This review has been written by Barry Duncan, an award-winning teacher, author, consultant and founder and past president of the Ontario-based Association for Media Literacy.

Mapping Media Education Policies in the World: Visions, Programs and Challenges, Frau-Meigs and Jordi Torrent eds. The United Nations Alliance of Civilization for UNESCO, 2009

This collection of articles on media education around the world will fulfill an important need: informing us of the struggle to critically understand the global implications of media education.

Few will read this entire collection, but it is worthwhile dipping into a cross section of the articles. Media educators from the developed and developing worlds offer testimony to the enormous difficulties in developing suitable school curriculum. Some of the reports include those from countries such as Canada (Carolyn Wilson and Barry Duncan, both of the Association for Media Literacy, contribute chapters; Carolyn is a member of the UNESCO commission), the United States, Turkey, Spain, the United Kingdom, Zambia, Morocco, India, Egypt and Ghana.

The last section deals with action plans, youth voices, and civic engagement.  The editors write: “It is UNESCO’s hope that the information and knowledge contained in this collection will inspire readers to take action that is informed by expert knowledge.” The United Nations Alliance for Civilization, which commissioned this document, will be making recommendations for implementing best practices in media education. It is fortunate that the commission has made such a good start in making the case for the importance of media education in school curriculum and beyond.

Media Literacy is Elementary: Teaching Youth to Critically Read and Create Media, Jeff Share. Peter Lang, 2009.

Jeff Share worked for Liz Thoman of the Centre for Media Literacy, did his doctorate under Douglas Kellner (a cultural studies guru at UCLA), observed an impressive critical literacy program in some elementary schools and piloted some innovative curriculum. The book reflects all these experiences and offers us some exemplary curriculum.

I like the tough minded, transformative critical pedagogy found throughout, accessing the work of social and media radicals such as Henry Giroux, Paulo Freire, Len Masterman and Robert Ferguson. The book serves in effect as an activist’s guide for media literacy, acknowledging the necessity of social justice and an engaged citizenry. The definition of media literacy as “critical media literacy” (see the work of Peter McLaren for a fuller exploration of this distinction) will make some educators who would prefer bland and depoliticized material wince, but for those who embrace the concept this is an invaluable book.

A Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction, Grades 4-6: Vol. 7, Media Literacy. Ontario Ministry of Education, 2008. 

As school curriculum evolves, new guidelines are created and teachers look for guidance and concrete ideas for their classroom. This new Ontario Ministry of Education Media Literacy Resource will provide significant help, especially for elementary teachers who are new to the game.
(Print copies of this document are scarce; you can access it electronically at here.)

 Using the "media triangle" and the five key concepts of media literacy, the guide provides teachers with a coherent framework to apply to media texts.  There are detailed lesson plans on topics such as creating public service announcements, constructing a Web site and organizing promotions for feature films, all of which will serve as exemplary models. The charts and rubrics will also be welcome. 

My only reservation with the document comes as no surprise: government documents avoid controversy, ideological, values and oppositional activities, which foster social justice. (It is unfortunate that after initial work by the writing team there were no consultations. When will the Ministry come down from its lofty perch and allow stake holders a needed voice?) Despite this one lacuna, congratulations are due to the writing team for their work in creating such a helpful document.

The Struggle for Literacy, Irving Lee Rather. Detsilig Enterprises, 2008.

There are equally positive and negative dimensions in the book by Lee Rother, a Montreal teacher and media educator whose book draws heavily on the program he devised for difficult-to-serve students at the Alternative Career Education Program at Lake of Two Mountains School in Deux Montagnes, Quebec.  The material connected with this project is fresh and his students’ comments demonstrate real growth through the dynamic new ways Rother presents of presenting literature, the students' creativity and the social and cultural values of media studies.

The book has some weaknesses. To begin with, it needs a more specific title, or at least a subtitle, to make its subject matter more clear. As well, when Rother charts the development of the teaching of English he focuses primarily in the United States and the UK, touching on such seminal events as the 1963 Dartmouth conference and the work of the National Council of Teachers of English; except for models for media studies none of his examples are Canadian, and in particular there is no reference to the important work of Marshall McLuhan. As well, there are some simple errors of fact that an editor should have caught: in one unfortunate philosophical comparison, for instance, the views of media gurus David Buckingham and Len Masterman are reversed.

Finally, many media teachers are now encouraged to engage multiple literacies and critical pedagogies, both of which are given short shrift in this book. With too many irons in the fire, The Struggle for Literacy is perhaps too ambitious. Read selectively, however, it will be useful to English teachers who also teach media.

Rethinking Technology in Schools, Vanessa Elaine Domine. Peter Lang, 2009

A PhD in media ecology and an avid media educator, Vanessa Domine brings excellent credentials to the task of rethinking technology in schools. This book challenges the reader to critically and conscientiously investigate new media and communication technology. We should be grateful that media education is a major part of this book and others to be published soon. We have nothing to fear except a proliferation.

On November 5, MNet Media Education Specialist Matthew Johnson participated in the Association of Canadian Studies' conference Knowing Ourselves: The Challenge of Teaching History of Canadian Official Minority Language Communities, speaking on the topic Media, Diversity and Our History. What follows is an expanded version of his remarks.

Is media education relevant to teaching history?

The connection between history and media education may not be an obvious one. Mass media are, after all, a modern phenomenon, and when media is discussed in most history courses it's almost always in the context of the meaning or significance of particular media products. But media studies aren't just about media products: it’s about how different media shape how we think and how we see the world.

To begin with, students see the world through media. If they have any prior knowledge of history, it likely comes from movies or TV – and we have to be aware of the ways that affects how they see history. Not just the factual errors and misconceptions found in movies on historical subjects, though there are certainly plenty of those, but the assumptions and implications that come with a medium and genre. For instance, you'll never see a historical film that tries to communicate how people in the past thought or saw the world differently than we do. You couldn't possibly understand the Middle Ages, or Ancient Greece, without having some knowledge of their mindset -- but when those periods are portrayed in the mass media the characters are fundamentally modern people with funny clothes. This isn't just a consequence of bad filmmaking, it's a consequence of commercial filmmaking as a genre and a medium: to be successful a movie has to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, and having characters with motivations and thought processes that are difficult to understand is going to make that more difficult. (So it is that we wind up with freedom-loving, non-pedophilic Spartans in movies like 300.) This is where media education can help students ask the critical questions needed to challenge and contextualize historical depictions such as these.

We frequently use media products to teach history, and not just movies and TV shows. Another medium that we deal with in history, especially at the secondary level, is the textbook. These, too, we tend to take for granted, but as with other media, they reflect their medium and genre. If students are going to not just memorize facts but actually do history, they need to learn to read textbooks as a media product and not just a text.

Most importantly, in a very real way history is media study. As historians we look at media products -- the primary sources on which history is built -- and ask questions like Who wrote this? What purpose did it serve? In what context was it written? Is there any reason to believe it's misleading or biased? What's missing from the story it tells? These are, in fact, all essential media studies questions. For most of history, the sources that have reached us are those that were written down, copied and preserved: each of these has a significance that may not be immediately obvious today. When literacy was rare, to make a written document had a significant cost; so, too, did copying a document before the invention of the printing press. These facts mean that a primary document isn't simply a neutral record: it embodies a power structure, an economic system and a point of view. It is not unusual for us to question the role of media -- such as radio, television and the Internet – in shaping our perceptions of modern history. The same scrutiny needs to be given to the primary documents from which we form our understanding of the past.

How can history teachers integrate media education into their classrooms?

Teachers do not have to be media experts to bring a media education approach to their practice. Media education is fundamentally about asking the right questions, not knowing the right answers, and we can draw those questions from five key media literacy concepts:
 
Media are constructions. Media products don't just come into existence: they are created by human beings. They have a purpose and are made with particular forms and techniques. Teachers can have their students consider the decisions that were made in creating a media product as well as the factors that influenced its production. Consider, for instance, the Lawrence Olivier version of Henry V: how did its purpose (to inspire the British public) affect its content? What were the effects of the circumstances of its production (it was made during the German attacks on England, at a time when there was fear of a full-scale invasion)? Compare the climactic Agincourt scene to the same scene in the Kenneth Branagh version. How does the same essential content communicate very different meanings in the two texts?

Audiences negotiate meaning. The meaning of a media product is not static: it is created in collaboration with the audience, and different audiences interpret media differently. This is why to fully understand the effects of stereotyping and absent voices we have to try to see things from the perspective of those affected. Take, for instance, the famous painting of the Death of Wolfe, which is often presented in textbooks as the moment when Canada was born -- in English-language textbooks, at least:

How would a francophone student interpret this image differently? Look at the Native character to Wolfe's left -- how would a Native student view this painting? How would an African-Canadian student feel about being portrayed as absent from the "birth of Canada"? Consider, too, that we are not the painting's original audience: we are different from those who first saw it in the 18th Century, those who canonized it in the 19th, or those who enshrined it in textbooks in the 20th Century.
 
Media have commercial implications. Few media products are created without some economic considerations. Most of the media products we use in classrooms are created to make money, and that affects how they are made. Even the most faithful historical movie has to follow the “Hollywood format”: consider how the very bleak, chaotic and realistic opening scene of Saving Private Ryan is followed by a much more standard action-adventure film that rewards audiences in a more comfortable and familiar way. As far back as Herodotus history has been written as entertainment, and this shapes our study of it.

Textbooks have commercial implications too: students should find out who at their school or school board makes the decision about which textbook to buy, and consider how that might have influenced what was left in and left out. James W. Loewen's excellent book Lies My Teacher Told Me examines just this question, and while the textbooks we use may not be as egregious as some of the examples he cites (such as a history of Mississippi that did not mention a single African-American), some of the reasons he identifies for why particular facts are included or left out of textbooks may be more familiar (for instance, U.S. history textbooks must devote space to Chester A. Arthur -- an entirely forgettable president -- if they hope to sell copies in Vermont, his home state.)

Even if they are not intended to make money media products cost money to create, copy and preserve, and that influences the content -- it's a big reason why the history of the rich and powerful comes to us from media products like documents, paintings and tapestries while we largely have to recreate the history of the lower classes from physical evidence.

Values and ideological messages underpin all media.  Even if media products are not created to promote a particular agenda -- as nearly all primary sources, and most textbooks, were -- the cultural values and assumptions of their creators are inevitably reflected in the text. This can be a difficult concept for students to grasp for the same reason that fish don't know they're in water; most often, the assumptions found in the media works we consume are the same assumptions we ourselves hold. It takes an intentional change of perspective in order to even recognize that we have these assumptions, never mind challenging them.

Consider, for instance, the cover of this Canadian history textbook for Grades 3-8. Not that it's precisely inaccurate (though I don't think any coastal Native peoples wore feather headdresses of this type), but by its selection of this image it glosses over the fact that most of the Native peoples that the early Canadian settlers dealt with, such as the Iroquois and the Huron, were settled, agricultural societies. Undoubtedly neither the author, illustrator nor publisher had any intention of demeaning or misrepresenting Natives; it is the fact that this familiar image went entirely unquestioned that shows how important it is to consider the assumptions and values that lie behind each media product. (This textbook was published in 2002, by the way.)

Each medium has a unique aesthetic form. The medium in which history is written or told influences its meaning. A history textbook will follow different codes and conventions than a movie, or a comic book. These conventions can have a significant effect on the meaning we take from a text. For example, consider this photo of the Charlottetown Conference:

The posed quality of 19th Century photos, as well as the lack of colour, contribute to a received meaning of the event as being sober and serious -- one that’s entirely at odds with the fact that everyone in this picture was hung over when it was taken.

Textbooks, too, have their own aesthetic form. Nearly all are locked into a strict chronological format; not an unnatural choice for history, but also not always the best way to discuss or explain complex processes and events. Textbooks have a number of genre conventions as well: James Loewen has pointed out that textbooks rely heavily on the passive voice -- "chaos seems always to be breaking out or about to break out" -- obscuring the genuine causes (and the debate that surrounds possible causes) of events.
 
MNet Resources

Teachers wanting to bring a media education approach to their history classrooms can get started with some of MNet's resources. To begin with, the presentation Media Education: Make It Happen,  available as both a booklet and a slideshow, covers the media education content of this blog in more detail. Several of the lessons in MNet's Lesson Library deal with these topics as well: for instance "Hurricane Katrina and the 'Two-Photo Controversy'" examines how in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, media coverage -- the first draft of history -- reflected the bias and assumptions of the mainstream media. The lesson "Suffragettes and Iron Ladies"  examines how both history and new media reflect bias in their coverage of female politicians. For a broader examination of these issues, teachers can consult our Media Issues section on Stereotyping. Finally, to help students understand the potentially touchy subjects of prejudice, bias and misinformation, teachers can use the educational game Allies and Aliens which addresses these issues through a science-fiction metaphor.

Halloween is perhaps the most contradictory of the major holidays. Though born in Ireland and other Celtic regions, today it is almost exclusively observed in the form that developed in North America; though closely associated with the imagination, it has been thoroughly commercialized, becoming an opportunity for children to buy costumes and then acquire candy (today it is the second largest commercial holiday in the US, after Christmas); and finally, though it is the holiday most closely associated with children, it is also one that has, traditionally, been all about fear.

From its beginnings as the Celtic festival of Samhain, Halloween has been associated with death and the supernatural: it marked the passage from the "light half" of the year to the "dark half" and was seen as a time when the border between this world and the next grew thin. Perhaps for this reason, it was associated with a variety of masking and divination practices, many of which still happen today. Interestingly, trick-or-treating, at least in its current form, is one of the most recent aspects of Halloween. Derived from a tradition practiced by adults, it was -- along with wassailing at Christmas -- one of a number of occasions each year when landowners were expected to give food and drink to peasants. It became more associated with children when Irish immigrants brought their traditions to North America in the late 19th century. Almost immediately, religious activists began objecting to the "diabolical" effects of the holiday on children, while doctors and community leaders urged parents to remove anything that might frighten children; since then Halloween has been both a playground and a battleground.

Why do kids like scary things?

 While Halloween today has been substantially defanged -- you're more likely to find a branded character from the most recent Hollywood blockbuster at your door than a ghost or a witch -- part of its appeal to children undoubtedly comes from its association with fear. One of the things that appeals to children about the kind of frights provided on Halloween is that it is limited to a single night. It's similar to a thrilling roller coaster ride, or to the experience of watching a horror movie for older children and teens: an opportunity to play with fear, experience the adrenaline thrill of it while keeping it safely contained. Masks or costumes provide another level of emotional safety, as do symbolic markers such as jack-o-lanterns: children can engage with the holiday as something other than themselves, and even their neighbourhood is transformed into a fantasyland.

Unfortunately, today's media landscape provides an all-you-can-eat buffet of frightening TV shows, movies and video games, and children are unlikely to be able to judge in advance how frightening they will find a particular media product. As well, channels that appeal to younger children such as YTV and Teletoon often show TV shows and movies at this time of year that are more appropriate for older kids and teens. As a result, children can find themselves getting frights that are beyond what they're able to handle.

How are kids affected by scary things?

What frightens children changes significantly as they age. One thing that remains consistent with time, as noted above, is the desire for frights to be contained to a particular context. What is perhaps most frightening for all children is images of grotesque transformations, which violate the boundary between fantasy and reality. Joanne Cantor, professor emerita and director of the Center for Communication Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, found in a survey that the most frightening image children had seen on TV was that of Bruce Banner turning into the Hulk in the TV series of the same name.

The ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality, however, does not develop until children are about six or seven; before that, children are as likely to be frightened by fantastic images as by more realistic ones. Young children may also be as affected emotionally by animation as by live-action film, so don't assume that "Scooby Doo Meets Dracula" is a safer bet than Bela Lugosi.

In general, children younger than seven are most frightened by overtly grotesque images and stories where a child or a parent is in peril; older children, meanwhile, who might not be affected by ghoulish images such as witches or vampires which are clearly (and safely) fantastic, can be quite shaken by things that blur the fantastic quality of Halloween by invoking the real world. Psychological horror, frights that connect to their daily lives, and blood and gore can still frighten this age group. What is best are movies and TV shows that are safely contained in fantasy, or that contain clear cues that they are not set in the real world.

What parents can do

 As always, it's important to be aware of what your children are watching and playing. Don't assume that a program is safe for your children to watch based just on the channel broadcasting it or the time that it's airing. Whenever possible, watch potentially troubling content with your children, and be ready to talk to them about what they see.

If your household has children in a range of ages, be ready to provide alternative activities for younger children if your older kids want to watch something frightening, or use your DVD player or PVR for them to watch it after younger kids have gone to sleep.

Don't assume, though, that older children are immune to frights. Don't schedule potentially frightening media or activities right before bed time; spend some time doing reassuringly "normal" activities before kids sleep.

Remember that both younger and older children are most frightened by things that violate the difference between the real and the unreal: if anyone in your household is wearing a potentially frightening costume or makeup effect, let your children watch it being put on so they aren't scared by the transformation.

If you are taking young children trick-or-treating it's probably best to do it during daylight, and emphasize the "dress-up" aspects of it over the potentially frightening elements. For kids who are still learning the difference between fantasy and reality, make sure to reinforce the idea that Halloween is a put-on -- it's a special night where we all pretend to believe in ghosts and goblins. Letting kids participate in things like carving a pumpkin and hanging decorations can help, and keep them clear of frights that might shock and surprise them. When you're decorating, don't use props or tricks that might frighten kids unless you're able to control who encounters them.

Older children should be allowed to engage in "scary play," since this is an important part of learning to manage fear, but make sure that they only do it with kids their own age and older, rather than frightening younger siblings or neighbours. Always respect your kids' limits when it comes to frights and don't let older siblings pressure younger ones into doing things they're not yet ready to do, such as going out after dark or going to a stranger's door.

MNet resources

Our Parents' Section has more information on frightening TV content and how to deal with it.

The article "Questions to Ask Yourself Before Donning A Halloween Costume" provides parents and children with some tips to help find a costume that does not demean or stereotype people of any ethnicity or ability.

The study "Tales from the Screen: Enduring Fright Reactions to Scary Media"  is hosted on our Web site and contains a lot of information about what kinds of images frighten children at different ages, and what kinds of short- and long-term effects being frightened can have on children.

Our Tip Sheets "Helping Kids Cope with Media Coverage of War and Traumatic Events"  and "Talking to Kids about Media Violence" contain lots of great information about how to tell if your children have been frightened or disturbed by media images and how to help kids deal with what they have seen.

Other online resources

Common Sense Media has detailed reviews of many media products, including tips on which are likely to frighten children.