Jackson Jambalaya

We teach students how to give speeches. Actually, we teach them a lot more than that, but at the end of the semester each student must give an informative and a persuasive speech which must be 5-7 minutes long.

Informative speeches this semester included “How forensic science helps to solve crimes,” “Reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park,” and “How neurolink works.” Persuasive speeches included “Improving public transportation infrastructure,” “Juveniles shouldn’t be tried as adults,” and “Making a fake topic along with fake facts.”

The student who spoke about reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone set up his classmates to fall for his persuasive speech about the decline of the “Red Bellied Lion.” His real topic was about dangers of fake news.

Joe began his speech, “Imagine that you are a young Red Bellied Lion. You are just now getting to learn to hunt, you get to play with your siblings, and get loved on by your mom. You spend your days trying to catch bugs and lounging in the sun. All of a sudden, a hunter appears and shoots your mother and captures you and your siblings in a net. You watch as you're dragged away from not only your family but life as you know it.

“You are sold to a circus where you experience cruel training so humans can laugh and watch you jump through hoops and stand on high platforms. You are kept in a dirty pen and only get fed just enough to keep your ribs from showing. Your life is a living hell.”

Joe had hooked nearly every student in class. Then he applied the coup de gras. “Not only are poachers killing these animals and selling them. But thanks to deforestation, the remaining places that these animals have to hunt and raise their families are also disappearing.”

Then he asked for a show of hands. “Who has ever heard of the red bellied lions?” Only one hand raised tentatively.

Then, “Who is upset by what is happening and wants to help change things for this species?” Hands shot up across the room.

Finally, “What if I told you this is all made up?” Then he came clean, “My speech is actually about fake news. This is a recurring problem today thanks to biased News Coverage and social media agendas. According to ‘Fake News Statistics and Facts’ 38.2% of US news consumers unknowingly share fake news on social media. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot of people but it’s actually millions of people.”

Joe shared how he persuaded his classmates. “None of you knew anything about this topic so I was able to use that to my advantage that no one at this moment could fact check me. I appealed to your softer side with a story about the cruelty that these lions went through. I was also able to throw in something that many of you know about which was deforestation. You knew that this problem affected other animals, so it made sense that this also hurt an animal you never even heard of.”

Joe has easily made an A in this course. He has also taught his fellow classmates to think before spreading fake news.

Joe concluded, “You shouldn’t believe everything someone tells you just because you might trust them.” I always learn something from my students.

Daniel L. Gardner is a columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.