Spinning the facts

In our world today: 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 a day Every day, 800 million people go to bed hungry Every day, 28,000 children die from poverty-related causes http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/ It is facts like these that galvanised the world's leaders into action in 2000 and encouraged them to commit to the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty and hunger by 2015. Depending on your point of view you will interpret or 'spin' these facts differently: 'Up to 1.2 billion of the developing world's 4.8 billion people still live in extreme poverty, but the number has been falling over the past 20 years.' http://www.austrade.gov.au/ The world now has the financial resources and know-how to end extreme poverty. All that is lacking is the political will to change the status quo. http://www.millenniumcampaign.org/ The UN Secretary General Kofi Anan reports: "…progress remains uneven, and in many countries there has been a deterioration. Although much of Eastern, South-Eastern and Southern Asia and North Africa are broadly on track, there has been little or no progress on sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean and in Western Asia poverty has increased." As global educators we can help students unpack the spin by encouraging them to: Check the 'facts' What is the source? How reliable are the facts? What definitions have been used? What is not measured by using a particular definition? Determine the source of the quotes to understand the perspective presented Has the person been quoted correctly? Why might they think this way? Why might the author of the article want to quote them this way?