1. A positive event from my childhood:
My grandmother moved in with my family when I was 4 years old. She was much older than other grandmothers of children my age because she had my father when she was 35. My father was almost 30 when he had me, so that made her about 65. 65 now doesn't seem that old, but at 4 years old, 65 was ancient. She never wore hair-dye, so she looked like a grandmother. She also had a hard, but good, life. She worked at a lot of service jobs, and had Scoliosis bad, so she was always bent over which made her look like she had a hump on her back. When she married at 19, she was 5'7" but she had shrunk to about 4'10" by the time she died at the age of 88.
I remember she always cooked. My parents both worked, but she was home when we would get back from school. She would make us grilled cheese sandwiches. She loved to bake, and would make lots and lots of cookies during the holidays. Unfortunately, these cookies were old-world cookies with funny names and funny, adult tastes. She would make almond cookies and balish, strudels and potica. She was famous for her potica. Potica is a Hungarian nut-roll with walnuts and lots (and lots) of sugar. When I was a teenager and had an opportunity to go to Europe for a few weeks one summer, my grandmother and mother baked Potica's to sell and paid for my trip that way. I should have helped, said I would help, but didn't. I never really baked Potica's with my grandmother. It wasn't until after she died that I started baking Potica with my mother. It started as a sure-fire way to make extra cash during the holidays, one year we made enough to fly four people to Florida, but as I did it, and loved it, It turned into a way to honor my grandmother and, I hope, I hope, a way to show her my appreciation for always being there for me.
2. A negative event from my childhood:
I remember middle school being particularly traumatizing to me. I am the only girl among three brothers, as a child I was assertive, outspoken and bold. When I hit middle school, and puberty, things changed drastically. I NEVER spoke up in class or even raised my hand, I was shy and introverted. I had a small group of friends, but not the close knit group I had in elementary school. As far as a detail.... hmm, I remember being picked on a lot, although I don't really remember why - I imagine it was because I was an easy target because I didn't speak up.
3. A particular event that stands out from my teenage years:
When I got my driver's license. I couldn't wait to get it, I signed up for my temps as soon as I could, took my drivers ed class immediately and took the drivers test as soon as I was eligible. I remember the first time I got to drive by myself. It was a day or two after I passed my test and I drove my Mom somewhere to drop her off. One rule my parent's had when I was learning to drive was that the radio had to be off. I understood why, it was for my safety - to cut down on the distractions. I dropped her off and started the 15 minute drive home. I got about 5 minutes into the ride when it hit me that I was alone, the car was quiet and I had my drivers license! I turned on the radio, thank you very much, and loved the freedom - and defiance - of it!
4. A vivid/important memory from my adult years:
Driving into Kentucky for the first time. I was on my way to eastern Kentucky where I was to spend the next three months interning during my college years. I didn't know what to expect from the job, nor from the area. I didn't know anything about Eastern Kentucky or Appalachia... hell, I still pronounced it Apple-Aye-shon because that was how I was taught in school. The only thing I remembered about being taught about Appalachia in school was that it was a mountain range in the eastern U.S. That's it. Nothing about the rich culture and traditions. nothing about the streams and forests, nor about the coal that came from those mountains that powered our lights and what that meant to the people who lived in that region - for better and for worse. I had no idea that the term "hillbilly" had multiple meanings and was largely embraced and celebrated. My only experience I had with hillbillies was my grandfather, who called himself one while he cussed and farted in public (much to my embarrassment). I remember driving to eastern Kentucky, unsure of how to handle the winding, two lane, 55 mph roads, and unsure of what to expect. I remember embracing the idea of having no expectations. I started my work, scared but open to whatever happened.
This internship was supposed to be my required "cross-cultural" experience I needed to graduate. I at first thought - what a joke, kentucky is my "cross-cultural" experience? It was pretty early into the experience when I realized that I had no idea what culture even really, really meant until that time. I could clearly see how spanish culture differed from mine, for instance, but it wasn't until I experienced the subtle but strong difference in Appalachian vs. the northeastern middle American culture I came from, did I understand what culture was or how persuasive and encompassing it was.
5. A turning point in my life:
I guess I have to turn back to my Kentucky experience for this one. I always wanted to make movies as a kid, and I always thought I'd end up in New York or some other big city. I never in a million years dreamed that I would fall in love with the mountains. I was supposed to stay 3 months in Kentucky for my internship, I ended up staying 9 months that first stretch. I fell in love, both literally and figuratively, and ended up returning to Kentucky 9 months later to live and work. I married the mountain-raised man I fell for, had my first child in the mountains. Along the way I discovered a passion for education, having taught young Appalachians how to make media so they could offer an alternative view of their culture. I realized that mainstream media was co-opting and exploited a true, but incomplete part of this culture for commercial gain and money.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Double Entry Journal #10
1. Do you think topics that center on "frustration with official
power" and "attraction for mass media fantasies would differ in rural
communities from those that inner-city teenagers focus on? How? Give
some examples.
No, I don't think it would differ all that much. I think what might differ is the form the "official power" takes. According to the author students he works with want to talk about police-youth relations, youth crime, violence and police brutality. What the "official power" looks like might change in a rural community - perhaps less police centered and more school administration and community/church leadership frustrations. I think topics such as prescription drug abuse, unfair treatment within schools, the seemingly inability to voice/see alternate viewpoints in a school (athletic vs. artistic students), GBLT issues within a community might be more relevant to rural students.
2. How do traditional social institutions and mass media work to silence inner-city kids?
Traditional social institutions silence inner-city kids by telling kids how they should or shouldn't behave in society and school and punish them as criminals. Mass media silences kids by co-opting their culture of defiance and marketing it to them (and to larger society).
3.
What is your reaction to the statistics presented under the heading
"And Justice For Some?" Do you think the system in intentionally
organized to disadvantage urban youth of color?
My reaction to the statistics is that I'm not really surprised. I'm not sure I'd go as far to say that the system is "intentionally organized" that way, but I do believe that it has been institutionalized this way for a long time and has its roots in fear and racism.
4. Link to an advertisement or commercial that you consider to be influenced by hip-hop culture?
http://youtu.be/Ul63nCoYhBc -- interesting because it seems to be marketing to 20 something white men who watch football - but uses hip-hop to do so, which must be because the style of hip-hop it features (heavy use of auto-tune) appeals to middle class white men of a certain age.
5. What dangers to young people do you see in the relentless marketing of "cool"?
Positive decision making can be affected by the marketing of "cool". Young people may choose to make a decision that is anti-thesis to their goals and wants in life because of the influence of "cool". The other danger is that young people trying to avoid and "one-up" the marketers find themselves in more extreme situations.
6.
What is your reaction to the research that shows youth violence in
decline? Do you still think that is the trend in 2012? Find some
statistics to support your answer?
Yes, I do.
Juvenile Arrest Rate Trends
Internet Citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available:
http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/JAR_Display.asp?ID=qa05200. October 16, 2011.
The juvenile arrest rate for all offenses reached
its highest level in the last two decades in 1996, and then declined 36%
by 2009.
Juvenile Arrest Rates for All Crimes, 1980-2009
| Note: Rates are arrests of persons ages 10-17 per 100,000 persons ages 10-17 in the resident population. |
[Text only] [Excel file]
- In 2009, there were 5,804 arrests for every 100,000 youths ages 10 through 17 in the United States.
- The overall juvenile arrest rate was lower in 2009 than in 1980.
Internet Citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available:
http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/JAR_Display.asp?ID=qa05200. October 16, 2011.
7. Why is it important to let youth speak for themselves and their voices to be heard?
They can offer an alternative perspective, and a more correct view of urban youth than mainstream media.
8.
What prevents Urban Youth from articulating their own
lived experiences in ways that might be productive? Do you think this is
problematic in rural areas like West Virginia? Do you think rural youth
are victimized by mass media in ways that are different than Urban
youth? How?
Urban youth, and Appalachian youth which includes the rural areas in West Virginia, have a cultural history of oral communication. They also have a modern-day culture that include visual communication. Visual and Oral communication is the primary form used out of school, while print communication is used in teaching. This gap disinterests and disengages the student from the process of learning, which also prevents the student from learning the vocabulary that is necessary to articulate their own lived experiences in the dominant media of the white middle class. Rural youth are victimized by mass media in similar, but contrasting, ways as urban youth. Rural youth are depicted as overweight and unhealthy, as "backwards," racist, unwelcoming, drug addicted and "rednecks."
The lack of vocabulary - which in public schools is the the vocabulary of the white middle class.
9. According to the author, what is the best way to address the literacy challenge?
Experiential learning, with more emphasis on oral and visual communication - which is the communication these students use more out-of- school. Also more exposure and learning opportunities from people who look the same and sound the same as these students.
10. Why is the skill and drill approach to literacy instruction ineffective?
The vocabulary skill and drill approach uses is the vocabulary of the white middle class, separate from and in direct opposition to their culture and experiences. This approach detaches and disinterests the student from teaching in print communication they receive in traditional school.
11.
What should schools offer to improve literacy instruction for Urban
Youth? Do you think this strategy would also benefit student of
the Appalachia region whose literacy rates are similar to those of youth
in the inner-city?
Experiential learning opportunities in oral and visual communication, and instruction from people who look and act like themselves. Yes, I think this strategy would also benefit students from the Appalachian region.
12. How is the process of reading changed by media?
The idea of Literacy is changing because young learners are now "reading" a variety of non-print communication. The use of both visual and aural senses allows for a greater understanding and recall of what they learned.
13.
According to the author how might the imbalance between inner-city kids
strong command of oral and visual language be used to improve
print-based language? Do you think this would also work for low-literacy
kids in the Appalachia region?
By widening and deepening the definition of literacy to include oral and visual language and teaching those within a school would help bring an inner-city teenager to greater success within the classroom and the work world. It would also help the inner-city teenager be able to express themselves and insert their experiences and viewpoints into the mainstream which would ultimately improve print-based language for all. Yes, I think this would absolutely work with low-literacy kids in the Appalachian region for all the same reasons it works with inner-city teenagers. The culture of Appalachia is based in oral traditions and the modern-day American culture is based in visual communication.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Double Entry Journal #9
Quote:
"Mass communication in our contemporary culture might arguably bear greater similarity with the late 10th century, when there was a revival of the image, not the word..... theologians used church paintings, sculptures and the very church buildings themselves as a form of collective communication to teach the Bible to the unlettered masses.... Within the context of our 21st-century media culture, the language of images also tells stories and teaches lessons about the order of things. However, today's symbols are most commonly used to teach that the promise of salvation is brought about through material acquisition instead of spiritual devotion." (Goodman, 2003)
Extra Resource:
http://www.ithaca.edu/chartres/learn/glass/glass_master.html
Response:
I wanted to respond to both the quote I chose from the text, and the additional resource I found this time, because I was really struck by the comparison the author brought up. It made me recall my trip to Europe as a young teenager, and the beautiful, awe inspiring cathedrals I visited while I was there. The stained glass windows that adorned these cathedrals were just amazing, much older and much much more elaborate than I had ever seen in this country. I remember being taken aback by them and learning that these elaborate stained glass windows were developed with the intention of education in mind. They depicted bible stories at a time when very few - the most wealthy and most powerful- knew how to read the actual bible. The images conveyed the stories that the leaders of the church wanted the congregants to know.
This led me to an online search to look for examples of stained glass and what continually came up in my web searches was the Chartres Cathedral in France, which dates back to around 1200 ("United nations educational," 2009). The glass and architecture of this cathedral is beautiful. It is awe inspiring, and I can clearly see how it made a person feel as if they were in the presence of something greater while within that space.
Unfortunately, I fear that the modern day equivalent of the Chartres is something akin to Disneyworld. I feel when we look at pictures of these amazing stain glass windows, we are seeing the 12th century's version of glossy, colorful magazine covers and advertisements. The places being built today that give people a sense of amazement, (eyes up.... mouth agape) are places like Las Vegas, amusement parks, football stadiums, fancier shopping malls. When I think of modern-day icons and symbols, I think about logos such as Gucci's and Apple's. When I think about bright, colorful beautiful images, I think about advertisements - billboards, posters, and commercials.
Critical media literacy allows the viewer to understand that these modern-day media images - albeit beautiful and awe-inspiring - are manipulating the uneducated, often into spending their money on something they only think they need. Much like the 1200s, the wealthy and powerful - media moguls and corporate giants - control what the populace sees. The unfortunate part is that today the message the corporate media is sending is that happiness is only acquired through material goods.
Additional Questions:
1. According to the author, what is the main reason school have ignored engaging student with critical media literacy. Schools, along with the system of global media, both want young people to "be passive and willing vessels for a prescribed set of knowledge and skills." Media wants students to be consumers, schools want students to be orderly and not question authority and systems. Critical media literacy teaches students to question the authority and meanings they read around them, and this might lead to a question of school's authority. Furthermore, the author argues American schools are factory-schooling, where a supervisor (the principal, the teachers), expect total obedience from the worker (the student). Critical media literacy encourages and seeks community collaboration between teacher and student, and this disrupts they typical structure of a school system.
2. Define critical media literacy. Studying media with a critical eye towards the power dynamics and economics at play within the media by identifying the codes and constructions media uses to manipulate the viewer.
3. How can film making or digital story telling support the goals of critical media literacy? By creating media, especially film & digital stories, students (people!) learn the countless choices and decisions made throughout the process of producing a piece. The act of producing media leads students to understand more thoroughly the ways in which media can manipulate the viewer because they themselves will be manipulating their footage to get the story they want out of it.
4. Why does teaching media literacy become more complicated as student become consumers of news? News is a business, which makes money by increasing market share via increased viewership. For this reason, news has relied on spectacle and students have "grown up in a culture that has normalized the notion that entertainment is news and news is entertainment."
5. What is the difference between learning through the media and learning about the media? Learning about the media includes being critical about the message and the pro-consumer bent the media is teaching you. It is about being aware of the codes and constructs the media uses. Teaching through media is just about using media as a vehicle to teach a set curriculum - like watching an educational film about water quality in science class.
Sources:
Goodman, S. (2003). Teaching youth media: A critical guide to literacy, video production & social change. NY: Teachers College Press.
United nations educational, scientific and cultural organization. (2009). Retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/81
"Mass communication in our contemporary culture might arguably bear greater similarity with the late 10th century, when there was a revival of the image, not the word..... theologians used church paintings, sculptures and the very church buildings themselves as a form of collective communication to teach the Bible to the unlettered masses.... Within the context of our 21st-century media culture, the language of images also tells stories and teaches lessons about the order of things. However, today's symbols are most commonly used to teach that the promise of salvation is brought about through material acquisition instead of spiritual devotion." (Goodman, 2003)
Extra Resource:
http://www.ithaca.edu/chartres/learn/glass/glass_master.html
Response:
I wanted to respond to both the quote I chose from the text, and the additional resource I found this time, because I was really struck by the comparison the author brought up. It made me recall my trip to Europe as a young teenager, and the beautiful, awe inspiring cathedrals I visited while I was there. The stained glass windows that adorned these cathedrals were just amazing, much older and much much more elaborate than I had ever seen in this country. I remember being taken aback by them and learning that these elaborate stained glass windows were developed with the intention of education in mind. They depicted bible stories at a time when very few - the most wealthy and most powerful- knew how to read the actual bible. The images conveyed the stories that the leaders of the church wanted the congregants to know.
This led me to an online search to look for examples of stained glass and what continually came up in my web searches was the Chartres Cathedral in France, which dates back to around 1200 ("United nations educational," 2009). The glass and architecture of this cathedral is beautiful. It is awe inspiring, and I can clearly see how it made a person feel as if they were in the presence of something greater while within that space.
Unfortunately, I fear that the modern day equivalent of the Chartres is something akin to Disneyworld. I feel when we look at pictures of these amazing stain glass windows, we are seeing the 12th century's version of glossy, colorful magazine covers and advertisements. The places being built today that give people a sense of amazement, (eyes up.... mouth agape) are places like Las Vegas, amusement parks, football stadiums, fancier shopping malls. When I think of modern-day icons and symbols, I think about logos such as Gucci's and Apple's. When I think about bright, colorful beautiful images, I think about advertisements - billboards, posters, and commercials.
Critical media literacy allows the viewer to understand that these modern-day media images - albeit beautiful and awe-inspiring - are manipulating the uneducated, often into spending their money on something they only think they need. Much like the 1200s, the wealthy and powerful - media moguls and corporate giants - control what the populace sees. The unfortunate part is that today the message the corporate media is sending is that happiness is only acquired through material goods.
Additional Questions:
1. According to the author, what is the main reason school have ignored engaging student with critical media literacy. Schools, along with the system of global media, both want young people to "be passive and willing vessels for a prescribed set of knowledge and skills." Media wants students to be consumers, schools want students to be orderly and not question authority and systems. Critical media literacy teaches students to question the authority and meanings they read around them, and this might lead to a question of school's authority. Furthermore, the author argues American schools are factory-schooling, where a supervisor (the principal, the teachers), expect total obedience from the worker (the student). Critical media literacy encourages and seeks community collaboration between teacher and student, and this disrupts they typical structure of a school system.
2. Define critical media literacy. Studying media with a critical eye towards the power dynamics and economics at play within the media by identifying the codes and constructions media uses to manipulate the viewer.
3. How can film making or digital story telling support the goals of critical media literacy? By creating media, especially film & digital stories, students (people!) learn the countless choices and decisions made throughout the process of producing a piece. The act of producing media leads students to understand more thoroughly the ways in which media can manipulate the viewer because they themselves will be manipulating their footage to get the story they want out of it.
4. Why does teaching media literacy become more complicated as student become consumers of news? News is a business, which makes money by increasing market share via increased viewership. For this reason, news has relied on spectacle and students have "grown up in a culture that has normalized the notion that entertainment is news and news is entertainment."
5. What is the difference between learning through the media and learning about the media? Learning about the media includes being critical about the message and the pro-consumer bent the media is teaching you. It is about being aware of the codes and constructs the media uses. Teaching through media is just about using media as a vehicle to teach a set curriculum - like watching an educational film about water quality in science class.
Sources:
Goodman, S. (2003). Teaching youth media: A critical guide to literacy, video production & social change. NY: Teachers College Press.
United nations educational, scientific and cultural organization. (2009). Retrieved from http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/81
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Week Nine Activity
I chose Distance by Marianna Corona, because I thought it was really well done.
- Point of View: This story is about the dream of owning a house this narrator had as a young girl, and the steps she took to reach that goal. The author/narrator is a Mexican-American and this story is also about the cultural background she comes from, and the prejudice she had to overlook in order to fulfill her dream. It is told from the point of view of a successful woman who came from humble backgrounds, which I get the feeling she never saw that as a relevant part of her future.
- Dramatic Question: The
dramatic question that is asked used to hook an audience forms
from the narrators first words "I remember the day that a friend told me
I didn't live in a house." This statement/question clues the audience
into knowing the story will be about houses and neighborhoods, and also
class issues, because the house in question is a trailer.
- Emotional Content.The story of how important it was to the author to own her own home, and how far she came, what she did, in order to achieve that goal really added to the emotional content. Also, how she lives in the same neighborhood that she walked in as a kid and was called a name that reeked of hatred, but she owns the home she dreamed of, despite the hatred she felt as a kid. I really felt emotionally connected to the walking across 3 stages, and one aisle part - which, for me, brought the long journey she made into focus.
- Voice. The narrator did a great job of retelling her story in a straight forward, casual manner. She has a very soft but steady and determined voice that fit well with the story she had to tell.
- Soundtrack. This story had very little music (none?), but it did have the sound of birds and cars - the same sounds one would find in a sleepy neighborhood that this author referred to in her story.
- Economy.This script used metaphor to relate a large portion of this authors life journey - I'm thinking specifically of the "lived across the state, walked three stages and one aisle" line, which documented her schooling and her marriage. Great choice of words. Also, tied into the theme of walking, which pulled together the whole story.
- Pacing.This story used a literal "pace." The walking was a theme throughout the story, and was paired with continual video of a sidewalk as one would see it if walking. The voice narration was well-paced as well, and the images that faded in and out (while the sidewalk continued to show in the background) complimented the script well.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Week Eight - Reel Works Digital Story
I picked "Home" by Nael Samara
1.What do you like about the digital story? I like hearing views of the Palestinian and Israeli conflict from individual people who are affected by it, rather than in the general political and governmental terms I typically hear. I was also really interested in how the two women interviewed at the beginning felt so strongly about their homeland, and how that affected the next generation. Even though the young filmmaker had never been to Palestine, he still felt connected to it as his home.
2.What did you learn from the digital story? I learned a lot about Palestinian culture - which clearly emphasizes family and ties to roots evidenced by the strong pull it has on immigrants. I also learned about how this culture permeates deeply enough that the generation born in America still refers it to as their home.
3.What surprised you about the digital story? How strongly the young filmmaker felt about Palestine, even though he had been born in the U.S. and had never visited there. The culture came with the immigrants, and permeated their existence in New York.
4.How did the digital story provide an example of how digital story telling can build self esteem, help young people voice an opposition to social problems, or create an alternative to stereotypes of adolescents typically portrayed in mainstream media? This digital story definitely provided this young man with the ability to portray Palestinian's in a way that counters what most of the mainstream media portrays. I really appreciated that this film took that portrayal head-on (how couldn't he have, though, because the stereotype is so prevalent, and clearly a part of his everyday life). The most telling part to me was when one woman he interviewed spoke about each side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not wanting to concede that they both had a claim to that land. This viewpoint - that there are people on both sides of the issue that believes the other has a claim too - is not typically deemed newsworthy by media looking to pit two sides against each other.
5.How can digital storytelling promote critical media literacy? Digital storytelling can promote critical media literacy by teaching students how to share their own stories, and how to recognize that their stories are not always the ones that are shown in the media. This is best done while putting digital storytelling in a larger context, examining mainstream media stories, and determining which stories are not being shown and why. Furthermore, the art of crafting a digital story allows students the opportunity to learn first hand that the art of media making means leaving certain things out for the purpose of the story. Knowing this, gives students a better framework for being able to question what and why mainstream media left out certain aspects of a story.
1.What do you like about the digital story? I like hearing views of the Palestinian and Israeli conflict from individual people who are affected by it, rather than in the general political and governmental terms I typically hear. I was also really interested in how the two women interviewed at the beginning felt so strongly about their homeland, and how that affected the next generation. Even though the young filmmaker had never been to Palestine, he still felt connected to it as his home.
2.What did you learn from the digital story? I learned a lot about Palestinian culture - which clearly emphasizes family and ties to roots evidenced by the strong pull it has on immigrants. I also learned about how this culture permeates deeply enough that the generation born in America still refers it to as their home.
3.What surprised you about the digital story? How strongly the young filmmaker felt about Palestine, even though he had been born in the U.S. and had never visited there. The culture came with the immigrants, and permeated their existence in New York.
4.How did the digital story provide an example of how digital story telling can build self esteem, help young people voice an opposition to social problems, or create an alternative to stereotypes of adolescents typically portrayed in mainstream media? This digital story definitely provided this young man with the ability to portray Palestinian's in a way that counters what most of the mainstream media portrays. I really appreciated that this film took that portrayal head-on (how couldn't he have, though, because the stereotype is so prevalent, and clearly a part of his everyday life). The most telling part to me was when one woman he interviewed spoke about each side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not wanting to concede that they both had a claim to that land. This viewpoint - that there are people on both sides of the issue that believes the other has a claim too - is not typically deemed newsworthy by media looking to pit two sides against each other.
5.How can digital storytelling promote critical media literacy? Digital storytelling can promote critical media literacy by teaching students how to share their own stories, and how to recognize that their stories are not always the ones that are shown in the media. This is best done while putting digital storytelling in a larger context, examining mainstream media stories, and determining which stories are not being shown and why. Furthermore, the art of crafting a digital story allows students the opportunity to learn first hand that the art of media making means leaving certain things out for the purpose of the story. Knowing this, gives students a better framework for being able to question what and why mainstream media left out certain aspects of a story.
Week Eight - Double Entry Journal
Quote:
"For example, students learned that it takes courage to share their stories publicly; they risk judgment from others. But once they develop confidence and commitment to the storytelling process, students can generate many new insights related to media production as a vehicle for engagement with culture identity work through producing short videos and by remixing and repurposing existing media content to tell new stories." (Raimist, Doerr-Stevens & Jacobs, 2010)
Reflection:
I was moved by the acknowledgement that it takes courage to tell a personal story, which I completely agree with. I think this is something that, as teachers, we must address and acknowledge to our students at the beginning of any process that storytelling is involved. I have taught documentary media production in the past, in which we asked students to create a piece about an issue affecting their community. The students with the strongest videos were usually the ones that came from a very personal place. I am sometimes wary of putting personal stories out into the open because I am a pretty private person. This sometimes effects my ability to tell a whole story and affects my ability to encourage my students to put themselves out there in a brave and courageous way. One thing this class is helping me to understand is that in order to tell an alternative, honest and empowering story, one must overcome initial feelings of exposure (tempered with good judgement, of course), and be brave enough to put it out there.
What I am struggling with: I teach career-readiness and one thing we talk about is being careful about what you put out into the internet that can be seen and searched for by employers. We encourage our students not to put anything damaging out onto the world wide web. We even tell students not to mention they have kids to prospective employers. How do I reconcile this with being brave and courageous to put yourself out there in a digital storytelling format?
What do I do if I have someone who is 22 and looking for work, but also made a film as a teenager that showcases she was a teen mom or made some bad choices at 16? For instance, on the Reel Works website, I watched a film by a 17 year old who had dropped out of school and was documenting the immediate days afterwards while reflecting on how much she felt going back to school would be a waste of time.
I disagree completely with the idea that an employer wouldn't hire someone because they made a film 6 years ago detailing their struggle as a teen mom, or as a drop-out, but I recognize that this is a reality. I am interested in using critical media literacy as a way to change the culture to recognize that every story is individual, but I'm concerned about what some stories could mean for the students' immediate future. One thought, is that teacher education could be the answer, because it could be the responsibility of the teacher to address these issues. I know that these could be somewhat separate issues, but important to think about and address. I believe creating media is a hugely important part of critical media literacy, but so is determining what to share of yourself personally, especially if the digital story will be published on the internet.
Additional Resource:
http://www.storycenter.org/ethical-practice/
I was looking for a resource that helped me come to terms with my struggle I wrote about above. I was very pleased to see that the Center for Digital Storytelling addressed my concerns. I was not surprised because I felt like someone had to have brought these same concerns up and I knew the CDS was a great organization. I would hope that any teacher or organization entering into a digital media curriculum would follow these principles. I am, unfortunately, doubtful that this is the case but hope with greater teacher education (such as this class!), this will be addressed and the CDS' core principles will be adopted.
Resources:
Raimist, R., Doerr-Stevens, C., & Jacobs, W. (2010). The pedagogy of digital storytelling in the college classroom. Retrieved from http://www.seminar.net/index.php/home/75-current-issue/145-the-pedagogy-ofdigital-storytelling-in-the-college-classroom
"For example, students learned that it takes courage to share their stories publicly; they risk judgment from others. But once they develop confidence and commitment to the storytelling process, students can generate many new insights related to media production as a vehicle for engagement with culture identity work through producing short videos and by remixing and repurposing existing media content to tell new stories." (Raimist, Doerr-Stevens & Jacobs, 2010)
Reflection:
I was moved by the acknowledgement that it takes courage to tell a personal story, which I completely agree with. I think this is something that, as teachers, we must address and acknowledge to our students at the beginning of any process that storytelling is involved. I have taught documentary media production in the past, in which we asked students to create a piece about an issue affecting their community. The students with the strongest videos were usually the ones that came from a very personal place. I am sometimes wary of putting personal stories out into the open because I am a pretty private person. This sometimes effects my ability to tell a whole story and affects my ability to encourage my students to put themselves out there in a brave and courageous way. One thing this class is helping me to understand is that in order to tell an alternative, honest and empowering story, one must overcome initial feelings of exposure (tempered with good judgement, of course), and be brave enough to put it out there.
What I am struggling with: I teach career-readiness and one thing we talk about is being careful about what you put out into the internet that can be seen and searched for by employers. We encourage our students not to put anything damaging out onto the world wide web. We even tell students not to mention they have kids to prospective employers. How do I reconcile this with being brave and courageous to put yourself out there in a digital storytelling format?
What do I do if I have someone who is 22 and looking for work, but also made a film as a teenager that showcases she was a teen mom or made some bad choices at 16? For instance, on the Reel Works website, I watched a film by a 17 year old who had dropped out of school and was documenting the immediate days afterwards while reflecting on how much she felt going back to school would be a waste of time.
I disagree completely with the idea that an employer wouldn't hire someone because they made a film 6 years ago detailing their struggle as a teen mom, or as a drop-out, but I recognize that this is a reality. I am interested in using critical media literacy as a way to change the culture to recognize that every story is individual, but I'm concerned about what some stories could mean for the students' immediate future. One thought, is that teacher education could be the answer, because it could be the responsibility of the teacher to address these issues. I know that these could be somewhat separate issues, but important to think about and address. I believe creating media is a hugely important part of critical media literacy, but so is determining what to share of yourself personally, especially if the digital story will be published on the internet.
Additional Resource:
http://www.storycenter.org/ethical-practice/
I was looking for a resource that helped me come to terms with my struggle I wrote about above. I was very pleased to see that the Center for Digital Storytelling addressed my concerns. I was not surprised because I felt like someone had to have brought these same concerns up and I knew the CDS was a great organization. I would hope that any teacher or organization entering into a digital media curriculum would follow these principles. I am, unfortunately, doubtful that this is the case but hope with greater teacher education (such as this class!), this will be addressed and the CDS' core principles will be adopted.
Resources:
Raimist, R., Doerr-Stevens, C., & Jacobs, W. (2010). The pedagogy of digital storytelling in the college classroom. Retrieved from http://www.seminar.net/index.php/home/75-current-issue/145-the-pedagogy-ofdigital-storytelling-in-the-college-classroom
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Double Entry Journal #7
Quote:
Many young people who are disillusioned or cynical about student journalism programs in high school point to their inability to take real responsibility for the choice of message content in the paper. Similarly, plenty of video magazine programs are produced by students who are coerced into making promotional messages for the sports program, the foreign language program, or whatever programs the grownups approve. Such is more or less standard educational fare in our schools.
Of course, such practices occur because to truly empower children and youth with the ability to design the content and form of their own messages would entail tremendous risk to the current educational system. The issues which concern our teenagers today— sexuality, classism and racism, drug use, violence, the environment and the nation's future— are topics that most educators are unprepared to bring into the classroom. Teachers and parents in a community often find the voices of young people very uncomfortable to hear and nearly impossible to respond to. (Hobbs, 2002)
Response:
This made me think of a quote I ran across while doing research for my PSA:
The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.
James A. Baldwin
I thought about the majority of schools in our education system, and how questioning administrative authority is discouraged. I understand why questioning authority isn't encouraged, but from a critical standpoint, I wonder what teaching opportunities are being lost because students are not being encouraged to question why a certain status quo exists within in their daily lives. For example, I remember quite clearly in high school wondering why we had to call all our teachers Mr. & Ms. My parents had told me that you called someone by this formal title if you wanted to show them respect however, by example, it was only the very oldest and most traditional family friends that we called Mr. or Ms so and so in our household. The only adults that I called by this title were found in my highschool. I definitely respected a few of my teachers, and I didn't want to show disrespect to the ones I didn't respect nearly enough, but I always questioned why this archaic tradition still existed.
In contrast, when I went to college, I was taken aback when my professors preferred to be called by their first names. I remember feeling surprised at how this changed the dynamic of the classroom for better or for worse. For me, it contributed to my sense of independence and ownership over my education that I didn't have before. I continued to question the education I was receiving, but, in contrast to high school, I felt that my professors and I were equal partners in my education.
Sources:
Hobbs, R. (2002). Center for media literacy. Retrieved from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/teaching-media-literacy-yo-are-you-hip
Many young people who are disillusioned or cynical about student journalism programs in high school point to their inability to take real responsibility for the choice of message content in the paper. Similarly, plenty of video magazine programs are produced by students who are coerced into making promotional messages for the sports program, the foreign language program, or whatever programs the grownups approve. Such is more or less standard educational fare in our schools.
Of course, such practices occur because to truly empower children and youth with the ability to design the content and form of their own messages would entail tremendous risk to the current educational system. The issues which concern our teenagers today— sexuality, classism and racism, drug use, violence, the environment and the nation's future— are topics that most educators are unprepared to bring into the classroom. Teachers and parents in a community often find the voices of young people very uncomfortable to hear and nearly impossible to respond to. (Hobbs, 2002)
Response:
This made me think of a quote I ran across while doing research for my PSA:
The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.
James A. Baldwin
I thought about the majority of schools in our education system, and how questioning administrative authority is discouraged. I understand why questioning authority isn't encouraged, but from a critical standpoint, I wonder what teaching opportunities are being lost because students are not being encouraged to question why a certain status quo exists within in their daily lives. For example, I remember quite clearly in high school wondering why we had to call all our teachers Mr. & Ms. My parents had told me that you called someone by this formal title if you wanted to show them respect however, by example, it was only the very oldest and most traditional family friends that we called Mr. or Ms so and so in our household. The only adults that I called by this title were found in my highschool. I definitely respected a few of my teachers, and I didn't want to show disrespect to the ones I didn't respect nearly enough, but I always questioned why this archaic tradition still existed.
In contrast, when I went to college, I was taken aback when my professors preferred to be called by their first names. I remember feeling surprised at how this changed the dynamic of the classroom for better or for worse. For me, it contributed to my sense of independence and ownership over my education that I didn't have before. I continued to question the education I was receiving, but, in contrast to high school, I felt that my professors and I were equal partners in my education.
Sources:
Hobbs, R. (2002). Center for media literacy. Retrieved from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/teaching-media-literacy-yo-are-you-hip
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)