WEEK 2: A parent’s perspective of teaching Literacy using popular culture

A parent’s perspective of teaching Literacy using popular culture

Monday 27/01/2014

I conducted an online survey in which several parents shared their viewpoints on the discussion of popular media in the classroom. I enquired about the use popular TV/ film characters in the classroom, the use of ICT and the use of media literacy (books, magazines, comics, newspapers) as a way of communication.

‘Every year the amount of digital information grows even more rapidly than the year before’ (Palfrey, 2008: 186). Parents who took part in the survey were evidently aware of this digital phenomenon; the majority of those established the view that popular culture, new technology and media literacy should have a dominant presence within the classroom. Many expressed the fear of their children ‘falling behind’ the advances of the world. Some even generalised, stating that ‘all children in China carry a laptop in primary school’. Perhaps this is fear is understandable as the media itself stipulates headlines such as ‘Lessons in computer programming will be adopted by the national curriculum for Estonia primary schools in England from September’ (Muffett, 2014: Online).

My previous placement had taken place within Reception; during the experience I had thoroughly planned a literacy lesson, incorporating ICT. The classroom was full of Ipads and I wanted to take full advantage of them. The teacher assured me that the children could use them and the school would like them to be put to good use. Despite of this, 10 minutes into the lesson I had 30 children poking a screen not able to access the programme they were supposed to be working on. Upon reflection, perhaps the use of such advance technology was not necessary for children below the age of 5. Palfrey (2008) infers that our short term memory can only hold seven items at one time. Therefore how do we expect a child with limited human attention and human processing to accommodate the growing input of information? Some parent’s views corresponded with this notion; they also mentioned that popular culture is addictive; which limits their children’s exposure to other forms of literacy such as books & traditional methods for writing. This corresponds to Dean’s (2010) view that many adults fear their children will not be able to read, nor write, due to emphasis on technology within the classroom. Ultimately we need to achieve the balance between falling behind on the advances and missing out on the tradition.

The curriculum that will be implemented with 2014 has already integrated elements of media and ICT within the primary classroom in a cross-curricular manner (DfES, 2013). Harrett and Benjamin (2009) state that many teachers expressed their anxiety towards media within the classroom, despite the positive impact it has on children’s motivation and engagement with learning in the classroom. Harrett and Benjamin’s (2009) found that TV is often used as a treat for children as opposed to a teaching device. Ultimately from my survey I have discovered that the majority of parents believe that balance and appropriate media are the most important elements with regards to the use of media in the classroom.

Palrey, J., Gasser, U (2008) Born Digital, Understanding the first generation of digital natives. New York: Basic Books

Muffett, T (2014) Education News & Family, Computer coding taught in Estonia Primary Schools: BBC [URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25648769] (Accessed 27/01/2014)

Harrett, J. & Benjamin, T. (2009) ‘Travel with a Time Lord: using media to enhance literacy’. UKLA

Department for Education (2013) Primary National Curriculum. [Online]

Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum [Accessed 17/1/2014].

Dean, G. ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London:Sage

Posted by: JM