Project Look Sharp and Hobbs' Reading the Media have a slew of similarities. One of the biggest and most important aspects is the attention being paid to media in terms of education. Pop culture has always been a prevalent factor in maintaining a rapport with different generations, but what is being investigated in PLS and Hobbs is essential for keeping our students' attention and helping to further their education.
Although what students may watch isn't necessarily supporting a learning environment per se, from what I read in the beginning of the first chapter in Hobbs is very thought provoking. If a teacher can engage her students in meaningful student-led discussion where major concepts and ideas are being proposed and considered by the entire class, then I am all for it. And it doesn't just have to be about television. Being somewhat of an amateur film critic (not to mention an English kid), I spend a lot of time during the movies I watch dissecting and comprehending the different symbols and themes being presented by the author. I think about things that I would notice in literature; why does this seemingly unimportant doorway keep popping up? Did this guy really have something to say about the war in Iraq when he said this? I feel that if I watch a movie and I don't understand every aspect of it to my satisfaction, then I feel like I am missing out. And if we can get students to think critically about everything they watch, then hopefully this type of thinking will spread to other parts of their lives, (insert lightbulb here)
such as homework!
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Our students, like ourselves, engage in different kinds of media every day. Our job is to take that media and show them how to think critically about it. Many students just take media at face value without dissecting it, like you do with films. This is a very bad thing - advertisements are getting better and better at promoting their products, and it is much easier for them if the younger generations never question anything.
I'll leave you with some Green Day lyrics from "Warning":
Gosh darn police line;
you'd better not cross!
Is it the cop, or am I the one that's really dangerous?
Sanitation, expiration date
Question everything
Or shut up and be a victim of authority.
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