Response to Laura

I’m glad Laura chose to focus on the concept of differences in her post, because that is the part that most stuck out to me while I was doing these readings. I, too, was a bit confused at first when I read “The Story of My Body”, in trying to see how it connected with the Hobbs reading and the overall concept of media literacy and education. But it really is so clear. We are all so different, and not only that, but we even perceive ourselves and others in different ways that they perceive us (and others). No two eyes tend to see the same thing, even when looking through the same lens.

I think this difference of opinion is what drew me into our art form of theatre from the beginning. While I have a strong passion for English (as teaching it is my minor), I have always been frustrated by the fact that in most English classes that I have taken, typically after you finish reading a book, a teacher or professor asks questions in a class discussion…that always tend to point you in the direction of one or a set of specific set of answers about what exactly the motif, themes, and ideas were that were presented in the story itself. There always seems to be pre-set “correct” answers, and while other answers are certainly explored, it is the predetermined ones that they always focus back in on. However, I think this very concept is the reason theatre is so wonderful – it is so open to discussion, to review, to tearing it apart and breaking it down and getting out of it whatever it is you honestly got out of it. A production of “The Lion King” may be viewed by some as an emotional piece, driven by love for family members and a power struggle. Others may view it and juxtapose it as a modern-day version of “Hamlet”, and analyze it as such from a purely analytical standpoint. Still others may just go see the show as a fun family-friendly activity on a Saturday night, nothing more. Theatre is whatever you want to get out of it. There is no right/wrong answer.

Now, how does all of this connect to media literacy, especially in the classroom? Oh, if only I could count the ways! Just like Laura mentioned, everyone sees and interprets things differently. This is especially evident in the media, as the majority of media is where we glean our information from about the world around us. Just like it was mentioned in the Hobbs book, I do tend to get my information on what is happening in current events from my peers (friends and family), and occasionally from the blogs I peruse online. And this is exactly the kind of media that students can so easily be involved in – even becoming part of the media itself! In a generation that is ever-increasing in mass media production and where new forms of media (iPhones, iPads, Google+, YouTube, etc.) are flourishing left and right, it is becoming easier and easier to publish your own opinions and information on the web, and share it.

We as teachers need to do exactly what Hobbs suggests – take the current events that are happening around us and apply those immediately and directly into our classrooms. If we notice our students are talking at lunch about a recent event (i.e. the Flash Mob example), then it is not only a good idea but largely important to take that concept and apply it into our teaching. This will help our students not only learn more about the situation, but it will also help them to learn how they can be a part of it – whether advocating an issue, spreading awareness about it, or even learning more about how media construes our views on what is happening in the world around us (such as with the Newsweek vs. Egypt Today). Our students have the right and we have the responsibility to teach how media shapes our lives, through these different lenses that they each have as knowledgeable human beings on the earth today.