Popular culture and media are aspects of student
culture that change from year to year but always remain an important topic to
students. From music to new young adult books we see a wide variety of
platforms in popular culture that students connect with and intertwine into
their identity. As teachers we cannot be expected to stay up to date on all
aspects of popular culture and the ever-changing tide of the media. However, in
order to best connect with our students in the now, it is important that we
know the things that our students are engaging in so frequently.
Understanding how to read different types of media is
important for students to learn how to do. However, we must teach our students
to be critical thinkers when it comes to reading popular culture. Digging for
evidence and questioning the information that is presented is a necessity in
becoming a well-informed adult member of society. Students must learn to think
independently in light of the mass amounts of false information that is thrown
at them on a daily basis. Critically questioning information while looking for
the right answers is something we can model for our students but is something
that they must learn to do in their own way, independent of the teachers
thought or opinion.
In our current climate we see students, especially
high school students, be overwhelmed by a massive amount of information from
popular culture platforms. The media can be a tool that teachers use to
introduce critical thinking skills to their students if used properly. A teacher’s
goal should be to get students to think independently and critically about the
world around them and what better platform to use than one that students already
interact with on a daily basis. In this way we can use the media to our advantage
and teach our students a valuable life skill.
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