“While
the teaching resources include some print texts, notably poetry and short
articles, the units predominantly suggest using digital and visual texts such
as websites, blogs and wikis, TV shows and advertisements, films, Facebook and
Twitter”. Extracted from a recent article by Justine Ferrari and published in ‘The
Australian’, being addressed is essentially the acceptance and incorporation of
popular culture into not only the classroom but also the whole high-school curriculum.
Is it correct to assume this is due to the importance and reliance that
adolescents place on pop-culture? Is it a smarter way to appeal to them, and
essentially teach?
Well,
the Australian Association for the Teaching of English and the Primary English
Teachers Association think so. Their intention is to “produce a series of
resources that would be engaging to students, based on themes that fit the
English syllabus as well as the general capabilities and cross-curriculum
priorities in the national curriculum” (Ferrari, 2013). Simon and Giroux (1998) raise the idea that
it is vital to ask questions such as “What relationship to my students see
between the work we do in class and the lives they live outside of class?”, and
most interestingly “Can this be done without singling out particular groups of
students as marginal, exotic, an “other” within a hegemonic culture”? They then
seek to answer these questions by beginning to consider popular culture as a
“terrain of images, knowledge forms, and affective investments which define the
ground on which one’s “voice” becomes possible” (Simon & Giroux, 1998).
There exists an understanding of popular culture as something that cannot be
avoided; you will always be exposed to some form of pop culture. Specifically,
there is adolescent interest in popular culture so is it fundamental that
teachers somewhat incorporate elements of popular culture to create a strong
link between schooling and everyday life.
Simon
and Giroux do however also note the fact that “popular culture can always be a
threat”. They acknowledge pop culture as not always relevant in the classroom;
most times the novel and the poem it self are enough to stimulate responses and
allow for critical analyses. A more common perception is the fact that excessive
use of pop culture in the classroom may essentially undermine what is being
studied. For example, it would not be appropriate to study Shakespeare’s Romeo
and Juliet through the analysis of just Baz Lurhman’s extravagant modern
interpretation of it. We must read the play and watch a production that is an
adaptation of the play, not simply a modern day transformational piece. As a
future English teacher, it is perceived that in the study of literature, one is
not simply confined to the study of the words on the page, but the context, the
author and literary culture.
There
is a place for popular culture in our curriculums and classrooms. It is almost
essential; sometimes playing and analyzing an Eminem song is more effective in
the study of literary techniques than simply going through a list of them. The
study of spoken-word poetry may be more effective in enlightening students on
the culture of poetry than a standard, conventional poem. These are some things
I have experienced as a student and believe as a teacher are important to
consider and incorporate to a certain degree. No pop culture in the classroom
may be highly ineffective in a pop-culture driven society. Too much may be
ineffective, irrelevant and weakening. Just the right amount could be a stroke
of teaching genius!
Ferrari, J. (2013). High-school classes go for pop culture. Retrieved October 2013, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/high-school-classes-go-for-pop-culture/story-fn59nlz9-1226719602415
Simon,R,
Giroux. H. (1998). Popular
culture, schooling, and everyday life. Retrieved from: http://www.iresist.org/media/pdf_files/giroux.pdf
I completely agree with your argument on this topic of pop culture in the classroom. There are always going to be pros and cons when introducing new aspects and ways of teaching within the classroom, and I know from first-hand experience that when our school was given laptops as a way of connecting to our generations 'media and technologically advanced' ways that 97% of the time, while sitting in English class, we were all there playing plants VS zombies instead of looking up resources to connect with our interpretation of our set texts 'the outsiders.' I know for me, when it came to that text in particular it was so helpful that there was, after a few weeks of breaking down and interpreting the novel as a class, a period of a few lessons where we watched the film and were able to identify our ideas and see this novel come to life before us.
ReplyDeleteAs a future teacher myself, I believe that technology and pop culture will only get bigger and we cant just simply be naieve and sat it's not there and shut it out of the classroom. As our students and their learning abilities grow we will grow with them, and with that comes the development of technology so we need to move with it because there's no way of stopping it. With this said however, there should be a clear connection and reason for the use of technology and pop culture in the classroom, it should be clear to both teachers, students and parents that it's aiding the learning experience of any particular subject, in keeping to the curriculum and not deterring away from what's really important- the student's education.