why teach media studies? a rationale.

Here's my rationale for teaching Media Studies in a district that has changed curriculum with a new focus on "back to basics" academics:

The district’s focus on improving test scores and achieving adequate yearly progress, emphasized and enforced by national and state standards, has forced teachers and administrators to reconsider current curriculum and budget allocation, especially in the subjects of language arts, math, and science. While reflection and change is often positive and prevents districts and schools from becoming too comfortable or mired in the past, in this case I believe that the district’s decisions concerning curriculum change have been made for all the wrong reasons and will negatively affect student learning. The No Child Left Behind act has moved the focus of education from acquiring knowledge to passing test. The harried emphasis on “back to basics” learning—meant to help students pass high-risk standardized tests—leaves no room for extra-curricular learning that is just as essential to adolescent development as is formal reading and writing, math and science. Specifically, the new Language Arts curriculum as devised by the district, which all high schools are required to follow, provides no time or resources for Media Studies. Teachers are “encouraged to utilize technology within instruction,” but this is by no means equal to a course of study that educates students about not just technology but other media including but not limited to film, advertising, music, news, and the Internet. No one—especially no educator—can argue that we live in a digital world, and it is a disservice to our students to send them out into that world without providing them with the tools, resources, and knowledge for them to thrive and succeed.

Students need many skills beyond the two-dimensional, or “basic” skills, that are outlined in the new proposed curriculum and assessed in standardized tests. Although I do not argue that we are accountable for providing our students with the skills and knowledge for them to successfully pass such tests and achieve all standards, we do owe them more. A Media Studies component to the Language Arts curriculum would provide students with many of the multiple literacies necessary to be successful participants in contemporary society. Skills that students practice in Media Studies include: making connections as means of constructing knowledge, practicing inquiry-based learning, participating in cooperative and collaborative learning, developing problem-solving strategies, building social relationships in digital spaces, and engaging in critical inquiry. While none of these skills can be easily evaluated with a multiple-choice test, they undoubtedly help students make the connection between “academic” learning and real life, between school and home, between what they learn as students and who they will become when they graduate. Instead of teaching to the test, we should equip our students with the skills necessary to apply knowledge to any situation, including standardized testing—Media Studies does that.

The Media Studies component of the Language Arts department would teach students to be critical learners. The curriculum would include units on how to evaluate the media for authenticity and bias, students would participate in a simulated debate over a current event using blogs and wikis to write about issues and key figures, and students would be encouraged to be creative and imaginative with digital tools throughout the class. Students already use digital tools throughout most of their day, and if these resources can be harnessed to increase motivation in student learning, it is our job as teachers to make sure that they are. A re-allocation of time and moneys to provide for Media Studies curriculum will improve student learning in all areas—including standardized tests—as it is the kind of course that provides students with the knowledge they need to be successful in all walks of 21st century life.