Why Teach Media Literacy?

Why Teach Media Literacy?

Children today have always had the internet, cell phones, and other technologies that were not always available to us growing up. Working for the YMCA summer camp program over the past four summer I have been amazed at how many children have high-tech cell phones which could text message and go on the internet. The amazing part is that the kids don’t even think twice about having technology because they have always had it. Even children as young as six brought phones to camp. When one thinks about television, radio, magazines, video games, the internet, and even fashion we are exposed to messages put out by the media at an astounding rate each day. A recent study found that student watch on average more than twenty eight hours of television a week and spend fifty five hours a week watch tv, texting, playing video games, and watching dvds! Thats means that children are exposed to popular media and the messages it puts out for almost eight hours a day! Because of its presence in society the media has become a shaping device for believes, norms, and perceptions. Given this fact, as educators it is our responsibility to prepare our students to deal with a world where popular media is constantly present. To be functionally literate in today’s society students not only need to be able to read and write but also be able to understand the images and sounds present in the 21st century. We live in a multi-media world and thus students must know how to read and analyze not only words, but images and sounds as well.

I believe that looking at teaching students literacy in an expanded view will help me become a better teacher. Studying and dissecting media messages requires higher level critical thinking skills. These types of skills will help students well beyond their classroom years. While students may forget the dates, and facts we taught them, critical thinking skills will never be lost. These skills are crucial for students to learn as they can then be applied to real world problems and situations. By teaching media literacy we are teaching students the skills required for lifelong learning. As we teach students to become media literate we are also teaching creative thinking skills because we are asking students to ask pertinent questions, identify fallacies, and to formulate their own opinions. Thus, by teaching media literacy we are not only teaching students how to read and understand the images and sounds of popular media, we are teaching them critical and creative thinking skills. I believe that as a teacher it is our job not only to teach students basic facts and information but also to teach them the skills required to analyze, explore, and dissect new information for themselves. Media literacy helps students understand where the information in popular media comes from, who it benefits,and what other alternative views may be out there. What other benefits do you see? Would you want to include media literacy in your classroom?

Below is an interesting video about the times we are living in! Really interesting to think about!