EDUC 6809 Weekly Reading #8

"As adults, we assumed that any information we forwarded to Ned about Goodie MOb would be well received and useful to him. This was not the case. As Ned began to show us and to teach us about his interests in Goodie MOb, we had to shift our thinking and position ourselves as learners in the process, watching to see how his interests constantly shifted and changed. Though appreciative of the information we shared with him, he had his own agenda for engaging with texts concerning Goodie MOb. Clearly, the meaning he made from the text was not the meaning we made from the text."

I chose this quote because I believe it makes a good point; just because a student is interested in a particular subject, doesn't mean that any information we give them on the subject will be valuable or meaningful to them.  We need to make the effort to find out what exactly about the subject motivates them.  We also have to be prepared that they may reject some information we give them.  No two people view a piece of information the same, whether it be a written text or a video.  It is important to let the student make his/her own meaning from the text, and not push our meaning on them.  I find it so frustrating when teachers do that.  I had a high school English teacher who would always tell us what a text meant; she had no interest in our interpretation or opinion.  Doing that really takes away from the students' engagement with a text.

I chose the image below because it relates to the reading this week.  Most students are obsessed with pop culture.  They may not remember a multiplication fact or who fought in WW2, but they can go on and on for days about movies, television shows, music, celebrities, etc.

Image by Roy Nixon. (2013).  Retrieved from www.CartoonStock.com

1. What is your stance on using popular culture texts in school?

I think it is a great idea.  Pop culture is something most students are interested in, whether it be music, movies, comics, television, etc.  If the subject is something the students care about, they will be motivated to read texts about it, research it, or talk about it.  Also, because it is something they care about, they will be much more engaged with the text, instead of finding it boring.

2. What are your concerns about using popular culture texts in school?

My biggest concern is that some of the pop culture that students are interested in is inappropriate.  Some of the music or movies may have inappropriate language or content.  I believe the best way to handle that is to screen content very carefully before allowing it into the classroom.

3. How can popular culture texts support school-based writing?

I think it supports school-based writing by motivating students to write.  Again, if the subject is something important to them, something they care about, they will want to read texts about it.  They will want to share what they know with others, which can be done in classroom blog postings or multimedia presentations.

4. Find and link a web-based popular culture text you might us to support writing in your teaching context.

Everyone's a Critic: Analyzing Sitcoms as Cultural Texts is a lesson plan that involves students analyzing different sitcoms.  The lesson incorporates digital literacy, communication, collaboration,  writing, and art.

Sources

D.E. Alvermann, M.C. Hagood, & K.B. Williams (2001, June). Image, language, and sound: Making meaning with popular culture texts. Reading Online, 4(11). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=/newliteracies/action/alvermann/index.html

Doyne, Shannon. (Dec 2011). Everyone's a Critic: Analyzing Sitcoms as Cultural Texts. Retrieved from http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/everyones-a-critic-analyzing-sitcoms-as-cultural-texts/