Accessibility of Knowledge

The word "access" in a public school setting means to me that the students are given the resources for information as well as the instruction on how to use each resource. Many people know of different ways to get information (such as encyclopedias, webpages, magazines, etc.), but many of them do not know how to go about finding the information they want from it. In her book, Hobbs includes a quote that states that "students typically use information that finds them, rather than deciding what information they need." It's not just students that do this, that's for sure. I believe that it is our job, as teachers, to provide the knowhow to our students. I do not believe access to knowledge is achieved unless there is an understanding of how to use resources to find the information that we are seeking rather than simply accepting what sketchy information we get with broad web searches and one glance at a page in the encyclopedia.

For the most part, I loved the example that comprised chapter 2 of the reading. I know that we spent most of our class time dissecting Jenkins and being told to keep dissecting readings, but I really don't have too much to dissect about Hobbs' writing. Her points were valid, and her arguments seemed well thought out. I noticed all of the many different sources for opinions she went to and integrated them into her writing as any English teacher would instruct his or her students to do in a research paper. The only thing I was not particularly fond of was her frequent use of personal opinion as fact. During this chapter, however, it was largely focused on the story of a man making media literacy accessible to the students as well as creating access to the lessons of The Crucible. This integration of media literacy and a famous work of literature was a great example as to how we can provide access in our classrooms. I especially liked how Mr. Fisher monitored his students as they began their searching online and noticed their incompetence in a proper Google search, jumping on the moment as a teaching opportunity. I plan to use this in my own classroom, but not just in web-based searches. If I am careful to monitor what is happening in my classroom, I hope to be able to pick up on what students need help with and address it as a learning moment.

One sentence really stood out to me as I was reading because it struck at one of my core values of teaching. It was: "Media literacy education has long been understood as a mechanism to reduce the gap between the world of the classroom and the living room." I have always held firm to the belief that a classroom should not be an alternate reality; it should, in fact, be a way for students to explore more about themselves and their communities (whether that be societal or familial) and use what they learn in the classroom in those communities. This can be extremely complicated. As Mr. Fisher fretted, there are many different risks involved with creating sure access to different forms of media in our classrooms. Many teachers worry that if the principal or a parent were to walk into a classroom full of media what they would think. There was one teacher I heard about that had been showing clips from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in his classroom to illustrate something in the curriculum, and the principal walked in just in time for the raciness. However, I believe that these worries are inconsequential when the bigger picture is observed an analyzed. Of course, I never want to step on the toes of my students or their parents if it involves their views of morality, but I do not wish to teach in a way that would jeopardize that anyway, so I am hoping that it does not come up often if at all. This can be one complication in access being granted in the classroom. But, you know what? I would rather have my students connect and have fun and learn rather than to play it ridiculously safe and have my students be bored in my classroom and learn absolutely nothing.