Below, you will find the link to my final project, which is a series of lesson plans for teaching Tuesdays with Morrie from a popular culture perspective. The file is in .pdf format, but do not hesitate to contact me if you have trouble viewing the document. Enjoy!
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=d94d0a53ef145c5590a82c7bb0fad7ade04e75f6e8ebb871
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Pop Culture and Food: A Delicious Combo Meal or Not?
Since I am currently student teaching, I have had more first-hand opportunities than ever to see the bizarre relationship between teenage girls and food. Girls who only eat saltine crackers for lunch? Check. Girls who drink their lunch in the form of Diet Coke? Check. 85-pound girls who skip lunch altogether to sneak cigs in the bathrooms? Check. Indeed, the female teenagers who populate today’s suburban high schools have some serious issues in terms of their relationships with food. I need to look no further than the fateful day I allowed 10th grade students to choose their own topics for the research paper—guess how many girls wanted to write their research papers about eating disorders? Too many to count (in fact, the runner-up for most hackneyed topic was teen drinking, which is equally troublesome…). Eventually I had to veto these topics altogether, but it got me thinking about why the topic of eating disorders was captivating the minds of our country’s gals?
It seemed so bizarre that the 10th graders were so fixated on this topic, but then I thought back to my own high school days. Girls had equally unhealthy relationships with food, but seeing it from this outsider perspective was much different. I was reminded of the day the Bloodmobile rolled into school, and 8 of my best female friends and I strutted down to the gym (I imagine us “Mean Girls” style) to donate. Indeed, I was the only girl who actually donated blood—the rest of them were turned away because their iron count in their blood was too low. Malnutrition, anyone? I guess that’s what a diet of saltine crackers and Diet Coke will do to a girl. I did not give this a second thought until I began student teaching and noticed the effed-up relationship of my female students with food. The chapter for this week, as well as my online research, further backed up my discomfort with the subject. Kind of makes me long for the Victorian Era, when “women were large and soft,” though the whole lack of political power and economic worth thing wasn’t so great (White and Walker 134). I guess I understand the pressure to a certain extent though, since a study reported “a $12,445 annual salary difference between overweight women and underweight women. The same study found that women at medically recommended weights also made less ($1,676 annually) than underweight women…the message is clear-cut: women who are financially successful must have small bodies” (White and Walker 134). In this economy, ladies need to do whatever they can to make that buck, right? Why not save the money that you would normally spend on your grocery bill in the process? Hmmm…I’m not so sure…
I began wondering about my own relationship with food in high school and today. Why was I immune from the temptations of eating disorders? Why did I not obsess over my waistline, and why don’t I equate my worthiness as a human being with my pants size, as so many of my peers do? Then I remembered. Oh yeah. I’m Greek. I was never a size 0 in the first place. I never stood a chance at being model-thin, so I just rolled with it. Literally. In any case, I always knew I was a little bit different from my beautiful blonde classmates—when the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” came out, I was reminded of a hauntingly familiar scene in which the “regular” girls eat Wonderbread sandwiches in the lunch room but Toula eats moussaka. Welcome to my life—skip to the 3 minute mark…
For these reasons it does not surprise me that “eating disorders affect approximately 8 million people in the United States today…Many of us, children included, have chaotic eating patterns; we diet, miss meals, overeat, and binge. Popular culture, rather than discouraging dysfunctional eating, seems to inspire it” (White and Walker 132). Something that I always found disgusting immediately came to mind—have any of you heard of Taco Bell’s Fourthmeal? For those of you unfamiliar with this horrible invention, visit:
http://www.tacobell.com/fourthmeal/
Basically, Fourthmeal is “the meal between dinner and breakfast.” What happened to sleeping between dinner and breakfast? What ever happened to the whole “three square meals” thing? Seriously—so many people suffer from eating disorders, but let’s also think about that other-end-of-the-spectrum eating disorder known as obesity. Is Fourthmeal helping the situation? I think not.
For those of you still wondering if the link between food and popular culture could become stranger or more intertwined, look no further than the strange literary genre of cookbooks themed upon TV shows, music, or movies. Check out the following:
The Star Trek Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Cookbook/dp/0671000225/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4286870-4297414?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184029036&sr=1-1
The Sopranos Cookbooks
http://www.amazon.com/Entertaining-Sopranos-Carmela-Soprano/dp/0446579114/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-4286870-4297414?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184028897&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Sopranos-Family-Cookbook-Compiled-Artie/dp/0446530573/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4286870-4297414?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184028897&sr=8-1
The Forrest Gump Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Gump-Shrimp-Co-Cookbook/dp/0848714792/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239397018&sr=1-1
The Beatles Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/She-Came-Through-Kitchen-Window/dp/080652359X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239397098&sr=1-1
Frankly, I’m not sure what else to say about these. I think their craziness is self-explanatory. I wonder to what extent the gals in other countries have strange relationships with food, and what they think about food in America. In any case, I wish everyone a delicious and feast-like dinner this weekend, especially my 10th grade female students…
It seemed so bizarre that the 10th graders were so fixated on this topic, but then I thought back to my own high school days. Girls had equally unhealthy relationships with food, but seeing it from this outsider perspective was much different. I was reminded of the day the Bloodmobile rolled into school, and 8 of my best female friends and I strutted down to the gym (I imagine us “Mean Girls” style) to donate. Indeed, I was the only girl who actually donated blood—the rest of them were turned away because their iron count in their blood was too low. Malnutrition, anyone? I guess that’s what a diet of saltine crackers and Diet Coke will do to a girl. I did not give this a second thought until I began student teaching and noticed the effed-up relationship of my female students with food. The chapter for this week, as well as my online research, further backed up my discomfort with the subject. Kind of makes me long for the Victorian Era, when “women were large and soft,” though the whole lack of political power and economic worth thing wasn’t so great (White and Walker 134). I guess I understand the pressure to a certain extent though, since a study reported “a $12,445 annual salary difference between overweight women and underweight women. The same study found that women at medically recommended weights also made less ($1,676 annually) than underweight women…the message is clear-cut: women who are financially successful must have small bodies” (White and Walker 134). In this economy, ladies need to do whatever they can to make that buck, right? Why not save the money that you would normally spend on your grocery bill in the process? Hmmm…I’m not so sure…
I began wondering about my own relationship with food in high school and today. Why was I immune from the temptations of eating disorders? Why did I not obsess over my waistline, and why don’t I equate my worthiness as a human being with my pants size, as so many of my peers do? Then I remembered. Oh yeah. I’m Greek. I was never a size 0 in the first place. I never stood a chance at being model-thin, so I just rolled with it. Literally. In any case, I always knew I was a little bit different from my beautiful blonde classmates—when the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” came out, I was reminded of a hauntingly familiar scene in which the “regular” girls eat Wonderbread sandwiches in the lunch room but Toula eats moussaka. Welcome to my life—skip to the 3 minute mark…
For these reasons it does not surprise me that “eating disorders affect approximately 8 million people in the United States today…Many of us, children included, have chaotic eating patterns; we diet, miss meals, overeat, and binge. Popular culture, rather than discouraging dysfunctional eating, seems to inspire it” (White and Walker 132). Something that I always found disgusting immediately came to mind—have any of you heard of Taco Bell’s Fourthmeal? For those of you unfamiliar with this horrible invention, visit:
http://www.tacobell.com/fourthmeal/
Basically, Fourthmeal is “the meal between dinner and breakfast.” What happened to sleeping between dinner and breakfast? What ever happened to the whole “three square meals” thing? Seriously—so many people suffer from eating disorders, but let’s also think about that other-end-of-the-spectrum eating disorder known as obesity. Is Fourthmeal helping the situation? I think not.
For those of you still wondering if the link between food and popular culture could become stranger or more intertwined, look no further than the strange literary genre of cookbooks themed upon TV shows, music, or movies. Check out the following:
The Star Trek Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Cookbook/dp/0671000225/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4286870-4297414?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184029036&sr=1-1
The Sopranos Cookbooks
http://www.amazon.com/Entertaining-Sopranos-Carmela-Soprano/dp/0446579114/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-4286870-4297414?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184028897&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Sopranos-Family-Cookbook-Compiled-Artie/dp/0446530573/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-4286870-4297414?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184028897&sr=8-1
The Forrest Gump Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Gump-Shrimp-Co-Cookbook/dp/0848714792/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239397018&sr=1-1
The Beatles Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/She-Came-Through-Kitchen-Window/dp/080652359X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239397098&sr=1-1
Frankly, I’m not sure what else to say about these. I think their craziness is self-explanatory. I wonder to what extent the gals in other countries have strange relationships with food, and what they think about food in America. In any case, I wish everyone a delicious and feast-like dinner this weekend, especially my 10th grade female students…
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Pop Music!!!
Talkin’ ‘Bout…Pop Music!
I was actually really impressed by the chapters in Tooning In that discussed popular music. Often, in the articles I’ve read that relate to this topic, the authors focus solely on the big musical movements of the 1950s-70s or so: protest music, hippie music, bubblegum music, etc. Perhaps they discuss disco or rap or punk, but rarely do they offer insight into the current trends in popular music and the ways in which they impact society. The fact that the chapter mentioned Eminem, Green Day, and Marilyn Manson, etc., really showed me that the authors looked beyond the obvious and did their research. Granted, I would have my own suggestions and additions to the chapter in terms of popular music, but overall I was very impressed by the thorough nature of the text in relation to very recent music.
One of the reasons why music is so successful in the classroom is that music incites extremely personal and strong responses among individuals. Ask a 25 year old female whether or not she likes Britney. Ask a 10 year old whether or not he likes the Jonas Brothers. Ask a 16 year old whether she likes All American Rejects. I suppose that the age of the consumer and the specific artist are unimportant—the point is that popular music generally causes an extreme, “love ‘em or hate ‘em” mentality among many people. For this reason, it is a great way to create strong student engagement and discussions in class.
I have a personal experience to further this point, and it relates to the one oversight that I was able to locate in the readings. I think that the chapter focusing on popular music in the social studies classroom sells itself a bit short. As an English teacher, I found that this chapter was accessible and relevant to my content area as well. The author would have been wise to suggest that these ideas are applicable to other subject areas in addition to social studies. Let me offer an example. During a student teaching experience in a diverse middle school, my students read Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The unit was short—only eight days, in fact—so I had to make several accommodations in order for the students to comprehend the text. Not only did I offer the students “No Fear Shakespeare,” in which the original text was presented alongside a modern translation, but my fellow teachers and I (holla, Emily) also created iMovies in which modern music stars from pop culture represent the traditional characters in the text. The most memorable aspect of this story is the fact that two of the main characters from the play were represented by Chris Brown and Rihanna (this class took place before the whole physical abuse thing—obviously these iMovies can never be used again). The students freaked out! They were so excited to see connections between the pop music they love and a classical text. This iMovie really helped the students relate to the text, and it also helped us make great strides in terms of earning the respect of our students. They really appreciated that we tried to “meet them in the middle” and use their prior knowledge and interests as a foundation for their learning. In short, I have experienced first-hand the ways in which popular music can be incorporated into the classroom—and it did not occur in a social studies classroom.
Most importantly, however, integrating popular music into the classroom is an opportunity for teachers to learn just as much as students, and for teachers to learn more about their students as well. As a teacher, I am always surprised and pleased to learn about the interests and depth of critical thinking possible by my students. Sometimes it is hilarious and totally shocking. I am thinking about the 7th grade student I chatted with last year who, despite being labeled as LD and as somewhat of a troublemaker, was able to discuss the latest episode of Keith Olbermann with me. He talked and talked about how much he loved the Beatles, and as someone who grew up in a Beatle-centric home with hippie parents, I was able to keep right up with his conversation. I think that students really appreciate when we try to see where they are coming from rather than simply trying to shove curriculum down their throats. Popular culture is a great way to do that, and popular music is an important aspect of this idea.
Seriously though, integrating popular music into the classroom for students is like throwing a bucket of chum in a tank of hungry sharks. They love it, because they have been starved of music integration for far too long in the course of their k-12 career. I wonder why more teachers don’t realize this fact, especially those who struggle with behavior management or engagement issues? I speculate that they are simply too focused on the demands of high stakes testing and overstuffed curriculums. My cooperating teacher for my student teaching experience used to offer “Magic Music Mondays,” in which students could bring in music on Fridays, she would “screen” it to make sure the music is appropriate over the weekend, and then the students would get to listen to the music while they worked on Mondays. This caused them to be engaged and very on-task on Mondays, which otherwise can be sort of dreary days for tired students. I realize that the chapters discuss directly integrating music into the curriculum, with the “lyrics as a text” for critical analysis. I totally agree with this idea, but I think that even integrating music more peripherally through efforts such as “Magic Music Monday” is worthwhile. A baby step, if you will, toward more holistic integration of music into the murky depths of the curriculum.
Some important quotes from the text to consider:
“Popular culture remains one of the few arenas that provides a forum for common understandings, dialog, and communication…Neither simplistic generalizations calling for censorship nor attempts at ignoring the influence of media culture are needed” (40).
“Passion and intrinsic appeal are somehow inherent in media music and media culture” (42).
“While we may ‘just not understand’ the music of today, we cannot blame our parents and blindly dismiss its potential for critical social efficacy and activism” (43).
“Our traditional…education is so entrenched with covering essential knowledge to ensure high test scores, that excuses are often used for not integrating current music” (112).
“What one culture deems bright and imaginative is a cacophony of incoherence to another” (115).
“Using lyrics as a text would diversify the curriculum and allow communication across various social groups” (116).
“Children spend approximately 10,500 hours listening to music…this is only five hundred fewer than they spend in school over their entire twelve-year enrollment” (117).
“American students do not recognize their role as active citizens as they credit societal changes to historical leaders rather than independent acts…We must reverse this” (117). Obama, anyone?
I was actually really impressed by the chapters in Tooning In that discussed popular music. Often, in the articles I’ve read that relate to this topic, the authors focus solely on the big musical movements of the 1950s-70s or so: protest music, hippie music, bubblegum music, etc. Perhaps they discuss disco or rap or punk, but rarely do they offer insight into the current trends in popular music and the ways in which they impact society. The fact that the chapter mentioned Eminem, Green Day, and Marilyn Manson, etc., really showed me that the authors looked beyond the obvious and did their research. Granted, I would have my own suggestions and additions to the chapter in terms of popular music, but overall I was very impressed by the thorough nature of the text in relation to very recent music.
One of the reasons why music is so successful in the classroom is that music incites extremely personal and strong responses among individuals. Ask a 25 year old female whether or not she likes Britney. Ask a 10 year old whether or not he likes the Jonas Brothers. Ask a 16 year old whether she likes All American Rejects. I suppose that the age of the consumer and the specific artist are unimportant—the point is that popular music generally causes an extreme, “love ‘em or hate ‘em” mentality among many people. For this reason, it is a great way to create strong student engagement and discussions in class.
I have a personal experience to further this point, and it relates to the one oversight that I was able to locate in the readings. I think that the chapter focusing on popular music in the social studies classroom sells itself a bit short. As an English teacher, I found that this chapter was accessible and relevant to my content area as well. The author would have been wise to suggest that these ideas are applicable to other subject areas in addition to social studies. Let me offer an example. During a student teaching experience in a diverse middle school, my students read Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The unit was short—only eight days, in fact—so I had to make several accommodations in order for the students to comprehend the text. Not only did I offer the students “No Fear Shakespeare,” in which the original text was presented alongside a modern translation, but my fellow teachers and I (holla, Emily) also created iMovies in which modern music stars from pop culture represent the traditional characters in the text. The most memorable aspect of this story is the fact that two of the main characters from the play were represented by Chris Brown and Rihanna (this class took place before the whole physical abuse thing—obviously these iMovies can never be used again). The students freaked out! They were so excited to see connections between the pop music they love and a classical text. This iMovie really helped the students relate to the text, and it also helped us make great strides in terms of earning the respect of our students. They really appreciated that we tried to “meet them in the middle” and use their prior knowledge and interests as a foundation for their learning. In short, I have experienced first-hand the ways in which popular music can be incorporated into the classroom—and it did not occur in a social studies classroom.
Most importantly, however, integrating popular music into the classroom is an opportunity for teachers to learn just as much as students, and for teachers to learn more about their students as well. As a teacher, I am always surprised and pleased to learn about the interests and depth of critical thinking possible by my students. Sometimes it is hilarious and totally shocking. I am thinking about the 7th grade student I chatted with last year who, despite being labeled as LD and as somewhat of a troublemaker, was able to discuss the latest episode of Keith Olbermann with me. He talked and talked about how much he loved the Beatles, and as someone who grew up in a Beatle-centric home with hippie parents, I was able to keep right up with his conversation. I think that students really appreciate when we try to see where they are coming from rather than simply trying to shove curriculum down their throats. Popular culture is a great way to do that, and popular music is an important aspect of this idea.
Seriously though, integrating popular music into the classroom for students is like throwing a bucket of chum in a tank of hungry sharks. They love it, because they have been starved of music integration for far too long in the course of their k-12 career. I wonder why more teachers don’t realize this fact, especially those who struggle with behavior management or engagement issues? I speculate that they are simply too focused on the demands of high stakes testing and overstuffed curriculums. My cooperating teacher for my student teaching experience used to offer “Magic Music Mondays,” in which students could bring in music on Fridays, she would “screen” it to make sure the music is appropriate over the weekend, and then the students would get to listen to the music while they worked on Mondays. This caused them to be engaged and very on-task on Mondays, which otherwise can be sort of dreary days for tired students. I realize that the chapters discuss directly integrating music into the curriculum, with the “lyrics as a text” for critical analysis. I totally agree with this idea, but I think that even integrating music more peripherally through efforts such as “Magic Music Monday” is worthwhile. A baby step, if you will, toward more holistic integration of music into the murky depths of the curriculum.
Some important quotes from the text to consider:
“Popular culture remains one of the few arenas that provides a forum for common understandings, dialog, and communication…Neither simplistic generalizations calling for censorship nor attempts at ignoring the influence of media culture are needed” (40).
“Passion and intrinsic appeal are somehow inherent in media music and media culture” (42).
“While we may ‘just not understand’ the music of today, we cannot blame our parents and blindly dismiss its potential for critical social efficacy and activism” (43).
“Our traditional…education is so entrenched with covering essential knowledge to ensure high test scores, that excuses are often used for not integrating current music” (112).
“What one culture deems bright and imaginative is a cacophony of incoherence to another” (115).
“Using lyrics as a text would diversify the curriculum and allow communication across various social groups” (116).
“Children spend approximately 10,500 hours listening to music…this is only five hundred fewer than they spend in school over their entire twelve-year enrollment” (117).
“American students do not recognize their role as active citizens as they credit societal changes to historical leaders rather than independent acts…We must reverse this” (117). Obama, anyone?
Monday, March 16, 2009
Fake News? Real News? What's the Difference? Does it Matter?
Fake news. Sometimes doesn’t it all feel like fake news? Weren’t the past eight years filled with fake news? Though it seems as though the fake news industry has boomed in the past few years as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have gained in popularity, we sometimes forget how far back the history of fake news goes. Weekend Update on SNL started long before either show, and I am sure that even earlier examples exist.
In any case, I think that fake news is great. Sure, it becomes a problem when ALL we see is fake news. However, I think that it is a fantastic supplement. In my experience, I tend to become jaded and disillusioned when all I see are “serious” news reports. Madoff’s a sleazebag, Bush is a liar, Palin is….well…I don’t even know where to start. It is exhausting, and fake news sources are a refreshing place to turn when I am sick of hearing sound bites and I want to laugh. And let’s face it—sometimes it just feels good to take our crazy political and public figures down a few notches.
Besides, it is informative, as the online article by Andrea Janus suggests. This is how I feel: If people are watching regular news sources AND supplementing them with fake news, then great. Even if people are using fake news as their only source of news, that’s great too, because they likely wouldn’t be getting any news at all otherwise. This second group, who use fake news as their only news source, is nevertheless more informed by Steven Colbert than if they had simply been watching reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond, for example. Perhaps the satirical fake news could even spark their interest to look further into an issue.
All of the articles assigned for this week really got me thinking about where the line is drawn between fake news and “real” news. Without a doubt, this line is very, very blurry. I think about this as a spectrum. Steven Colbert and The Onion? Obviously on one far side of the spectrum. MSNBC or hard-hitting “real” news, for example? The other side of the spectrum. But what is in the middle, and how are we positioned to think about it? Right now I am specifically thinking about entertainment news shows such as Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and Extra. At first, people may write off these shows as being completely un-newsworthy. But during the 2008 Presidential Election, I watched time and time again as these shows dealt with very newsworthy issues. Does anyone remember when Extra host (and former Saved by the Bell star) Mario Lopez interviewed Barack Obama? Or when Access Hollywood scored the interview with the entire Obama family, including Sasha and Malia? Sure, as the Janus article suggests, these interviews focused more on the personal and less on the political, but if I remember correctly, serious political issues were also discussed. This brings up an important set of questions that sums up all of the readings for this week: What exactly is considered newsworthy? What is the ratio of fluff to “hard news” that qualifies a story as real news? Why does this matter? Finally, which is more important: the reputation of the news source, or the content?
Additionally, many assumptions are made in the “fake news” business. First—readers are expected to come to the news source with a basic knowledge of current events. As one of the readings suggested, The Onion would not be as funny if readers did not know the story behind the “stories.” So we assume that the audience is clued in to the joke. Second—we come to a certain news source, satirical or not, with a very specific set of expectations. On Meet the Press, we expect to see serious politics discussed. In The Onion, we expect to see bizarre, obviously fake stories that are based in real or pseudo-real situations. On Access Hollywood, we expect to find out what Charlize Theron wore to the Oscars. That’s why it seems so unexpected and shocking when our assumptions are proven to be incorrect, and why it was so memorable to see the Obamas interviewed seriously on that program. Third—audiences are expected to have a certain level of cultural savvy and intelligence. We must know when the news is fake and when it is real. We must be able to read the signals in order to figure out when the joke stops and starts.
Increasingly, however, these assumptions are proving to be quite fluid, and they are challenged from various angles. In this case, I am thinking about the “Taking Colbert Seriously” clip, when fake news was “recognized as legitimate or influential enough to warrant correction.” Though not everyone agrees that fake news is a good source for “real” news (I happen to be on the pro-fake-news side of the debate), Colbert’s apology unequivocally speaks to the power of fake news. It is a force to be reckoned with, and these fake news sources hold considerable political power and access to a very key demographic. Would the political outcomes of campaigns be different if different parties had “worked” the fake news sources differently? There is no way to know, but logic would suggest that this is true.
Fake news is only going to become more popular in these distressing economic times, as citizens look for humor in current events. Indeed, fake news requires critical and cultural analysis just like any other news source, but we are currently in a very interesting news environment in which “fake news” could prove to have a very powerful and (dare I say it) positive effect on the nation’s collective psyche. This reminds me of the powerful effect of Jon Stewart’s Indecision 2000, as discussed by Kothe. Indeed, “by donning the fool’s cap, by playing the clown,” as Kothe suggests, hosts such as Stewart are able to be more honest and candid from their unofficial platform than any shellacked, mainstream newsperson could have the power to be.
Since this class is meant to relate to education, let me close on this note. Teachers--do not be afraid to incorporate fake news sources into your classroom. Often, the satirical nature of fake news makes it much wittier and more engaging than traditional news sources, and may also spark more critical thinking from students. Fake news provides a great intro to just about any serious topic, and it is a great way to scaffold material for students who may not "get it" right away. If we want to get kids excited about school and current events, why not incorporate a bit of humor into the classroom? Likely, they are already somewhat familiar with shows such as Jon Stewart. If not, let's start them early! English classes, history classes, science classes--fake news exists for nearly every subject. Fake news is just another resource out there for teachers to access in order to make school exciting for students and to help students make real-world connections to the society around them.
In any case, I think that fake news is great. Sure, it becomes a problem when ALL we see is fake news. However, I think that it is a fantastic supplement. In my experience, I tend to become jaded and disillusioned when all I see are “serious” news reports. Madoff’s a sleazebag, Bush is a liar, Palin is….well…I don’t even know where to start. It is exhausting, and fake news sources are a refreshing place to turn when I am sick of hearing sound bites and I want to laugh. And let’s face it—sometimes it just feels good to take our crazy political and public figures down a few notches.
Besides, it is informative, as the online article by Andrea Janus suggests. This is how I feel: If people are watching regular news sources AND supplementing them with fake news, then great. Even if people are using fake news as their only source of news, that’s great too, because they likely wouldn’t be getting any news at all otherwise. This second group, who use fake news as their only news source, is nevertheless more informed by Steven Colbert than if they had simply been watching reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond, for example. Perhaps the satirical fake news could even spark their interest to look further into an issue.
All of the articles assigned for this week really got me thinking about where the line is drawn between fake news and “real” news. Without a doubt, this line is very, very blurry. I think about this as a spectrum. Steven Colbert and The Onion? Obviously on one far side of the spectrum. MSNBC or hard-hitting “real” news, for example? The other side of the spectrum. But what is in the middle, and how are we positioned to think about it? Right now I am specifically thinking about entertainment news shows such as Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, and Extra. At first, people may write off these shows as being completely un-newsworthy. But during the 2008 Presidential Election, I watched time and time again as these shows dealt with very newsworthy issues. Does anyone remember when Extra host (and former Saved by the Bell star) Mario Lopez interviewed Barack Obama? Or when Access Hollywood scored the interview with the entire Obama family, including Sasha and Malia? Sure, as the Janus article suggests, these interviews focused more on the personal and less on the political, but if I remember correctly, serious political issues were also discussed. This brings up an important set of questions that sums up all of the readings for this week: What exactly is considered newsworthy? What is the ratio of fluff to “hard news” that qualifies a story as real news? Why does this matter? Finally, which is more important: the reputation of the news source, or the content?
Additionally, many assumptions are made in the “fake news” business. First—readers are expected to come to the news source with a basic knowledge of current events. As one of the readings suggested, The Onion would not be as funny if readers did not know the story behind the “stories.” So we assume that the audience is clued in to the joke. Second—we come to a certain news source, satirical or not, with a very specific set of expectations. On Meet the Press, we expect to see serious politics discussed. In The Onion, we expect to see bizarre, obviously fake stories that are based in real or pseudo-real situations. On Access Hollywood, we expect to find out what Charlize Theron wore to the Oscars. That’s why it seems so unexpected and shocking when our assumptions are proven to be incorrect, and why it was so memorable to see the Obamas interviewed seriously on that program. Third—audiences are expected to have a certain level of cultural savvy and intelligence. We must know when the news is fake and when it is real. We must be able to read the signals in order to figure out when the joke stops and starts.
Increasingly, however, these assumptions are proving to be quite fluid, and they are challenged from various angles. In this case, I am thinking about the “Taking Colbert Seriously” clip, when fake news was “recognized as legitimate or influential enough to warrant correction.” Though not everyone agrees that fake news is a good source for “real” news (I happen to be on the pro-fake-news side of the debate), Colbert’s apology unequivocally speaks to the power of fake news. It is a force to be reckoned with, and these fake news sources hold considerable political power and access to a very key demographic. Would the political outcomes of campaigns be different if different parties had “worked” the fake news sources differently? There is no way to know, but logic would suggest that this is true.
Fake news is only going to become more popular in these distressing economic times, as citizens look for humor in current events. Indeed, fake news requires critical and cultural analysis just like any other news source, but we are currently in a very interesting news environment in which “fake news” could prove to have a very powerful and (dare I say it) positive effect on the nation’s collective psyche. This reminds me of the powerful effect of Jon Stewart’s Indecision 2000, as discussed by Kothe. Indeed, “by donning the fool’s cap, by playing the clown,” as Kothe suggests, hosts such as Stewart are able to be more honest and candid from their unofficial platform than any shellacked, mainstream newsperson could have the power to be.
Since this class is meant to relate to education, let me close on this note. Teachers--do not be afraid to incorporate fake news sources into your classroom. Often, the satirical nature of fake news makes it much wittier and more engaging than traditional news sources, and may also spark more critical thinking from students. Fake news provides a great intro to just about any serious topic, and it is a great way to scaffold material for students who may not "get it" right away. If we want to get kids excited about school and current events, why not incorporate a bit of humor into the classroom? Likely, they are already somewhat familiar with shows such as Jon Stewart. If not, let's start them early! English classes, history classes, science classes--fake news exists for nearly every subject. Fake news is just another resource out there for teachers to access in order to make school exciting for students and to help students make real-world connections to the society around them.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Kid Culture in Schools?
Kid culture is a powerful and unstoppable force in society, yet I am continually surprised by the ways schools try to “run against the wind” by ignoring and resisting the trends. White and Walker suggest that “kid culture is often subject to condemnation, censorship, and regulation. Kid culture has always been questioned regarding its legitimacy and impact on youth and society…What one finds in schools is a negative reaction to kid culture in whatever form (rap, Pokemon, video games) through stereotypes, banning, and demeaning acts and comments” (77). As I begin student teaching, I find myself wondering why administrations fail to realize that this approach is so ineffectual.
Many teachers find themselves looking out at a sea of disengaged, uninterested students as they push the same old curriculum year after year. Perhaps incorporating some facets of kid culture (even just one or two will do at first) may engage some of these students with the material, helping them to understand the real-world relevance of what they learn in class. Many scholarly articles suggest that one of the reasons that many students do not achieve in school is that they fail to see the connection between their real-world, out-of-school activities and what they learn in the classroom. If there is no connection there, then why should students care? More importantly, how are we preparing students for life after k-12 if we aren’t equipping them with the skills to analyze the world around them?
I am not suggesting that we trash the curriculum staples that have driven our classrooms for decades. In English, for example, the classics and the Canon definitely have their place. They need to be read by students, not only because they represent masterpieces of their times but also because cultural literacy demands that citizens understand the pop-culture references that often originate in literature. Take Shakespeare, for example. Students need to know the basics of Shakespeare in order to participate in our culture, since so many cultural references revolve around his plays.
So maybe we keep the staples, but we add new ways for students to access them through kid culture. We pair the classic text Dracula with the kid culture phenomenon Twilight. We incorporate Harry Potter into British literature or folk tale classes. We use The Simpsons or Shrek to teach satire as a genre. We use Liberty’s Kids (which actually is a pretty entertaining show) to supplement a US History class or colonial texts. We bring “new media” into the classroom. We incorporate play-like behavior into our lesson plans. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It doesn’t need to add to our already-overstuffed workload as teachers. It benefits our students, and it can be implemented easily.
The whole “student engagement” thing is key here. Some students have been able to skate through the system without really interacting with a rigorous curriculum. It is sad, but that’s a fact. So we should not be surprised when some students shut down when they are assigned to read Shakespeare. We need to build a sort of ladder which allows students to feel comfortable accessing rigorous academic challenges such as Shakespeare. Incorporating kid culture and play into the classroom allows us to build those connections.
One of the biggest benefits of this approach is that it may get some students involved in their own education who haven’t been in the past. The vast majority of us have great memories of our childhoods—they give us those “warm and fuzzy” feelings, and many people spend a lot of time and money chasing the experiences of their past. It may seem a little “gimmicky,” but incorporating those classic toys into learning at school will definitely get students excited. Think LEGOs in a geometry class, for example. In the English classroom, high school students flip out with excitement when teachers read a children’s book to them aloud. Students are expected to “grow up” too quickly, in my opinion, and we often forget that high school students are still kids who enjoy play-like activities. Keeping this in mind will help us get students excited to come to class and engaged in the material. Schools need to embrace kid culture and play in the classroom, because fighting against this inevitability has failed.
Many teachers find themselves looking out at a sea of disengaged, uninterested students as they push the same old curriculum year after year. Perhaps incorporating some facets of kid culture (even just one or two will do at first) may engage some of these students with the material, helping them to understand the real-world relevance of what they learn in class. Many scholarly articles suggest that one of the reasons that many students do not achieve in school is that they fail to see the connection between their real-world, out-of-school activities and what they learn in the classroom. If there is no connection there, then why should students care? More importantly, how are we preparing students for life after k-12 if we aren’t equipping them with the skills to analyze the world around them?
I am not suggesting that we trash the curriculum staples that have driven our classrooms for decades. In English, for example, the classics and the Canon definitely have their place. They need to be read by students, not only because they represent masterpieces of their times but also because cultural literacy demands that citizens understand the pop-culture references that often originate in literature. Take Shakespeare, for example. Students need to know the basics of Shakespeare in order to participate in our culture, since so many cultural references revolve around his plays.
So maybe we keep the staples, but we add new ways for students to access them through kid culture. We pair the classic text Dracula with the kid culture phenomenon Twilight. We incorporate Harry Potter into British literature or folk tale classes. We use The Simpsons or Shrek to teach satire as a genre. We use Liberty’s Kids (which actually is a pretty entertaining show) to supplement a US History class or colonial texts. We bring “new media” into the classroom. We incorporate play-like behavior into our lesson plans. It doesn’t need to be fancy. It doesn’t need to add to our already-overstuffed workload as teachers. It benefits our students, and it can be implemented easily.
The whole “student engagement” thing is key here. Some students have been able to skate through the system without really interacting with a rigorous curriculum. It is sad, but that’s a fact. So we should not be surprised when some students shut down when they are assigned to read Shakespeare. We need to build a sort of ladder which allows students to feel comfortable accessing rigorous academic challenges such as Shakespeare. Incorporating kid culture and play into the classroom allows us to build those connections.
One of the biggest benefits of this approach is that it may get some students involved in their own education who haven’t been in the past. The vast majority of us have great memories of our childhoods—they give us those “warm and fuzzy” feelings, and many people spend a lot of time and money chasing the experiences of their past. It may seem a little “gimmicky,” but incorporating those classic toys into learning at school will definitely get students excited. Think LEGOs in a geometry class, for example. In the English classroom, high school students flip out with excitement when teachers read a children’s book to them aloud. Students are expected to “grow up” too quickly, in my opinion, and we often forget that high school students are still kids who enjoy play-like activities. Keeping this in mind will help us get students excited to come to class and engaged in the material. Schools need to embrace kid culture and play in the classroom, because fighting against this inevitability has failed.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
March 1 Post: Avatars
Let me begin by saying that I had a ton of fun making avatars this week. I really enjoyed http://www.gizmoz.com/, but I decided to upload a different avatar that I made, from http://www.simpsonsmovie.com/main.html.
Moving on. The readings for this week were very informative. I have very little experience with avatars, aside from seeing Dwight Schrute’s Second Life character on my favorite show, The Office. I remember that episode vividly, and I remember thinking that the technology was pretty cool. Before the readings, I had not considered that avatars could be used for educational purposes. Boy, was I wrong. I can absolutely see the benefit of using avatars, particularly in an online class. Sometimes, online classes can feel a little bit isolating and alienating, since students miss out on actually interacting with classmates (unless online chats, for example, are required). Even when classmate interaction is facilitated through chats, that visual element sometimes remains missing, and the visual element is a factor that students find important. For example, my blog buddy and I added each other as friends on Facebook last week, and I now feel like I know her a bit better. We have chatted online for quite a few weeks, but I now feel like I have an even fuller picture. Avatars can serve an even more personalized purpose than images alone, and they can be even more effective in this regard. I think that they have the potential to revolutionize online classes (and other classes, for that matter), but I think that most people are still fairly unfamiliar with the whole avatar issue.
In my experience, students are very engaged and excited about avatars. I overheard someone in one of my classes discussing an experience in which she showed an avatar of herself to her own students and had the avatar explain the daily writing prompt. She said that the students were completely blown away. As a result of her efforts, the students were engaged in the activity. The readings for this week seem to suggest a similar pattern. Even if avatars are not as useful as students would hope, as was the case with the eFolio avatar, they nevertheless spur student curiosity and involvement with the class. I have taken the same class (from the study) in which we had to create an eFolio, and believe me, that project was incredibly confusing. I certainly understand the rationale for creating an avatar to field student questions for EDHD 5007.
At this point, the whole “avatar abuse” thing should probably be addressed. Maybe I am too liberal for my own good, but I simply don’t think that it is that huge of an issue. This is a new technology that, as I said above, thrives on student curiosity. Of course they are going to push the boundaries of the technology—actually, I would be disappointed if they weren’t interested in the capabilities of the technology. If sexuality is a natural part of “human” life, doesn’t it make sense that students would be interested to find out if the non-human avatar was programmed to respond in an equally human-like fashion? Though I wouldn’t type inappropriate comments to an avatar in a school setting, I would nevertheless be curious to find out how an avatar would respond to such…dare I say it…probing questions? I think it just comes with the territory. The study gave a bunch of students anonymous access to an attractive computer “tutor” without consequences. I would have been more surprised if the inappropriate comments did not occur. In my opinion, the same goes for the group of high school students discussed in the readings. Demographically, should we be shocked that high school boys like to test boundaries and are interested in attractive females, or that their minds aren’t always the purest? I think not.
I am not suggesting that abuse to women is not a serious issue. But there is a significant distinction that must be made—these avatars may appear to be life-like but they are definitely NOT real humans, and I think that the “dirty talk” that the avatars face has much more to do with technological curiosity than anything else. I don’t think we should expect that people pay avatars the same level of respect as an actual human—in the end, why does it matter? Nobody gets hurt. I don’t think that this mistreatment of avatars should deter avatar use, primarily because they offer so many great benefits. According to Veletsianos et al., “pedagogical agents can (a) increase motivation, (b) increase perceptions of comfort, (c) stimulate learning, (d) enhance information and communication flow, (e) fulfill personal connection to learning, and (f) enhance problem solving processes” (293). Though not every student will benefit from the use of pedagogical agents, I feel that they are a great tool that can enhance learning. If teachers or professors are really worried about “avatar abuse,” then they always have the option of creating a gender-neutral avatar (although I would bet that students will still be curious enough to find new ways to push boundaries).
I think that the anonymity of comments in both of the readings for this week is another monumental factor. If you want to curb inappropriate comments fielded by avatars, simply track the comments back to the students. Problem solved. I know that this would deter the majority of students from “testing the waters” in this way. The readings remind us that “the Internet lowers human inhibitions…especially when anonymity is involved” (294).
So my thoughts boil down to the fact that I am definitely an advocate of avatar use in the classroom. Though there are some downsides such as avatar abuse according to some, the pros outweigh the cons, in my opinion. In fact, if the teacher is planning on creating an avatar of him/herself, I think that a great way to decrease “avatar abuse” would be to have students create avatars of themselves. If they are involved with the process to a greater extent, perhaps they will be more aware of the capabilities of the technology, thus curbing many of the risqué comments that are simply meant to test the limits of this technology. If the students are involved in the process of creating avatars for a class, then media literacy and engagement will be increased anyway, which should be an important goal for any teacher.
Moving on. The readings for this week were very informative. I have very little experience with avatars, aside from seeing Dwight Schrute’s Second Life character on my favorite show, The Office. I remember that episode vividly, and I remember thinking that the technology was pretty cool. Before the readings, I had not considered that avatars could be used for educational purposes. Boy, was I wrong. I can absolutely see the benefit of using avatars, particularly in an online class. Sometimes, online classes can feel a little bit isolating and alienating, since students miss out on actually interacting with classmates (unless online chats, for example, are required). Even when classmate interaction is facilitated through chats, that visual element sometimes remains missing, and the visual element is a factor that students find important. For example, my blog buddy and I added each other as friends on Facebook last week, and I now feel like I know her a bit better. We have chatted online for quite a few weeks, but I now feel like I have an even fuller picture. Avatars can serve an even more personalized purpose than images alone, and they can be even more effective in this regard. I think that they have the potential to revolutionize online classes (and other classes, for that matter), but I think that most people are still fairly unfamiliar with the whole avatar issue.
In my experience, students are very engaged and excited about avatars. I overheard someone in one of my classes discussing an experience in which she showed an avatar of herself to her own students and had the avatar explain the daily writing prompt. She said that the students were completely blown away. As a result of her efforts, the students were engaged in the activity. The readings for this week seem to suggest a similar pattern. Even if avatars are not as useful as students would hope, as was the case with the eFolio avatar, they nevertheless spur student curiosity and involvement with the class. I have taken the same class (from the study) in which we had to create an eFolio, and believe me, that project was incredibly confusing. I certainly understand the rationale for creating an avatar to field student questions for EDHD 5007.
At this point, the whole “avatar abuse” thing should probably be addressed. Maybe I am too liberal for my own good, but I simply don’t think that it is that huge of an issue. This is a new technology that, as I said above, thrives on student curiosity. Of course they are going to push the boundaries of the technology—actually, I would be disappointed if they weren’t interested in the capabilities of the technology. If sexuality is a natural part of “human” life, doesn’t it make sense that students would be interested to find out if the non-human avatar was programmed to respond in an equally human-like fashion? Though I wouldn’t type inappropriate comments to an avatar in a school setting, I would nevertheless be curious to find out how an avatar would respond to such…dare I say it…probing questions? I think it just comes with the territory. The study gave a bunch of students anonymous access to an attractive computer “tutor” without consequences. I would have been more surprised if the inappropriate comments did not occur. In my opinion, the same goes for the group of high school students discussed in the readings. Demographically, should we be shocked that high school boys like to test boundaries and are interested in attractive females, or that their minds aren’t always the purest? I think not.
I am not suggesting that abuse to women is not a serious issue. But there is a significant distinction that must be made—these avatars may appear to be life-like but they are definitely NOT real humans, and I think that the “dirty talk” that the avatars face has much more to do with technological curiosity than anything else. I don’t think we should expect that people pay avatars the same level of respect as an actual human—in the end, why does it matter? Nobody gets hurt. I don’t think that this mistreatment of avatars should deter avatar use, primarily because they offer so many great benefits. According to Veletsianos et al., “pedagogical agents can (a) increase motivation, (b) increase perceptions of comfort, (c) stimulate learning, (d) enhance information and communication flow, (e) fulfill personal connection to learning, and (f) enhance problem solving processes” (293). Though not every student will benefit from the use of pedagogical agents, I feel that they are a great tool that can enhance learning. If teachers or professors are really worried about “avatar abuse,” then they always have the option of creating a gender-neutral avatar (although I would bet that students will still be curious enough to find new ways to push boundaries).
I think that the anonymity of comments in both of the readings for this week is another monumental factor. If you want to curb inappropriate comments fielded by avatars, simply track the comments back to the students. Problem solved. I know that this would deter the majority of students from “testing the waters” in this way. The readings remind us that “the Internet lowers human inhibitions…especially when anonymity is involved” (294).
So my thoughts boil down to the fact that I am definitely an advocate of avatar use in the classroom. Though there are some downsides such as avatar abuse according to some, the pros outweigh the cons, in my opinion. In fact, if the teacher is planning on creating an avatar of him/herself, I think that a great way to decrease “avatar abuse” would be to have students create avatars of themselves. If they are involved with the process to a greater extent, perhaps they will be more aware of the capabilities of the technology, thus curbing many of the risqué comments that are simply meant to test the limits of this technology. If the students are involved in the process of creating avatars for a class, then media literacy and engagement will be increased anyway, which should be an important goal for any teacher.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Carefully Crafted Culture of Shopping Malls
Shopping malls (arguably) do the majority of their work in merchandise sales and the socialization of the adult public to behave/dress/interact with the world in specific, capitalist, mainstream ways. I want to argue, however, that this process begins during childhood, molding and shaping children as cogs in the machine of modern American consumerist society. Indeed, young children do not have the purchasing power of their parents or guardians, but the shopping mall acts as a space of socialization.
Most of the children I know have fond memories of visiting various costumed characters at the mall. Where do children go to see Santa at Christmas? The mall. Thinking critically, this locale for Santa has a number of implications. The long line of children waiting to see Santa each year points to the importance of consumerism during the holidays. Children tell Santa what they want for Christmas, the parents are conveniently nearby to overhear, and afterward the parents can quickly and easily pick up these items. Santa is irrevocably tied to the success of mall and department stores, and this link likely does not go unnoticed by children. Christmas becomes more about efficiency than thoughtfulness, and the notorious “mall Santa” is just one component in this well-oiled machine. Linking Santa with shopping malls early on creates waves of lifelong consumers. It trains adults to head to the mall when they think of Christmas, since some of their most memorable holiday season moments as children took place on Santa’s lap at the local shopping mall. Who knows how much the presence of the mall Santa has affected the bottom lines of budgets across malls in America, but the connection is undoubtedly important. In this respect, one could also argue that the shopping mall Santa upholds the culture of those in power: a conservative Christian middle/upper class who celebrates Christmas rather than Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or another holiday. The occasional presence of the Easter Bunny character at shopping malls at Easter time also reinforces this Christian power structure in shopping malls. This is some of the important cultural work of shopping malls.
In terms of linking shopping and citizenship, The Washington Post article “He Told Us to Go Shopping. Now the Bill is Due” was quite insightful. In our country’s (and the Bush administration’s) nationalist, pigheaded unwillingness to adapt, we attempted to “have our cake and eat it too” as we tried to change the way the Middle East lived without sacrificing our own consumerist lifestyle. No wonder Americans get a reputation as bullheaded and empire-minded. The passive nature of the American civilian’s involvement in the past 8 years of American history has been an example of “what not to do,” and Obama’s administration has a heavy load to carry. Sure, the collapsed economy has forced Americans to give up some of the luxuries and excess that has come to personify our country to the rest of the world, but more is needed. I speculate that one of the major challenges our country will face will be trying to overcome this grotesque, excessive “buy buy buy” lifestyle without further hurting the economy. The malls will need to adapt to meet the desires of an American public facing a recession while still turning a profit.
So what is the solution? In my opinion, the “green revolution” is the answer. Once again, we must look to the past as an example. Consider America’s financial difficulties facing Clinton as he began his first term. The technology explosion helped kick our country back into a “boom time,” which bounced us back into financial comfort for a while. Shopping malls flourished during this time, as seen in the “History of the Shopping Center and Mall” article. Consider the Mall of America, for a local example. Consumerism during the technology boom helped our country and the economy during this time, and I feel that investing in a “green revolution” could do the same thing. If malls stay in touch with the desires of their clientele, then they could be on the forefront of this new mode of consumerism that could bring us back into the upswing of the cyclical nature of consumerism, mall success, and the economy.
Finally, shopping is linked in a huge way with identity. I took a geography class at the U in which this very topic was discussed at length. Consider “mall walkers”—this activity links feeling good and getting exercise (a healthy lifestyle is central to the identities of many people) to the mall. People begin to rely on the mall for involvement in their lifestyle and become attached to the mall in terms of their identity. But more importantly, have you ever seen anyone take pictures in the mall? Try it, I dare you. A security guard will promptly approach you and ask you to stop. My professor explained that the reason nobody may take photos in a shopping mall is because shopping can be seen as sinful, indulgent, and something that people may not want to admit. Mall designers want people to become lost in the mall, wandering from place to place without any critical thought. But the minute that a camera appears, people snap out of that “blissfully oblivious shopper mode,” similar to the fact that you’ll never find a clock in a mall. It is almost as if some people do not want to be “caught” shopping. Clocks and cameras bring people back to the “reality” of their own lives, exiting the escapist dreamland of the shopping mall. Every once in a while people want to imagine a new identity for themselves—think about the people who try on Prada dresses who could never afford them—and malls are uniquely designed to meet the needs of identity escapism.
Most of the children I know have fond memories of visiting various costumed characters at the mall. Where do children go to see Santa at Christmas? The mall. Thinking critically, this locale for Santa has a number of implications. The long line of children waiting to see Santa each year points to the importance of consumerism during the holidays. Children tell Santa what they want for Christmas, the parents are conveniently nearby to overhear, and afterward the parents can quickly and easily pick up these items. Santa is irrevocably tied to the success of mall and department stores, and this link likely does not go unnoticed by children. Christmas becomes more about efficiency than thoughtfulness, and the notorious “mall Santa” is just one component in this well-oiled machine. Linking Santa with shopping malls early on creates waves of lifelong consumers. It trains adults to head to the mall when they think of Christmas, since some of their most memorable holiday season moments as children took place on Santa’s lap at the local shopping mall. Who knows how much the presence of the mall Santa has affected the bottom lines of budgets across malls in America, but the connection is undoubtedly important. In this respect, one could also argue that the shopping mall Santa upholds the culture of those in power: a conservative Christian middle/upper class who celebrates Christmas rather than Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or another holiday. The occasional presence of the Easter Bunny character at shopping malls at Easter time also reinforces this Christian power structure in shopping malls. This is some of the important cultural work of shopping malls.
In terms of linking shopping and citizenship, The Washington Post article “He Told Us to Go Shopping. Now the Bill is Due” was quite insightful. In our country’s (and the Bush administration’s) nationalist, pigheaded unwillingness to adapt, we attempted to “have our cake and eat it too” as we tried to change the way the Middle East lived without sacrificing our own consumerist lifestyle. No wonder Americans get a reputation as bullheaded and empire-minded. The passive nature of the American civilian’s involvement in the past 8 years of American history has been an example of “what not to do,” and Obama’s administration has a heavy load to carry. Sure, the collapsed economy has forced Americans to give up some of the luxuries and excess that has come to personify our country to the rest of the world, but more is needed. I speculate that one of the major challenges our country will face will be trying to overcome this grotesque, excessive “buy buy buy” lifestyle without further hurting the economy. The malls will need to adapt to meet the desires of an American public facing a recession while still turning a profit.
So what is the solution? In my opinion, the “green revolution” is the answer. Once again, we must look to the past as an example. Consider America’s financial difficulties facing Clinton as he began his first term. The technology explosion helped kick our country back into a “boom time,” which bounced us back into financial comfort for a while. Shopping malls flourished during this time, as seen in the “History of the Shopping Center and Mall” article. Consider the Mall of America, for a local example. Consumerism during the technology boom helped our country and the economy during this time, and I feel that investing in a “green revolution” could do the same thing. If malls stay in touch with the desires of their clientele, then they could be on the forefront of this new mode of consumerism that could bring us back into the upswing of the cyclical nature of consumerism, mall success, and the economy.
Finally, shopping is linked in a huge way with identity. I took a geography class at the U in which this very topic was discussed at length. Consider “mall walkers”—this activity links feeling good and getting exercise (a healthy lifestyle is central to the identities of many people) to the mall. People begin to rely on the mall for involvement in their lifestyle and become attached to the mall in terms of their identity. But more importantly, have you ever seen anyone take pictures in the mall? Try it, I dare you. A security guard will promptly approach you and ask you to stop. My professor explained that the reason nobody may take photos in a shopping mall is because shopping can be seen as sinful, indulgent, and something that people may not want to admit. Mall designers want people to become lost in the mall, wandering from place to place without any critical thought. But the minute that a camera appears, people snap out of that “blissfully oblivious shopper mode,” similar to the fact that you’ll never find a clock in a mall. It is almost as if some people do not want to be “caught” shopping. Clocks and cameras bring people back to the “reality” of their own lives, exiting the escapist dreamland of the shopping mall. Every once in a while people want to imagine a new identity for themselves—think about the people who try on Prada dresses who could never afford them—and malls are uniquely designed to meet the needs of identity escapism.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Week Three Post: Gaming in the Classroom?
I was initially quite skeptical about the idea of incorporating video games into the classroom, particularly in my content area of English. With an already overstuffed curriculum and panic about standardized testing running high, it initially seemed that video games would be at odds with our goals as high school teachers. But then I remembered something from one of my foundations classes in education—students struggle because the things we ask them to do in school are so different from the things they do outside of school. In other words, their school life is not compatible with their home life, so they become disengaged because they fail to see the purpose of traditional academics. Though savvy teachers attempt to remedy this problem through incorporating blogs, wikis, etc., into their classroom, the school/home gap still exists. Perhaps video games are another way to bring students’ out-of-school interests into the classroom.
I began to ponder my own interactions with video games in school. Certainly, today’s video game environment is a different world entirely when compared to the video games that were around during my own k-12 education. Nevertheless, as a student I occasionally experienced video games in school, and not surprisingly, they immediately engaged me. Here are a few examples from my seemingly distant past, circa the mid-90s:
Number Munchers (and occasionally the lesser-known Grammar/Word Munchers):
Number Munchers made math fun for even the most resistant student. Scary green monsters attack as you solve math problems, racing the clock. In terms of teaching math, this game solves a huge problem that I have noticed in math classrooms. Moreso than any other classroom in my opinion, a huge dichotomy exists between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” meaning those who like/are “good at” math and those who dislike/struggle with math. As a result, comparing oneself to one’s peers in terms of skill level is a constant occurrence in the math classroom. I like the idea of Number Munchers because it takes the student-to-student competition out of math and gives attention to the individual. Sure, students could compare their scores. As a teacher, though, in the end I would think that student confidence could only benefit when they begin to think of math as “student versus imaginary green monster” rather than “student versus student.” Since students know immediately whether they have been categorized by their peers in class as “good at math” or “bad at math,” as a teacher I fear that this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If everyone else thinks that a student is “bad at math,” why should he/she think any differently? Perhaps Number Munchers could give those students a sense of achievement in a challenging subject area. Perhaps this game is a precursor to the “math and literacy” game that was discussed in the readings for this week.
The Original Oregon Trail:
In middle school, I remember it being such a huge deal when the social studies classes got to go to the computer lab to play the original Oregon Trail game. Though I don’t remember it being a particularly educational experience (I remember hunting for buffalo in the game, crossing rivers in the covered wagon, planning a month of departure, and naming your fellow trailblazers, but nothing with historical significance), I am sure that some information about the real Oregon Trail or Lewis and Clark or something seeped in through osmosis. Nevertheless, the game succeeded in getting students excited about going to their social studies classes for the day, and perhaps that is reason enough to include it in school. If students become accustomed to feeling excited about their classes, then engagement in actual curricula can’t be far behind.
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing:
Though most of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing consists of highly repetitive drills and practices, which fail to engage many students, the “gaming” part of the experience was highly memorable for me. I remember a racing game in which the students race against another (computer operated) driver on a freeway. The graphics were crude, but the students loved it. The faster and more accurately the students type, the faster their car travels and the more likely they are to defeat their automated opponent. Like Number Munchers, this game motivates students to succeed in a specific task that is directly related to the content area.
In terms of the readings for this week, I thought that the gender studies perspectives were particularly interesting. The three games that I discussed above are all pretty gender-neutral, which I think is kind of appropriate for educational games. However, I wonder if the gender neutrality of these games prevents the sort of “identity building” that helps students become engrossed in the gamespace and really connect with the world of the game, and thus the content. I was not surprised by the “male gaze” nature of the video games described in the readings, since the core audience for video games is young males, but nevertheless the authors made some serious points about gender in games, particularly if we are to incorporate them into the classroom. I still need to think more about how I would integrate video games into an English classroom, which is my content area, but I think it would be worthwhile. Even assigning projects such as having students design certain aspects of a video game, such as characters, settting, plot, climax, etc., would engage students while still meeting the standards and benchmarks of the National Council for Teachers of English. It is definitely food for thought.
I began to ponder my own interactions with video games in school. Certainly, today’s video game environment is a different world entirely when compared to the video games that were around during my own k-12 education. Nevertheless, as a student I occasionally experienced video games in school, and not surprisingly, they immediately engaged me. Here are a few examples from my seemingly distant past, circa the mid-90s:
Number Munchers (and occasionally the lesser-known Grammar/Word Munchers):
Number Munchers made math fun for even the most resistant student. Scary green monsters attack as you solve math problems, racing the clock. In terms of teaching math, this game solves a huge problem that I have noticed in math classrooms. Moreso than any other classroom in my opinion, a huge dichotomy exists between the “haves” and the “have-nots,” meaning those who like/are “good at” math and those who dislike/struggle with math. As a result, comparing oneself to one’s peers in terms of skill level is a constant occurrence in the math classroom. I like the idea of Number Munchers because it takes the student-to-student competition out of math and gives attention to the individual. Sure, students could compare their scores. As a teacher, though, in the end I would think that student confidence could only benefit when they begin to think of math as “student versus imaginary green monster” rather than “student versus student.” Since students know immediately whether they have been categorized by their peers in class as “good at math” or “bad at math,” as a teacher I fear that this is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If everyone else thinks that a student is “bad at math,” why should he/she think any differently? Perhaps Number Munchers could give those students a sense of achievement in a challenging subject area. Perhaps this game is a precursor to the “math and literacy” game that was discussed in the readings for this week.
The Original Oregon Trail:
In middle school, I remember it being such a huge deal when the social studies classes got to go to the computer lab to play the original Oregon Trail game. Though I don’t remember it being a particularly educational experience (I remember hunting for buffalo in the game, crossing rivers in the covered wagon, planning a month of departure, and naming your fellow trailblazers, but nothing with historical significance), I am sure that some information about the real Oregon Trail or Lewis and Clark or something seeped in through osmosis. Nevertheless, the game succeeded in getting students excited about going to their social studies classes for the day, and perhaps that is reason enough to include it in school. If students become accustomed to feeling excited about their classes, then engagement in actual curricula can’t be far behind.Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing:
Though most of Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing consists of highly repetitive drills and practices, which fail to engage many students, the “gaming” part of the experience was highly memorable for me. I remember a racing game in which the students race against another (computer operated) driver on a freeway. The graphics were crude, but the students loved it. The faster and more accurately the students type, the faster their car travels and the more likely they are to defeat their automated opponent. Like Number Munchers, this game motivates students to succeed in a specific task that is directly related to the content area.
In terms of the readings for this week, I thought that the gender studies perspectives were particularly interesting. The three games that I discussed above are all pretty gender-neutral, which I think is kind of appropriate for educational games. However, I wonder if the gender neutrality of these games prevents the sort of “identity building” that helps students become engrossed in the gamespace and really connect with the world of the game, and thus the content. I was not surprised by the “male gaze” nature of the video games described in the readings, since the core audience for video games is young males, but nevertheless the authors made some serious points about gender in games, particularly if we are to incorporate them into the classroom. I still need to think more about how I would integrate video games into an English classroom, which is my content area, but I think it would be worthwhile. Even assigning projects such as having students design certain aspects of a video game, such as characters, settting, plot, climax, etc., would engage students while still meeting the standards and benchmarks of the National Council for Teachers of English. It is definitely food for thought.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Week Two Post
When I first read the articles assigned for this week, I became aware that I am not a very good “fan.” I’ve never attended a fan convention, I do not write or read fan fiction, and I don’t listen to “Wizard Rock” or podcasts. But although I may not be one of those fans who go “all out” in support of their cause, there are a few cases in which I would consider myself more of a fan than a casual supporter. The difference between crazed fan mania and casual enjoyment of a subject is a spectrum, and I think for many things I live somewhere in the middle of the road.
The first thing I would consider myself a “fan” of is the television show “The Office” (the American one, not the British one). I have previous seasons on DVD and the latest episodes saved on my parent’s TIVO. I never miss an episode, and I await Thursday nights each week. My friends and I quote funny lines from the show often and we discuss plots and characters. However, I do not participate in any online clubs or blogs related to the show. The most “fan-ish” thing that I have done in relation to “The Office” occurred when I dressed up on Halloween. There is a Halloween episode of the show in which the characters on the show dress up in costumes at work. One of the main characters, Jim, wears his regular work attire but tapes three big circles of black paper down the front of his shirt. When someone asks him about his costume he replies that he is “Three hole punch Jim. There are two kinds. Regular Jim and Three hole punch Jim.” The show takes place at a paper company, hence the joke. In any case, one Halloween my sister and I dressed up as “Three hole punch Rebecca and three hole punch Annie.” In this way, there is a serious social aspect of my enjoyment of the television show. I watch it with friends and family, which enhances my enjoyment.
Thinking about this more critically, I began to wonder why “The Office” drew me in as a fan. Sure, it is humorous, but there has to be more to it. First, I work in an office that looks and operates similarly to the office on the show. It has a similar number of employees, lots of drama in the relationships between the employees, some of whom are bizarre. Culturally, the show represents characters of a similar class, race, and culture as my own. So I suppose that there is a lot in this show to which I can relate and connect.
More seriously, I am a HUGE fan of Barack Obama. I voted for him, and my job at Ramsey County Elections (where I’ve worked throughout my years at the U) gave me a unique perspective on the election that got him into office. In this case, my status as a loyal fan stems from my family life. I come from a long line of staunch liberal democrats. My dad grew up with a dog named Kennedy, after JFK. My grandparents had framed photographs of JFK hanging in their home. I always thought that these framed photos were bizarre, and I never thought that I would feel that sense of loyalty and pride in my president. I simply never understood it. But when Obama was sworn in, it made a bit more sense, and although I’m still not planning any Obama shrine in my home it is refreshing to feel that sense of pride and patriotism. It also helped me understand my grandparents in a new way, and I felt a stronger connection to them than ever because I could finally understand this thing that has puzzled me for so many years. Our country is pretty screwed up at this point, and I don’t think anyone could argue with that, but the sense of hope that Obama brought recently is admirable.
It is pretty safe to say that at this point in time Obama has a huge fan base (or “fandom” as the articles would suggest). This provides a unique opportunity in the field of education. I was volunteering in a middle school English classroom on Election Day, and the feeling was electric (and support for McCain was definitely NOT the source of the electricity). Most students in middle schools and high schools are extremely supportive of Obama, based on my experiences with them. They are also fans, and they see his call for participation and service as an opportunity to make the nation better. As the leader of our county, he plays a very central role in our culture, so this provides opportunities in every school subject for incorporating the students’ fervor for Obama. Civics and history are a no-brainer for incorporating him into the classroom. In math, teachers could talk about budgets that he proposes or other spending-related topics. In English, my content area, students could analyze his speeches.
The fact that I’ll be working in middle schools and high schools gives me a unique opportunity to take advantage of the fact that teenagers are fans of lots of things, and they are the typical image our culture envisions as fans. They are a key demographic for advertisers trying to gain fans for their perspective causes. I was a teenager during the heyday of 1990s teen pop artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Jennifer Lopez, and so on. Today, in terms of the English classrooms in which I’ll be working, I can incorporate the huge fan draw of certain books that have emerged in the past few years, such as the Harry Potter and Twilight series. Using the subjects of teenage fan obsessions in the classroom helps engage even the most disengaged students and to possibly even make school….shhh don’t tell the students….fun.
The first thing I would consider myself a “fan” of is the television show “The Office” (the American one, not the British one). I have previous seasons on DVD and the latest episodes saved on my parent’s TIVO. I never miss an episode, and I await Thursday nights each week. My friends and I quote funny lines from the show often and we discuss plots and characters. However, I do not participate in any online clubs or blogs related to the show. The most “fan-ish” thing that I have done in relation to “The Office” occurred when I dressed up on Halloween. There is a Halloween episode of the show in which the characters on the show dress up in costumes at work. One of the main characters, Jim, wears his regular work attire but tapes three big circles of black paper down the front of his shirt. When someone asks him about his costume he replies that he is “Three hole punch Jim. There are two kinds. Regular Jim and Three hole punch Jim.” The show takes place at a paper company, hence the joke. In any case, one Halloween my sister and I dressed up as “Three hole punch Rebecca and three hole punch Annie.” In this way, there is a serious social aspect of my enjoyment of the television show. I watch it with friends and family, which enhances my enjoyment.
Thinking about this more critically, I began to wonder why “The Office” drew me in as a fan. Sure, it is humorous, but there has to be more to it. First, I work in an office that looks and operates similarly to the office on the show. It has a similar number of employees, lots of drama in the relationships between the employees, some of whom are bizarre. Culturally, the show represents characters of a similar class, race, and culture as my own. So I suppose that there is a lot in this show to which I can relate and connect.
More seriously, I am a HUGE fan of Barack Obama. I voted for him, and my job at Ramsey County Elections (where I’ve worked throughout my years at the U) gave me a unique perspective on the election that got him into office. In this case, my status as a loyal fan stems from my family life. I come from a long line of staunch liberal democrats. My dad grew up with a dog named Kennedy, after JFK. My grandparents had framed photographs of JFK hanging in their home. I always thought that these framed photos were bizarre, and I never thought that I would feel that sense of loyalty and pride in my president. I simply never understood it. But when Obama was sworn in, it made a bit more sense, and although I’m still not planning any Obama shrine in my home it is refreshing to feel that sense of pride and patriotism. It also helped me understand my grandparents in a new way, and I felt a stronger connection to them than ever because I could finally understand this thing that has puzzled me for so many years. Our country is pretty screwed up at this point, and I don’t think anyone could argue with that, but the sense of hope that Obama brought recently is admirable.
It is pretty safe to say that at this point in time Obama has a huge fan base (or “fandom” as the articles would suggest). This provides a unique opportunity in the field of education. I was volunteering in a middle school English classroom on Election Day, and the feeling was electric (and support for McCain was definitely NOT the source of the electricity). Most students in middle schools and high schools are extremely supportive of Obama, based on my experiences with them. They are also fans, and they see his call for participation and service as an opportunity to make the nation better. As the leader of our county, he plays a very central role in our culture, so this provides opportunities in every school subject for incorporating the students’ fervor for Obama. Civics and history are a no-brainer for incorporating him into the classroom. In math, teachers could talk about budgets that he proposes or other spending-related topics. In English, my content area, students could analyze his speeches.
The fact that I’ll be working in middle schools and high schools gives me a unique opportunity to take advantage of the fact that teenagers are fans of lots of things, and they are the typical image our culture envisions as fans. They are a key demographic for advertisers trying to gain fans for their perspective causes. I was a teenager during the heyday of 1990s teen pop artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Jennifer Lopez, and so on. Today, in terms of the English classrooms in which I’ll be working, I can incorporate the huge fan draw of certain books that have emerged in the past few years, such as the Harry Potter and Twilight series. Using the subjects of teenage fan obsessions in the classroom helps engage even the most disengaged students and to possibly even make school….shhh don’t tell the students….fun.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Week One Post
Technology has expanded the reach of popular culture in countless ways during past years and today, and teachers are often reluctant to accept the impact of this popular culture explosion on students, since this may mean that they must update lesson plans and teaching methods to best serve students. Today's students live in an "electronic environment that 'literally bathes them in digital media'" (White and Walker 15). It is important, then, to note that "wishing that popular culture was not as pervasive and powerful as it is will not make it any less so" (White and Walker 15). This quotation impacted me immensely. Haven't we all had teachers who were stagnant in their teaching methods and would not change with the times? Though we were frustrated by their lack of flexibility as students, as teachers we may be tempted to say, "If a lesson plan or curriculum works with students one year, there is no reason to change it in years to come." In reality, though, this widens the gap between the in-school experiences of students and the out-of-school experiences of students, which will only make education less and less relevant as time progresses. On another note, students really appreciate being "met in the middle" when teachers attempt to speak the language of modern popular culture, even if it is a language in which the students are fluent and the teacher is not.
The Sesame Street idea that "if you can gain and hold the attention of children, they will learn" must constantly be in the minds of teachers (16). Engagement is a huge factor in whether or not students learn, and incorporating popular culture into the classroom is a highly effective way to boost engagement and make school...shhhh some people won't want to hear this....fun for students. Some of the best lesson plans allow students to learn from nontraditional sources and experiences, and bringing popular culture into the classroom is one way to achieve this goal. At the same time, analysis and engagement with popular culture in the classroom helps students build a toolkit of skills for facing the pop culture overload that has come to be modern life in America and much of the world.
This must go far beyond showing an episode of "The Simpsons" here and there or letting students watch a film version of the novel they just read. The issue of consumerism must, in my opinion, be raised if popular culture is to be addressed in the classroom at all. If advertisers are treating students as though they are "kidults," then we must help them think like adults in order to process the information coming at them. The fact that the film "Spiderman" has over 15 product placements should be proof alone that students must be armed with skills to navigate the new popular culture/technology landscape. Or consider another type of "product placement." What exactly are Disney animated films trying to "sell?" Conservative ideologies? "Glorified pagan earth worship" (26)? Homosexuality? Different perspectives suggest very different stories. Therefore, we must offer students empowerment in the classroom to make educated decisions about media outside of the classroom.
In my own limited teaching experience, I have found that incorporating popular culture into classrooms is enormously successful. Granted, with more experience I will become more comfortable delving into it much more deeply and adopting a "critical media literacy approach." But even by scratching the surface I was able to glean some insights. In a middle school classroom, I taught students Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." I then proceeded to show the students clips from a few different film versions of the play. These included an early black and white version, a 1960s classic version that did not stray far from the original text, and the modernized 1990s version with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. With each version, the students had to analyze how the directors were interpreting the original text. What did the directors include or omit? Why? How are they trying to position you as an audience? Not only were the students thrilled that they got to watch films, as all students are, but they came up with some great, surprisingly complex ideas. If I had more time with them, I would have loved to explore this idea more deeply, because they showed remarkable interest and thoughtfulness about media consumption.
I am going to be student teaching in a few months, and after reading these chapters I really began to think about the extent to which I want to explore critical media literacy and popular culture in my classroom. I think I will feel more comfortable with it when I have my own "official" classroom, but even on this limited, abbreviated scale I would like to incorporate it in some way. But I definitely agree with White and Walker when they discussed the challenges of using this approach in a curriculum already overstuffed with expectations and standards, and how using the approach can feel like "just one more thing" to be covered. I am challenging myself not to think in that manner, however, and instead think about the increased level of engagement and appreciation that I can expect from my students. I am most likely going to address media literacy in the unit I am planning on teaching about "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. I plan on showing clips from the real Morrie Schwartz's interviews with Ted Koppel, among other things. I will then ask the students how the news program they watched portrayed Morrie differently or similarly than the novel, and why. I will also ask students to think about the idea that if one person is portrayed differently by different media sources, which one is most accurate and why. Are any of them accurate, and how can consumers know or decide? How does race and/or culture fit in? Though I know that I could always incorporate media literacy more fully and make it more of a focus, as a first-time teacher I feel like I am tackling it in a manageable way. Who knows? Maybe as I continue to read "Tooning In" and other texts which support using popular culture and media in education, I will feel more and more comfortable with the idea in my classroom.
One thing I will do for sure, however, is help students see the relevance of schooling. This is one of my biggest goals, and although I have not figured out how I will implement this idea on a day to day basis, I know that it must become a part of the everyday fabric of my classroom. At first it might be as simple as playing music from popular culture in the background as my students work, but I know that it will become more complex as I gain experience.
The Sesame Street idea that "if you can gain and hold the attention of children, they will learn" must constantly be in the minds of teachers (16). Engagement is a huge factor in whether or not students learn, and incorporating popular culture into the classroom is a highly effective way to boost engagement and make school...shhhh some people won't want to hear this....fun for students. Some of the best lesson plans allow students to learn from nontraditional sources and experiences, and bringing popular culture into the classroom is one way to achieve this goal. At the same time, analysis and engagement with popular culture in the classroom helps students build a toolkit of skills for facing the pop culture overload that has come to be modern life in America and much of the world.
This must go far beyond showing an episode of "The Simpsons" here and there or letting students watch a film version of the novel they just read. The issue of consumerism must, in my opinion, be raised if popular culture is to be addressed in the classroom at all. If advertisers are treating students as though they are "kidults," then we must help them think like adults in order to process the information coming at them. The fact that the film "Spiderman" has over 15 product placements should be proof alone that students must be armed with skills to navigate the new popular culture/technology landscape. Or consider another type of "product placement." What exactly are Disney animated films trying to "sell?" Conservative ideologies? "Glorified pagan earth worship" (26)? Homosexuality? Different perspectives suggest very different stories. Therefore, we must offer students empowerment in the classroom to make educated decisions about media outside of the classroom.
In my own limited teaching experience, I have found that incorporating popular culture into classrooms is enormously successful. Granted, with more experience I will become more comfortable delving into it much more deeply and adopting a "critical media literacy approach." But even by scratching the surface I was able to glean some insights. In a middle school classroom, I taught students Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." I then proceeded to show the students clips from a few different film versions of the play. These included an early black and white version, a 1960s classic version that did not stray far from the original text, and the modernized 1990s version with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. With each version, the students had to analyze how the directors were interpreting the original text. What did the directors include or omit? Why? How are they trying to position you as an audience? Not only were the students thrilled that they got to watch films, as all students are, but they came up with some great, surprisingly complex ideas. If I had more time with them, I would have loved to explore this idea more deeply, because they showed remarkable interest and thoughtfulness about media consumption.
I am going to be student teaching in a few months, and after reading these chapters I really began to think about the extent to which I want to explore critical media literacy and popular culture in my classroom. I think I will feel more comfortable with it when I have my own "official" classroom, but even on this limited, abbreviated scale I would like to incorporate it in some way. But I definitely agree with White and Walker when they discussed the challenges of using this approach in a curriculum already overstuffed with expectations and standards, and how using the approach can feel like "just one more thing" to be covered. I am challenging myself not to think in that manner, however, and instead think about the increased level of engagement and appreciation that I can expect from my students. I am most likely going to address media literacy in the unit I am planning on teaching about "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. I plan on showing clips from the real Morrie Schwartz's interviews with Ted Koppel, among other things. I will then ask the students how the news program they watched portrayed Morrie differently or similarly than the novel, and why. I will also ask students to think about the idea that if one person is portrayed differently by different media sources, which one is most accurate and why. Are any of them accurate, and how can consumers know or decide? How does race and/or culture fit in? Though I know that I could always incorporate media literacy more fully and make it more of a focus, as a first-time teacher I feel like I am tackling it in a manageable way. Who knows? Maybe as I continue to read "Tooning In" and other texts which support using popular culture and media in education, I will feel more and more comfortable with the idea in my classroom.
One thing I will do for sure, however, is help students see the relevance of schooling. This is one of my biggest goals, and although I have not figured out how I will implement this idea on a day to day basis, I know that it must become a part of the everyday fabric of my classroom. At first it might be as simple as playing music from popular culture in the background as my students work, but I know that it will become more complex as I gain experience.
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