Hi everyone! So apart from being a senior here at CSUN, I am also an L.A. City lifeguard and a synchronized swimming coach for a U.S. level club team. In my “free” time I also teach private swimming lessons at private homes. Needless to say, I spend a large majority of my time in pools teaching kids ranging from 3 to 17 years of age. I am challenged every day to engage the kids in the lesson and to keep their attention for 30 to 60 minutes at a time.
I know that this challenge is the same in the classroom setting. I’m sure many of you would agree that kids these days are overwhelmed with technology and media on a daily basis. So in order to maintain a teenager’s attention, different mediums are needed to engage students. This can be both a problem and an opportunity. Teachers should not feel oppressed by conventional teaching norms and should utilize media such as websites, movies, video clips, music, powerpoints etc. in their lesson plans. But the “tried-and-true” methods should not be replaced by new technology. Television should not replace the reading of a good book. Therefore, it is up to teachers to instill a love of literature in their students in such a way that television cannot substitute the joy that reading brings!
Perhaps I am an English major idealist, but reading a good book can be so much more rewarding than having a television show constantly spoon-fed into my brain! I think the best way to integrate different media outlets into a classroom would be to find a balance between conventional and new materials. The way that teenagers process information is changing. Therefore, teachers need to adapt their methods to meet the needs of the students while continuing to impart a love for traditional literature.
Hi Paula! I really enjoyed reading your blog perhaps because it feels like I'm reading it on a personal (and even informal, which I prefer) level.
ReplyDeleteI think what hit me the most in this blog is how we shouldn't replace reading of a good book with television. I find myself in conflict with this because I'm extremely visual.
Ever seen "Children of a Lesser God" on DVD? Seen the play? Even read the play written by Mark Medoff? I directed this play before. I did extensive text analysis out of this play. The rewarding part about this is I could write on it, take everything out, deconstruct it, and so on, so I could manipulate everything in it in a way. Then I could see the little bits and pieces here and there. However... I failed to get a finer picture of even the smallest things.
Watching the play and the film, it was pure bliss. I connected the dots. I could see the body language of my actors, the colorful settings of the stage, and even the mood.
I think a good book can WORK WITH a good film (or play, of course). ;-)
Dear Paula and Casey,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with both of you that ideally, a healthy balance should be found between incorporating media in the classroom alongside more ‘traditional’ forms of teaching. However, because of the way teens (and all ages really) have been inundated with media, finding a way to get them to focus and learn through ‘traditional’ teaching techniques seems challenging in the classroom. I currently teach English 155 here at CSUN (as a graduate student), and I’ve found that students tend to be more engaged and responsive when I incorporate forms of media, be it YouTube, online newspapers, or chat rooms.
But as a fellow English major idealist, Paula, I do try to create lesson plans that foster activities like reading books and articles. I try to incorporate as much reading as possible, but with a twist. This semester, for example, I’m having the students watch the movie _The Soloist_, but I’m also having them read the book in order to compare both works…this way, they are still considering both sides of the spectrum. We’ll see how it goes!
-Sevan
Hey Paula, I just wanted to say I really enjoyed reading your blog and I really liked what you had to say :). I agree that the way that teenagers process information is changing and we therefore need to find a compromise that keeps children engaged and helps them appreciate both traditional and new methods of learning.
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