Reading chapter nine from Teaching Media Literacy as well the news analysis assignment got me to thinking about my own news consumption, and how my habits have drastically changed over the years.
When I was in High School, I could care less about the news and current events. I was in to the arts (primarily music) and I rarely if ever watched the news. I was more concerned with the new Pavement record than the news about the Middle East. I became slightly more interested in college, but I remember the exact day that my news viewing/reading habits changed. 9/11. While it's true that the entire nation was glued to their television sets for that day and the weeks to come...my news habit continues to this day. Hell, I even watch Meet the Press whenever I have the chance. This may in part be due to just becoming older, but I think that those events really got me thinking more about the world as a whole. And I think that this trend of wanting to know more about the world, and hence become more involved in the world has played a big role in my decision to leave my old career and become a teacher. Reflecting on my high school self also makes me wonder about today's students' news consumption habits. Of course it's vital to teach them to critically analyze the news, but I need to also continue developing ways of making students care about the news in the first place.
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Matt, I think you raise a very important point about generating student interest in the news. This is probably a crucial first step in any news analysis lesson plan, and would come well before we ask kids to do the critical analysis. Do you have any ideas regarding how to go about encouraging kids to care?
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and Stephanie. Many students don't watch the news. Its sometimes thought only older people watch the news--another stereotype. It is important to keep this in mind not only in news analysis lesson planning but many other topics. You can reference the news and current events in many different lessons/units as well as in different subject areas. This could generate more student interest or keep them informed without watching it themselves. Having more knowledge about what is happening around you is very beneficial.
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