Media Literacy

This week, we listened to a lecture about how media influences societal values and how it affects our perceptions of what is true. Calling to mind the media's portrayal of men as hyper-masculine and women as ultra-feminine, we heard about the importance of teaching student how to process and analyze the information they receive from the media in order to think critically about what they see on television or the Internet.

In my own life, I feel that some of my ideas are altered by the media. I will occasionally read online news stories or look for information on upcoming elections, and in those cases, I may be swayed for or against a certain person or political party because of what I read. But do I base my idea of what is beautiful based on commercials for Olay products? Not so much. With a few small exceptions, I do not base my idea of my own beauty or worth on what I see on T.V. or on the Internet. Any issues that I have with myself are based on my own ideas of what beauty is, not on what I'm shown in commercials.  I do feel, on a different note, that because of my exposure to media, I am a more informed person. For example, watching documentaries or reading about an event that happened across the world gives me a greater insight into different cultures and many other concepts to which I would not have otherwise been exposed.

I feel that in order for students to create and analyze multimedia projects, they must first be able to read and write. Obviously critical thinking skills are things that every student needs to have, and I feel that they should be able to use these skills for more than just reading and writing. I feel that a nice medium should be reached between teaching the skills that students need to function (reading, writing, spelling, math) and the more creative endeavors (music, art, technology). Students really do need both in this new, technologically infused world that we live in, and I feel that both areas should be available for students to study in schools.