Christensen's secret education, as told by alex
"The messages, or "secret education," linked with the security of their homes, underscore the power these texts deliver. As Tatum's research suggests, the stereotypes and worldview embedded in the stories become accepted knowledge."
The media has a direct impact on a child whether they know it or not. With this quote Christensen describes this as a "secret education." Many children watch television or in some way exposed to pop culture and the media but what most people don't understand is that these things are riddled with stereotypes. Christensen talks about how women are view in movies and cartoons, "When women do appear, they look like Jessica Rabbit or Playboy centerfolds- even in many of the new and "improved" children's movies".
This brings me to my story that involves a group in my service learning. One day while doing fluency assignment, the kids started venturing off topic and having side conversations. The one conversation that caught my attention the most was when they were talking about Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball video. First of all, let me state these children are third graders around eight years of age. Let me also make clear that I personally live for Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball song and video but after analyzing the music video I realized it is no where appropriate for a third grader to be watching. I wouldn't say it's inappropriate in the sense of it being explicit although it definitely is on the edge of being overly sexualized. If you listen to the lyrics of the song and you watch the video, you see this girl basically dying over some man who broke her heart. What is this teaching our children? Especially all the young girls out there who are watching this. Not only is this video showing yet another woman overly sexualized to get her point across but she is still crying over some guy. This is not painting a picture of a strong independent female and part of me wonders if she wasn't practically nude, if the video would've been as big as it was.
I can see where this situation with my service learning group get a little complicated. We need to remember that Miley Cyrus used to be a huge children's star on the Disney Channel. With that being said, it makes sense that she would still have a large younger audience. I wonder if she realizes that she has a direct impact on these children. We need to be conscious as adults to teach are children when it comes to media. I'm not saying to totally disallow your child to watch anything pop culture related or cartoons but just let them know that the ideologies and stereotypes that are being expressed are not always the right ones.
This brings me to my story that involves a group in my service learning. One day while doing fluency assignment, the kids started venturing off topic and having side conversations. The one conversation that caught my attention the most was when they were talking about Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball video. First of all, let me state these children are third graders around eight years of age. Let me also make clear that I personally live for Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball song and video but after analyzing the music video I realized it is no where appropriate for a third grader to be watching. I wouldn't say it's inappropriate in the sense of it being explicit although it definitely is on the edge of being overly sexualized. If you listen to the lyrics of the song and you watch the video, you see this girl basically dying over some man who broke her heart. What is this teaching our children? Especially all the young girls out there who are watching this. Not only is this video showing yet another woman overly sexualized to get her point across but she is still crying over some guy. This is not painting a picture of a strong independent female and part of me wonders if she wasn't practically nude, if the video would've been as big as it was.
I can see where this situation with my service learning group get a little complicated. We need to remember that Miley Cyrus used to be a huge children's star on the Disney Channel. With that being said, it makes sense that she would still have a large younger audience. I wonder if she realizes that she has a direct impact on these children. We need to be conscious as adults to teach are children when it comes to media. I'm not saying to totally disallow your child to watch anything pop culture related or cartoons but just let them know that the ideologies and stereotypes that are being expressed are not always the right ones.
Everybody needs a safe space- august
"Classrooms lay the foundations for an inclusive and safe society: a just community where common interests and individual differences coexist."
This article by Geri August was written to help educators know the importance of making their classrooms, safe spaces. This article deals primarily with the LGBT community but is not limited to that although creating safe spaces is extremely important especially for the LGBT community. August makes a great point when she states that no child should ever feel erased or marginalized based on their sexual orientation or how they define themselves.
Not only does Geri August talk about LGBT children in classrooms but she also talks about the different family dynamics. A child could have two mother, two fathers, their grandparents could be their guardians, or they may have a single parent. The point here being that no family looks exactly the same. However, lesson plans are often geared to favor the typical heterosexual couple home. This is not only bad but it contributes to the children feeling erased because they can't identify their families with the ones being taught.
My story from my service learning project involves one of the young girls in my group when she whispered to me, "I have to tell you something." I had asked her what it was but she was determined to tell me in privacy because she was afraid for anybody else to hear it. At first I didn't know what to expect because I'm just assuming the absolute worst; I was just hoping that I would know how to handle whatever she was about to say. She then whispered very quietly, "I live with my grandparents." She seemed so embarrassed to say that and that's when I knew I was having an August moment. I reassured her that there was nothing wrong with that and that families come in all different shapes and sizes. I also let her know that my grandmother used to live in the same house as me too. Since I was born, my family lived on the second floor of an apartment building while my grandmother lived on the first floor. So to me it's like she lived with us, I decided to share this story with this little girl and at first she was surprised but then she looked as if there was an extreme weight lifted off her shoulders and she instantly looked more relaxed and comfortable. I totally helped build a safe space!
Not only does Geri August talk about LGBT children in classrooms but she also talks about the different family dynamics. A child could have two mother, two fathers, their grandparents could be their guardians, or they may have a single parent. The point here being that no family looks exactly the same. However, lesson plans are often geared to favor the typical heterosexual couple home. This is not only bad but it contributes to the children feeling erased because they can't identify their families with the ones being taught.
My story from my service learning project involves one of the young girls in my group when she whispered to me, "I have to tell you something." I had asked her what it was but she was determined to tell me in privacy because she was afraid for anybody else to hear it. At first I didn't know what to expect because I'm just assuming the absolute worst; I was just hoping that I would know how to handle whatever she was about to say. She then whispered very quietly, "I live with my grandparents." She seemed so embarrassed to say that and that's when I knew I was having an August moment. I reassured her that there was nothing wrong with that and that families come in all different shapes and sizes. I also let her know that my grandmother used to live in the same house as me too. Since I was born, my family lived on the second floor of an apartment building while my grandmother lived on the first floor. So to me it's like she lived with us, I decided to share this story with this little girl and at first she was surprised but then she looked as if there was an extreme weight lifted off her shoulders and she instantly looked more relaxed and comfortable. I totally helped build a safe space!