Rationale For Teaching Film and Media Studies (Feb. 2, 2009)
As I don't yet have a class to call my own, I am imagining a situation where I need to defend my reasoning for teaching film and media literacy in a junior high classroom. My defense would read something like the following:
Addressed to school board member, parent, or whomever is concerned,
Like you, I see the value in reading and writing traditional texts and essays. Traditional reading and writing instruction is necessary in a world where communication is crucial to professional success. However, I would also like to defend the value of media literacy and film studies in the classroom. Let me ask you, do your children spend more time watching television after school or reading books? Of course, I'm sure you'd prefer for them to be reading, but TV is a huge part of our culture. With that in mind, don't you think that students would benefit from exploring the biases, discrimination, and consumerism involved in television shows and advertisements? Research shows that students actually watch less TV when they start analyzing the gimmicks and stereotypes fostered in TV land.
Further, I'd like to defend using the internet as a media and research resource. Again, as technology continues to expand, more and more students will have access to information that, at one time, only certain social groups could use. The internet offers many free texts and articles, including Shakespeare, Bell Hooks, Paulo Freire, and Virginia Woolf. Students need to learn how to properly cite internet sources. Further, they must practice searching for reliable information.
Another exciting component of the internet is it's ability to link ideas multimodality. Students can read an article of Bell Hooks, view a picture of her, watch a video of her lecture on utube, and/or check out her podcast. Only a few years ago, students were lucky to come across one of her articles in the school library.
As a teacher, I plan to continue balancing more traditional approaches to literature and literacy with television, film, and media studies. I believe that these approaches are conducive to each other. Further, I believe multiple modes of expression serve to heighten student learning and experience.
Addressed to school board member, parent, or whomever is concerned,
Like you, I see the value in reading and writing traditional texts and essays. Traditional reading and writing instruction is necessary in a world where communication is crucial to professional success. However, I would also like to defend the value of media literacy and film studies in the classroom. Let me ask you, do your children spend more time watching television after school or reading books? Of course, I'm sure you'd prefer for them to be reading, but TV is a huge part of our culture. With that in mind, don't you think that students would benefit from exploring the biases, discrimination, and consumerism involved in television shows and advertisements? Research shows that students actually watch less TV when they start analyzing the gimmicks and stereotypes fostered in TV land.
Further, I'd like to defend using the internet as a media and research resource. Again, as technology continues to expand, more and more students will have access to information that, at one time, only certain social groups could use. The internet offers many free texts and articles, including Shakespeare, Bell Hooks, Paulo Freire, and Virginia Woolf. Students need to learn how to properly cite internet sources. Further, they must practice searching for reliable information.
Another exciting component of the internet is it's ability to link ideas multimodality. Students can read an article of Bell Hooks, view a picture of her, watch a video of her lecture on utube, and/or check out her podcast. Only a few years ago, students were lucky to come across one of her articles in the school library.
As a teacher, I plan to continue balancing more traditional approaches to literature and literacy with television, film, and media studies. I believe that these approaches are conducive to each other. Further, I believe multiple modes of expression serve to heighten student learning and experience.
I agree! I think it is very important to balance new and old teaching techniques that involve technology.
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