Critical
literacy has everything to do with questioning what is consumed. Or rather,
questioning before merely consuming. According to Shor (2009), “critical literacy is language use that
questions the social construction of the self.” (p. 282). Critical literacy
is especially relevant when considering exposure to and consumption of media
content. However, being able to construct and pose questions about the
information we encounter does not happen on its own; explicit instruction on
skills related to critical questioning of information, content, and media is
essential.
The
information about advertising (“Exposure and Industry Statistics”) provides salient
information to this point, particularly in citing the example of Sweden’s
regulations surrounding advertising on children’s programs. The handout states
that “Sweden, since 1991, has banned all advertising during children’s prime
time due to findings that children under 10 are incapable of telling the
difference between a commercial and a program, and cannot understand the
purpose of a commercial until the age of 12.” To me, this is incredibly
impressive. Developmentally, children and young people do not have all of the
cognitive skills to differentiate between simple information and propaganda;
even the teens I teach struggle with interpreting nuances in narratives and
informational texts, and can’t always discern the ways that content is intended
to persuade or influence their thinking. The Center for Media Literacy (2005) provides
really helpful resources
for classroom instruction on this topic.
Marshall
McLuhan (1970) addresses this very issue when he observes that “Many educators
think that the problem in education is just to get the information through, get
it past the barrier, the opposition of the young, just to move it and keep it
going.” But learning and, more importantly, learning to think critically,
requires so much more. McLuhan adds that the “concern is what these media do to
the people who use them. What did writing do to the people who invented it and
used it? What do the other media of our time do to the people who use them?”
I
recently attended a workshop that focused on questioning and discussion
techniques and protocols. I am excited to employ some of the ideas I learned,
especially regarding ways to teach students to more regularly and deeply
question the information they receive and encounter.
References:
McLuhan,
M. (1970). Living in an acoustic world. Retrieved 4 November 2016, from http://www.marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/lecture/1970-living-in-an-acoustic-world/.
Shor,
I. (2009). What is critical literacy? In Darder, Baltodano, and Torres, Eds. The
critical pedagogy reader. (p. 282-304) New York, NY: Routledge.
Carolyn, I found your blog post very interesting to read. Particularly, your comments on Sweden's advertising ban were insightful. I agree that most children and young people are not at a cognitive level where they can determine the difference between information and advertising. My students, which are mostly 13 years old, also struggle with this concept, much like yours do. They tend to have trouble deciphering between useless and pertinent information. Constant advertising on television only reinforces this errant behavior. It is funny to think that in reality, many adults struggle with this skill as well. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that you face issues with your students' ability to decipher fact from opinion when viewing advertisements. I have the same problem with my Kindergartners. The ban on advertising during children's prime time is something the United States should definitely emulate. As you mentioned we do need to teach child how to question information and content they view on the internet. Without that ability, the effectiveness of media literacy becomes questionable.
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