Post for June 7th -- Rationale for teaching Media Literacy

The current curriculum at our district focuses heavily on the reading of texts in order for students to develop the skills necessary for post-secondary education. In our district, students experience a curriculum that integrates these skills: reading, analyzing, creative writing, drama, speech, computer competency, and critical analysis/thinking. Our district focuses on using expository, fiction, and non-fiction narratives in order for students to develop these skills. In our district, there hasn’t been much resistance towards the incorporation of media in our classrooms (except for the heavy internet filtering system), but there hasn’t been much enthusiasm for the use of it as well. It is extremely important that students learn the skills above, but their way of learning it doesn’t have to be solely based on the reading and comprehension of printed text. The study of media literacy is a very useful tool in introducing and developing these skills with students, but also in their ability to read the world and be active informed members of society.

It is important for students to be able to apply the above skills to printed text as it is something they will be expected to do in a post-secondary world. I find that only using printed texts in the use of the skills is doing students a disservice. In today’s world, students have the ability to be constantly in contact with the media. In a society that is becoming more visual, it becomes increasingly important for students to learn how to be critical viewers as well as readers. Students find media fun as it is something they choose to be a part of in their every day lives, typically outside of school. The large amount of time students spend with media should signify that educators need to step in to help students make sense of this world they are so involved in. Failure to do so may result in these students being manipulated by the images, representations, and messages the media send. The media has the ability to position its viewers to think certain things, persuade viewers to consume, and portray societal archetypes. With this it is important for consumers of the media to understand the purpose, intentions, and abilities the media has in order to smart consumers. With each generation being more involved and surrounded with new media, it is important to bring these studies to the education of students.

In order to help students gain an understanding of the media, students need many of the skills we already value in our district. Skills such as critical thinking, perspective taking, and analysis, do not come easy to students, particularly with difficult texts. Although it is important for students to read and be challenged by complex texts, it is also important that students see the real-world value in the skills they are building. Using the media to introduce students to these skills is a great way for students to see a need to improve their ability to think critically and analytically as they see how these skills have an immediate real world impact.

Students have an intrinsic interest in the media already, so bringing media into classrooms will grab the students’ attention. Also working with the media will help students to be introduced to these important skills as the media is something students welcome into their lives, and more easily voice their opinions on. It may be easier for students to take a feminist perspective by watching a movie that portrays a patriarchal female archetype than it would be for students to read a lengthy novel. As much as we want our students to read and comprehend texts, students are more apt to understand a visual representation. Because of this, it makes sense to introduce a skill, such as reading from a feminist lens, through a visual representation so students can focus on grasping the context of the lens rather than trying to comprehend a text and learn how to look through the lens. After students have become comfortable with the lens through some other media, students will more easily be able to apply it to a printed text.

Studying the media has many benefits to students. The media helps students to develop critical thinking skills, determine reliable/credible sources of information, learn different perspectives, think about positioning of the media, and understand communication technologies. These skills students use in studying media literacy are all skills we find are necessary for students to master in the study of English. Not only will these skills and the study of media help students to meet the standards, but they will help student to be able to comprehend the media’s messages, resulting in smart consumers and informed members of our society.