The new literacies related to Adolescent Literature come from new digital technologies and affiliated youth and industrial/professional cultures. As with any form of literacy, they enable critical literacy because they allow students to make them part of their world, rather than simply reading the text and finding little meaning in it. Instead, students are encouraged to find a connection between the literacy and their own life. In addition, critical literacy is encouraged through debate, discussion, and action over present real-life situations. Lastly, there is an encouragement of differentiated teaching styles rather a single method of teaching literature. As is stated in the article, there is a movement toward having students focus on reading and writing as a means to engage in forms of community study, analyze social movements, and be politically active. Also important in today's ever-changing society is the fact that students should learn to be critical of "media literacy" that focuses on popular cultural texts, including advertising, broadcast media, and the Internet. As the authors suggest, there is a movement towards teaching students how to be critical thinkers and search for bias or one-sided stories that perhaps do not tell the entire truth to our history, culture, and society.
I remember when I first realized that the information presented in typical history books was actually biased based on who the author was. I felt cheated somehow. It felt very similar to the way I feel now when presented with a new medical research story - which drug company funded the research? Imagine the emotional reaction you would get by asking an ultra religious person to consider who wrote the bible, why, and how easily an oral story can be changed as it is passed down over time. We want to believe what we are told, but we must maintain perspective and our ability to analyse information if we are to truly be free thinkers.
The new literacies related to Adolescent Literature come from new digital technologies and affiliated youth and industrial/professional cultures. As with any form of literacy, they enable critical literacy because they allow students to make them part of their world, rather than simply reading the text and finding little meaning in it. Instead, students are encouraged to find a connection between the literacy and their own life. In addition, critical literacy is encouraged through debate, discussion, and action over present real-life situations. Lastly, there is an encouragement of differentiated teaching styles rather a single method of teaching literature.
ReplyDeleteAs is stated in the article, there is a movement toward having students focus on reading and writing as a means to engage in forms of community study, analyze social movements, and be politically active. Also important in today's ever-changing society is the fact that students should learn to be critical of "media literacy" that focuses on popular cultural texts, including advertising, broadcast media, and the Internet. As the authors suggest, there is a movement towards teaching students how to be critical thinkers and search for bias or one-sided stories that perhaps do not tell the entire truth to our history, culture, and society.
I remember when I first realized that the information presented in typical history books was actually biased based on who the author was. I felt cheated somehow. It felt very similar to the way I feel now when presented with a new medical research story - which drug company funded the research? Imagine the emotional reaction you would get by asking an ultra religious person to consider who wrote the bible, why, and how easily an oral story can be changed as it is passed down over time. We want to believe what we are told, but we must maintain perspective and our ability to analyse information if we are to truly be free thinkers.
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