Should media literacy be a standard course for all students?

For those who haven't heard, some teens tried to copy the movie Project X, with unfortunately tragic consequences. I've personally never had trouble separating reality and fantasy, but apparently some people do.

It got me to thinking perhaps media literacy should be part of the educational curriculum for all students(Like the way math, science, and english are). I mean, its not like other countries don't have access to the same media we do, but i feel like young people in America seem to let themselves be easily influenced by entrainment. How else do you explain entertainers becoming role models, the rise of shows such as Jersey Shore, and teens have movie copy-cat parties that end in people dying?

In case what i mean by ""media Literacy" is unclear, basically what i'm talking about is understanding the deeper message(or lack of)in all forms of media/entertainment including movies, tv, etc.

I believe media literacy is not such a good idea for standard course, only on such subjects that "needs" media literacy, like on an occasion where it can be fun.

In the past, my school tried that once, they wanted to have that in class all week long. The students were literally slacking and not even listening or watching the tape, it was really weird. When I sat there, I kinda missed getting lectured from my teacher because it was easier listening to his words because it didn't bother me.

If educational tv was involved, what do the teachers need their job for?
That is another case, which I can really understand.

About that kid remaking that party, he completely lost it.

The most important thing is that television used as a source for educational purposes would be nice, but it doesn't serve it's purpose as truly lecturing us and showing us how to properly solve our homework.

Reading a book allows us to carefully pay attention to the details and converting words into information inside our heads, just like words when someone speaks, the natural tone of a human being is very natural and easy to absorb then by television made up of electronic (Thingy's) which our brain doesn't really pick up.

Folks would understand my jokes more if this was the case, but...

Unlike how it is no doubt imperitive to be learnt in the English tongue, I don't think media knowledge should be a requirement.

No more than older generations needed "media literacy" for reading Huckleberry Finn. Yes, it was/is studied in depth, but not because of kids "copying" it or because people reading it could not differentiate reality from fiction.

...Instead of media literacy, how about a more...all encompassing class? Like critical thinking?

I'm pretty sure in the UK they have all ready been doing this for a while. I remember discussing it in school at least once.

Didn't know that.

This.
Even if it was a standard course for high school no one would care. From my experience people only cared about the core classes (math, science, english, history) and everything else was garbage just required by the school. In the same sense that health class means nothing to people who want to start using drugs for example. The obvious solution is to test for it but people will memorize anything just to pass a test then forget it. Memorizing is not learning.

Scary fact. Most of my drivers ed class just memorized for the test. Unless something on the test is practiced behind the wheel, most of my class wouldn't know it. If a media literacy class was government required its likely the same thing would happen.

Another solution I can think of is to have the class from elementary school. We had health class from elementary school. It didn't matter if we were 7 or 17, no one cared about that class.

If you want to get people's attention, make it a university entrance requirement and put it on every standardized test. That seems extreme but its all people care about.

The thing is, that it is the teachers fault and the school system. School should be taken very serious and students should be well taken care of too.

The teachers have very little say. In the US, the government requires certain topics to be taught and most schools and teachers teach exactly those topics knowing there will be some standardized test that as many kids as possible have to pass for the school to get funding and teachers to keep their jobs. Its up to the teacher to decide to cover extra topics. This is for the core classes.

For a class that has no value to a test or university, its left by the wayside. This applies to both teachers and the system itself. Teachers of non-core classes are well aware after graduation the contents of their class will be forgotten by most former students.

My point is that its not the fault of the teachers or school system. Things like media literacy, critical thinking, and common sense are what a student should learn on their own or at home. A school should be were a student gets "tools" and outside the classroom is where a student gets the "skills" to use the "tools".

Define "well taken care of"

What I mean "well taken care of" is that most teachers just don't communicate with their students very well and offering them comfort in a classroom. It is all about teaching teaching teaching and kids/teens are sensitive social beings at that time around so by treating students with proper care, what I mean is that teachers need to build a "personal" teacher/student relationship, which will boost the students motivation to study better and be good at school.

About the government part, yeah, I already discussed about that in another thread so I'm gonna post it up for you to read why exactly, students don't get proper education like the other schools.
https://www.fakku.net/viewtopic.php?t=75026

If high school teachers did that there would be soooo many accusations of sexual harassment and parents would flip out. I think it used to be that way and still is in some countries. It certainly appears that way in anime/manga for example. Modern US teachers have been comparatively put in a glass box where anything outside of class subject matter is very closely scrutinized. Its disappointing but its a result of society.



I remember that thread!

Not THAT kinda relationship!!!!

I believe the perfect relationship, like the teachers really DO care and really DO wanna be a part of their lives. ( On a education level/school level )

I believe what you wrote about the accusation and sexual harassment part, but I believe the teachers are mature and wise enough to know how to keep their distances from students on a "personal" level.

Other than that, I had teachers in my lives who were really into me and really liked me, and also punished me for slacking off, but it also motivated me to become an intelligent person later in life, and if I saw those few teachers who treated me like a teacher should, then I would thank them.

The guy wasn't saying that we should have T.V.s teaching the kids. He was saying that we should be teaching kids the difference between reality and what is portrayed in movies. Make a class where the teens are taught that movies are purely entertainment, and should never be tried to recreate like this guy did for the party.

Well i do think there are some movies and tv shows that can have real life lessons/morals(off the top of my head The Kings speech comes to mind). But others are as you said purely entertainment, and others are meant to explore things best left in the fictional realm. When people try to recreate a party from a movie i worry about whether young people in America understand that

Now I just got mind fucked.

Well this is embarrassing, so I guess I am gonna have to answer that correctly this time.

Ok here goes:
I don't believe they should teach students that kinda stuff as a standard. Just because there were a few incidents involving some guy not being able to handle his sense of reality does NOT mean it is an emergency to change/replace/add in a students subject.

If it was indeed a psychological emergency then they would have done that a long time ago, but government believe teaching reality to kids should be the jobs of parents since they are mostly home and spend most of their time with parents.

So my answer would be no, not unless these incidents occur "very" often which I highly doubt.

If they could teach kids about psychology at a middle school level then everything be cool, but psychology is considered a "special" subject which many believe is too "highly" advanced for children/teens, which I find bullshit but hey, I don't make the rules here.

Truthfully, there is no need for a 'media literacy class,' as you have proposed. The main thing about this is a lack of common sense and judgement. It's something that plagues this nation, and I fear that there will be no end anytime soon.

Quote from the article'



Seriously, that movie was fake, and everyone should know by the time they hit 3rd-5th grade, the shit that happens in movies is either fiction, or a re-enactment of true events. I mean, just because I thought Kick-Ass and Batman were awesome movies, you don't see me running around trying to fight off bad guys. I know that I would be killed if not jailed.

Lazy version: Use common sense. Shit goes wrong all the time. Make sure you know what you're doing before you do it.

Few would take a critical thinking class willingly because ignorance adores itself and a class on critical thinking sounds dull to critical thinkers. Would you really want to sit through a lecture on how to break down or understand information in a way you already do?

Critical thinking isn't just about breaking down information and understanding it. Critical thinking is something that should be employed in..well...every mode of action. Consider the OP, where children tried to copy a movie. Now, if they were critical thinkers they'd easily be able to recognize the futility, immoral nature, and danger, in attempting to replicate a movie all about having the craziest possible party one can have.

Besides, most critical thinkers weren't born critical thinkers, they had to learn on their own. Wouldn't it be more efficient if we instead learned how to critically think at a young age?

It would put a damper on conspiracy theorist numbers, religiosity might go down, the general public might be more motivated to get informed on issues before voting, etc.

Having a class on critical thinking can only be beneficial.

I was only thinking of critical thinking as it applies to things in traditional schooling. Touche, regardless.