometimes do this with my daughter, who's doing GCSEs at the moment, is to say, well, let's look at the different techniques we can use to make an argument or to explain something or to introduce some information.And perhaps there's a fun exercise to see what manoeuvres I'm using. Certainly one I would emphasise. You highlighted the Rwanda video and how I set up the policy right at the start. And we often do that.We introduce at the very beginning, well, this is precisely what we're talking about. Another thing I always try and do is at the end of the videos leave you with a thought that's sufficiently punchy and clear that you can take it away. So here's one example of how we try and do that.

CAPTION: Ross Atkins on: Why rail strikes are happening (June 2022)

ROS ATKINS V/T: There are profound tests, for the government and its stated commitment to a high-wage economy, for Labour and its relationship with the unions, for the rail employers and their efforts to run a business with changing travel habits, and for the union and the leverage it has to serve its members. Something is gonna have to give.

ROS ATKINS: And that's one example. I'll let the- the children and the teachers judge whether I'm doing it well or not. But what I'm trying to do at the end of these videos is to pull together the different strands that we've explored into- into one conclusion that you can kind of take away and which perhaps provides a framework with which you can see the whole issue.

MICHELLE SPRINGER: Yes. And I think also, as you're-, as you're progressing towards that point, there are lots of interesting techniques along the way that students can look for and- and-, or teachers can point out to them.Things like referring back to- to what you said before, and then how you move along the argument as you go, and like we said before, how you use evidence to support the things that you're saying.

ROS ATKINS: Thanks for coming in. It's great to speak to you.

MICHELLE SPRINGER: Thanks!

ROS ATKINS: It's very exciting to think of these videos being used in the classroom. Thanks for your help with that.

MICHELLE SPRINGER: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks.

ROS ATKINS: Hopefully, er, more people having listened to Michelle will be able to use our explainers in the classroom. Certainly it makes our day when we hear from teachers and pupils to hear that they're being used in a range of different ways to understand what's happening in our world.And if you do wanna let us know how you're using our explainers, by all means get in touch via Twitter or via email.But for the moment, thanks very much for using BBC Teach, and we'll see you soon.