Media Literacy in Schools

Public schools are in need of a huge shift in paradigm beginning with an unbiased examination of their purpose, mission statement, affordances, curriculum, culture and politics. 

Is it the purpose of public schools to truly serve their population, the entire population, regardless of class, gender, socioeconomic situation and political/religious affiliations?

 Is it their responsibility to prepare young people for success in the 21^st century? Who decides what success looks like? Is it functional literacy? And is the participation gap with unequal access contributing to the possibility of yet another cultural divide, a “new cultural elite”? (Ivey, 2006) Is there funding for after school programing to create some catch up? The new donated 3d printer in my school looks like job training to me. 

 Is the purpose of education to create engaged citizenship? Then why have civics classes been reduced to boring and irrelevant? (Bennett, 2008) My high school students tell me that in their Civics class there are few discussions about current events, opinions are stifled and course content essentially describes the structure of the hierarchy, no commentary. (Well, that’s a class I could not teach. Perhaps it is an exercise in doing as you are told. I can’t believe ANY teacher has nothing to say in that arena) Lots of packets of information.

(Before installing a collaborative student art project about personal and cultural identity, I passed along a quick image for administrative approval…regular protocol. I was surprised to be questioned about the reason for the prominent inclusion of the Virgin of Guadalupe. No mention was made of the symbol representing  the Marines or  the creepy masked character  from some graphically violent movie)  

 Why is critical thinking an optimal skill set in math and science, and critical inquiry as discourse de-emphasized? Why is STEM more rigorously promoted, when almost all research in cognitive studies support STEAM? (The A is for art…creative, open ended problem solving, expression, materials exploration, visual literacy, perceptual acuity, self-reflection, meta cognition, inquiry and historic reference) Schools need to regard the arts as important culturally, personally and, socially….This is one place in the school where identity can be explored, eyes wide open.

Why are phones allowed in schools? Who designs protocol and socially accepted practices? Are we afraid of the fallout? Or perhaps the police state that would ensue….I get it…kind of.

 Are we educating students that there are several modes of communication… that the linguistics/language they use for social communication is not appropriate to be successful in the “conventional” world? Or that rude is just rude, and hurtful is hurtful, even if there isn’t a physical body interacting with the communication.

 Old and new literacies need to be melded, compared and practiced with relevance. Students should be asked to write to an editor or a Politian about something that's just plain wrong, or write to someone they admire, a musician. Start a dialog with an expert or a student from another country. Do journal entries, practice public speaking. Have them interview someone in their community, or the person in their classroom who they know nothing about.  Blog, chat make videos and short animations …say something important or funny or that expresses a concern. Develop a voice…then figure out how to make it appropriate in all arenas.. Be exposed to spoken word, share your music of choice, write authentically about a cultural experience, listen to people telling stories, and learn to deconstruct an ad.Discuss, confer, argue if need be, support you comments with evidence.

In our school we have a Women’s Studies class, an LGBT and more club, an Advertising Media class and a student run TV station (Although very censored). They are all electives. A small portion of the population participates.

 Shouldn’t these discussions be a part of the mandated curriculum? How to 

use a  condom  is part of Health class...., thankfully I might add. 

   

And where are our parents?  Bill Ivey, the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts , and Steven J.Tepper a professor of Sociology,  in an article  in the Chronicle of Higher Education(2006),  address the  necessity of parents taking an active role in children’s earliest relationships to media. Parents lack basic information that help them to understand expanding media options, so in general and understandably, they act as gatekeepers. But some studies show that exposure and adult guidance and discussion helps children to navigate media by making meaningful choices. They learn about consequences and develop appropriate behaviors. That being said, the reality of mummy and daddy standing by and sharing their children’s screen time experiences seems unrealistic.And if you haven't done it by middle school...FORGET IT!!!   I have a lot of students who don’t frequently see their parents, eat a home cooked meal or have heat where they live. Their guidance is social media exchanges with a cohort living in similar circumstance. For those parents who might get involved, there are few education programs for  and then there is the time factor

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Parent education programs in my District have meager turn outs at best. Last week a program on teen violence attracted 16 parents.( A high school population of 2300)

Character education used to happen at home,and in the community.(Not to say it doesn't anymore. I am speaking to the "other" situations) Perhaps Jenkins supports participatory culture for this very reason. A group of people all ages, a community of choice, with mentors and role models working together. Nice image of functioning democratic framework. No whacky family dynamics involved and perhaps more support and acceptance then what is found in some real time, actual communities. Perhaps the next generation of the commune. It takes a village?

(I have several students who find solace and community through cos-play, sharing art on sites like DeviantArt, or through discussions on blogs about gender and mental health...conversations they may not engage at home.)

      

In general  Jenkins suggests three core competencies to be taught in the the new paradigm in schools in conjunction with traditional literacies. I would agree. I  think it is the responsibility of everyone to participate in the "education" of each other, particularly the youth. I keep telling them," You're in charge next, better get along and better figure out whats important."

• Affordances of technology in a participatory sense and the necessity to close the participation gap in a move toward democratic equality.
•   Transparency…equipping our students with strong literacy skills, and the ability to recognize the who, what, and why of various forms of communication produced at us as consumers of various media.
•  The ability to engage in critical inquiry, and to have the self-confidence and tools to be part of the dialog, to be producers of our collective cultural knowledge and to recognize our ability to create change.  

 Jenkins’ call to paradigm shift in education is supported by Green’s approach to literacy. Both frameworks encourage use of language (s), understanding context and content and recognition and critical analysis of the construction of knowledge. It all seems indistinguishable, interrelated and dependent . How do we start the revolution?

Resources:

Bennett. Lance,  “Changing Citizenship in the Digital Age “, c 2008 MIT, Creative Commons

Jenkins, Henry,” Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21^st Century”https://mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/titles/free_download/9780262513623_Confronting_the_Challenges.pdf

“The Challenge Ahead: Ensuring that All Benefit from the Expanding Media Landscape”, Chronicle of Higher Education (May 19, 2006) Bill Ivey and Stephan Tepper