Some days it feels like students trust every voice except the ones in the room with them. 

Influencers, creators, and people they’ve never met can shape their opinions faster than any lesson we plan. This week, we’re looking at one tool that brings students together through daily writing—and one study that explains why “trusting the media” has less to do with facts and more to do with identity. 

Together, they point to the same truth: before students buy into the content, they have to buy into us.

Buckle up, because you’re about to become an even better teacher in the next 6 minutes.

🚀 Noteworthy News

👉️ Eye-opening: Great parenting often comes from this simple habit.

👉️ Alarming: Social media use soars as kids drop sport, reading and the arts.

👉️ Insightful: What teenagers are really saying about technology bans.

🔉But first, a word from today’s sponsor for teachers (especially music ones!) 👇️ 

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And now back to making you an even better teacher 👇️ 

TECH TOOL

Write Together, Grow Together

Some mornings feel like we’re all running on yesterday’s energy, and getting students to “write something interesting” is its own Olympic event. 

The Solution: WeWillWrite

Think Kahoot, but for writing prompts - quick, collaborative, joyful, and designed to jump-start creativity without you spending your prep block inventing prompts from scratch.

WeWillWrite lets you launch daily writing prompts, timed challenges, and collaborative stories with just a few clicks. Students respond in real time, seeing classmates writing alongside them, which lowers anxiety and builds a sense of shared creativity. It’s the kind of routine that gently nudges even reluctant writers into participating because everyone is in it together.

The free version is surprisingly full-featured, offering plenty of prompts and modes, while the $60/year premium option unlocks student history, analytics, and more curated content. Both versions give teachers a predictable way to start the day with calm, creativity, and community, without adding new work to your plate.

Is This For YOUR Classroom?

If your class thrives on structure, community, and short bursts of creativity, WeWillWrite fits beautifully. 

But if your mornings are already chaotic or your students struggle with transitions, you may want to introduce it slowly. It’s not meant to replace writing instruction—just make it easier to practice every day.

Strategies That Work:

1. Morning Launchpad: Begin each day with a short prompt to warm up brains.

2. Collaborative Chains: Build confidence by having groups write one shared story.

3. Quick Feedback Rounds: End with a single sentence share-out focused on ideas, not mechanics.

A daily writing habit shouldn’t drain your energy. WeWillWrite turns those first minutes into something fun, structured, and genuinely meaningful - for you and your students.

Brainy Bit

Why Students Don’t Know who to Trust

TLDR: Media trust has been falling for decades - long before TikTok. This week’s paper shows that “trust” has less to do with facts and more to do with identity and habit. For teachers, this matters because students (and maybe even us) now treat influencers, creators, and peers as legitimate news sources, often more readily than traditional outlets.

The Study:  What does Trust the Media Mean?

This isn’t a lab experiment but a deep academic analysis. The paper reviewed more than sixty years of polling data, looking at how Americans have answered “Do you trust the media?” from the 1950s to today. He paired this with historical research on how journalism shifted - from neutral reporting toward the more investigative, analytical style that became common after the 1970s.

He then layered political and cultural trends on top of those data sets. Rising education levels made audiences more skeptical; political polarization pushed people to answer trust-questions based on team identity; and the growth of commentary-driven news blurred the lines between reporting and persuasion. Together, these forces helped explain why so many people say they distrust “the media,” even when they consume it daily.

The Results:

Trust began declining in the 1970s (not in the smartphone era) meaning today’s panic isn’t new.

People often report distrust not because journalism became less accurate, but because their political identity (on both sides of the aisle) nudges them to “take a side.”

And modern journalism’s shift toward criticism and accountability made the news feel more combative, which some audiences interpret as bias.

The key insight: trust isn’t about truth. It’s about who feels “on your side.”

In YOUR Classroom:

In our social media era, students trust people, not institutions - so their “news” often comes from influencers, creators, and peers who feel familiar or aligned.

Here’s how this study could improve your classroom approach this week:

Strategies That Work:

1. Analyze the messenger first. Teach students to ask, “Who made this, and why them?” before reacting.

2. Run weekly source swaps. Compare how three outlets (that students are familiar with) frame the same event to expose perspective.

3. Model being disprovable. Let students challenge claims with evidence to build real academic trust - even when you may disagree with them.

Trust is built, not assumed - and in a scrolling world, media literacy is the new civic skill. Your classroom is one of the few places where students can safely practice it.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We would LOVE to hear from you!

Reply to this email, or send us a message on Instagram! We’re here to walk with you in these crazy times!

Part of what makes The PEN Weekly community so special is the fact that our readers are teachers from around the world! We’re not going to lie, we think that’s pretty darn cool!

We’ll see you again on Monday 🍎

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