Media Literacy Approaches that I Value

There are two main approaches in media literacy that I found I greatly value as an educator. The first is Expressive Media Production. By implementing this type of approach in my classroom, my students have the freedom to express their creativity by using their own voice. I find this very important. As a teacher, the more I know about my students and what they care about, the more impact I can have. Expressive Media Production also allows focuses on using the “language of ‘empowerment.’” Not only are students able to work on tasks they feel passionately about, but this approach helps students learn how to be powerful in their expressions. Expressive Media Production teaches students to use collaborative teamwork to help them accomplish their tasks. This is a lifelong skill that everyone should master. If students must rely on one another in order to succeed or accomplish a project, it is likely that they will also gain knowledge by learning from and listening to their peers. As the saying goes, “two heads are better than one.” And finally, I value the Expressive Media Production approach because it allows students that do not function best in a traditional school atmosphere a place where they can excel. Because learning is based on creativity, voice and effort as opposed to following rules and directions, many students will find this type of learning beneficial. Each student has something to communicate. Expressive Media Production provides a way in which students can do that creatively.
Another approach in media literacy that I greatly value is that teaching media can be a vehicle to promote social changes in students’ attitudes about issues going on in the world around them. These issues include such things as racism, sexism, violence, or homophobia. Most students face at least one of these issues or another issue frequently. As young people, kids must understand the way in which these things affect their own lives. They also must know where they stand regarding these things. By using media in the classroom that revolves around these things, it can help students have a better understanding and knowledge about different topics. Hopefully this will help students take a stand on these issues and know how to promote the way they feel about these things.

Media Literacy Approaches that I find Problematic

One thing that was mentioned in the media literacy article found at http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article2.html that I found problematic was the lack of faith in the American public school system to teach media literacy. It seems that our public schools are having a very difficult time implementing this type of curriculum. Throughout this article there were many claims that teachers are “doing media literacy badly.” The article even went as far to state that if required to teach media literacy, 25% of our teachers will do something embarrassing in front of the students, while another 40% will do nothing at all based on the lack of ability to teach this type of curriculum. While it is evident that many teachers are not educated themselves in teaching media literacy, the first step in learning anything is putting forth the effort to try something new. The article suggests that the best place to begin implementing media literacy would be an after school club, a religious program, a library, or at home. I would argue that due to the amount of time spent at school, this is a perfect place to begin implementing media literacy. As long as teachers and administrators have a focused goal to aim toward, most teachers will be willing to learn something new first before they teach the students. Most teachers would be willing to take a course to learn new media material. I think that we need to give our educators the benefit of the doubt in that they see and understand the value of media literacy. They desire our students to have these skills that are so necessary in today’s world.

Approaches the Films use ( http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/mtm05/ )

I observed that the approaches discussed in the “approaches that I value” section were used in the films I viewed. In the film entitled, Battleground Minnesota, Expressive Media Production is used to promote voting in the state of Minnesota. The young men in this film realize the importance of this issue, and creatively find a way to interest young people to vote. Another film I viewed called, Homecoming, was about a high school boy that was abused because he decided to come out. He used media to share his story about his experience going through this type of situation. The goal was to establish a sense of emotion and help others to take a stand regarding this issue. Film is a very powerful tool to help others become more aware of the situations taking place around them.