I watch students use media in their projects and in the writing of their papers and it makes me very nervous. They have grown up with cell phones in their hands and internet access at their fingertips. This is a generation that expects information to be conveyed succinctly. The media knows this, and opinions are gobbled up as facts because of that cultural impatience, it seems.
I did not grow up with all of this technology. My family was very careful with what we viewed, and I did not really learn to use the internet until I was in sixth grade. When I did learn how to use it, it was drilled into my brain that I was not to take everything I read on the internet for granted. TouTube had not yet been developed, so we had to usually search for news sites in order to get our information. We had to read articles on online newspapers in order to get a story.
Now we have a culture in which our students create and use media constantly. They usually know much more than their teachers when it comes to the use of technology for the receiving and transmitting of information. It seems that most of their information comes from media, and their opinions are shaped by the opinions of others.
When reading Hobbs this week, I noticed that she talked about the way politics has become a dirty word and that our students aren’t really taught that much about them and they dislike learning about it. I personally think that this comes not only from the fact that the media makes it such a sticky mess, but also from the fact that students want their information now. And, for as much as they complain about not getting their own voice or not being able to form their own opinions, they seem rather content to let decisions be made without them unless it has to do with their social life or the limiting of media consumption. The media they consume, however, seems to be mostly about (as Hobbs states) Brittany’s latest boob job or other such subjects. In the consumption of this media, our students are fed images and messages about “the ideals” and are pushed to conform, while at the same time being told that they should be themselves. The media confuses and manipulates more than it informs, I think.
My job, as an educator of media in my classroom, is to make sure that my students know the real uses of media for creating messages of their own, and how those messages can be a real way to express their own opinions after analyzing what the media messages really are. I want to make sure that my students know that I am their advocate more than I am an advocate of societal norms. I know that many of my students will find societal norms to be greatly important, but I will try my hardest to at least help them see the real messages those media sources that create “societal norms” are sending them. Then, as many of the passages in Seeing and Writing do, express their feelings about what they have found in a creative use of the technology available to them.
2 comments:
I completely understand your fear of how deeply the media affects the upcoming generation. This fear acts as a motivator for me and tells me that I really need to up my game. In other words, not only do I need to stay current with new media but I also have to know it well enough to be able to teach my students about the dangers of technology. It is our job as educators to teach our students that the media isn’t perfect, and that it most definitely isn’t always right. Furthermore it is our job as theatre educators to teach our students the importance of taking time to stop and smell the roses. In this world of fast paced cyber travel many try to run faster then they have strength. However, that is where theatre can come in and show us new ways of looking at things. For example, once a month or so my high school drama teacher would have us do a kind of meditation exercise. Not only didn’t it help us to slow down, but it also helped us focus more on our work.
On a side note, I was wondering who taught you to use the Internet? Was it your family that drilled its consequences into your brain? Not only that, but why was it so important that you not take it for granted—in their opinion? I was just thinking that you could use that experience to help teach your students. There is no harm in making them do things the slow way. and teaching them how to really appreciate all that they have.
Peoples opinions are shaped by the opinions of others—it seems nearly impossible for it to be otherwise. As children we are influenced by the opinions of our parents because they are our leaders. As teenagers we are influence by the opinions of our teachers, especially those teachers whom we idolize. Finally, as adults we are influenced by the opinions of newspapers, blogs, news channels, etc. Our opinions are a culmination of the opinions we have gathered from those who have influenced our lives. I do not know if this is a good thing or a bad one—I would love your opinion on the matter.
The hardest thing with the media is to find that line which defines whether media helps or hurts its participants. Media does have the ability to confuse and manipulate, but if used correctly it also has the power to aid in our understanding of the world around us. The difficult thing as an educator is that we cannot define this line and increase understanding for our students. This is something that they must seek after themselves, because we cannot force them to have our ideals. Sometimes all we can do is teach them all that we know and hope for the best.
I think that your goals as a media educator are great, and I know that you will seek to provide your students with the best of everything. Students, especially those in high school, have a long way to go and your assistance in helping them on this journey will be able to make them informed citizens.
Thanks, Makinsey. :)
As to your question about who coached my internet learning, it was actually the teachers I had in my sixth grade year. The school I went to was very selective and run by the teachers. The school board said the local middle school's principal was also ours, but we knew it wasn't true. They didn't care about our tiny little place, and we liked it that way. There were about 60 kids in each grade level (6, 7, 8), and we all had the same classes. Everyone knew everyone else, and we grew together over those three years. The teachers knew each and every one of us very well, and that relationship started the first day of school in sixth grade. I actually did not have high-speed internet in my home until I was a senior in high school. My teachers at my middle school began their nurturing pedagogy by correctly teaching us how to use the internet, and they would put limits on what we could use as sources from the internet. Citations were stressed heavily, and they taught by proximity when we were on computers. By the middle of our first year there, we knew how the drill went and we knew to stay on task. We were taught how to correctly use search engines to find the good stuff for reports. I really owe a lot to those teachers.
As to my opinion you asked for, I also believe that our views are shaped by those around us, but I think we have an obligation to hear as many opinions as possible before forming our own opinions. This opinion, actually, was formed from years of simply listening and watching. I have found that people enjoy jumping on bandwagons, but I think bandwagons are obnoxiously loud and really crowded. I think that people who try to show their individuality by screaming at the top of their lungs aren't really helping their cause; so many others are doing the same thing. ...And that, I guess, is my opinion. I believe that influences can be good and informative, but I don't believe Lemmings ever got anywhere productive.
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