Currently at the high school, there is only one course offered in the English department that centers on the media, Broadcast Journalism. This course covers the history of broadcast journalism, and students participate in authentic assignments such as the school's weekly broadcast news, The Ekko. However, Broadcast Journalism is an elective with a capped enrollment, and many students shy away from taking it because they do not want to be on the newscast. Hastings students need to have more options for media study.
For next year, curriculum is being developed for two new electives: Film Studies, and Writing about the Media. The 2009-2010 course description for Film Studies reads:
"This course consists of learning about film by studying its history, terminology, and industry through reading, discussing, and watching several major motion pictures. Students will be required to watch some films outside of the class, presenting various papers and at least one speech on related topics. Various themes will include concentrations on certain directors, periods, or genres."
Writing about the Media is described as follows:
"Students will develop and refine their writing skills by critically analyzing dozens of examples from contemporary films, television shows, commercials, and news, both print and video. Media topics slated to be examined include consumerism; gender and sexuality; media and politics; race and class; and, current events."
It is important for students to study film, television, and other forms of media for several reasons. First of all, although it is important for students to be able to read and write in the basic sense, data shows that students are using media now more than ever, and they are often using several types of media at a time. Both the Film Studies and Writing about the Media classes will embed reading and writing assignments into the curriculum, so it isn't as though the students in these courses will not be reading and writing regularly. It is just that, if media is so time-consuming for today's students, it makes sense that they hone their reading and writing skills while interacting with different types of media. Beach cites Manovich (2001) and Street (2004) to assert that using digital tools teaches students to interact with texts in diverse ways, and also increases digital literacies.
This brings up a second reason to teach media studies; students need to know how to use digital tools as they are developed, otherwise they will not be prepared for the world outside of school. Technology and the way messages are conveyed changes at a dizzying rate; if students are not educated in how to use the technology and interpret messages, they will be completely at a loss when they step out of high school, or they will prefer to remain digitally illiterate. Film Studies and Writing about the Media will incorporate blogs, wikis, and online chat rooms so that students are familiar with these tools before they leave high school. As technologies change, so will the courses' curricula.
Finally, teaching film, television, and media studies fosters critical thinking skills; skills that have always been important to schools. Students are bombarded with media messages all the time; isn't it time schools taught them how to read and analyze those messages, and not passively accept them? Film Studies will cover the history of filmmaking and different techniques that are used to convey a specific message. Writing about the Media will analyze media from different lenses such as race, class, gender, and political persuasion. Both classes will reward students with the ability to hear, see, or read a message, and develop their own interpretation and reaction to it, which is a skill everyone should have.
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