An already over-loaded school curriculum has yet another potential subject seeking time in the school day. Despite the current time constraints, the concept of media education, dubbed media literacy by many experts, has become a compelling one for schools to consider.

A report from the MacArthur Foundation, "Confronting Challenges of Contemporary Culture," offers the most succinct rationale for adding media education to the school curriculum.

"Media change is affecting every aspect of our contemporary experience, and as a consequence, every school discipline needs to take responsibility for helping students to master the skills and knowledge they need to function in a hyper-mediated environment."

Today’s Hyper-mediated Environment

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average 8-18 year old in the United States spends about 6 1/2 hours consuming media in a typical day. Such consumption is aggregated and includes watching television and movies, and playing video games.

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that by the age of 18, the average American teenager will have spent roughly 25,000 hours in front of a television set. That represents more time than the same child will spend in the classroom. In fact, that figure means that children spend more time watching television than they spend doing anything else except sleeping.

In addition to worrying about the sedentary nature of so much viewing, experts are concerned with the specific content children are exposed to. One specific concern is the level of violence children witness within the media they consume. A 1992 study by Huston et al indicates that by the age of 18, the average American teenager will have seen the equivalent of 200,000 violent acts and 40,000 murders.

In addition to the general content concern issues (exposure to violence and overt sexuality), experts are now as concerned with the advertising children are exposed to within their hyper-mediated world. A web site devoted to the concept of media literacy, Just Think, states that “the average person sees between 400 and 600 ads per day – that is 40 million to 50 million by the time s/he is 60 years old.”

But one example of the advertising impact, Just Think notes that “one of every 11 commercials has a direct message about beauty.” That consistent message is seen by many experts as the reason so many youngsters today have negative images of their personal appearance including body type.

As a second example, we turn to the power of advertising in the world of tobacco. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the three most heavily advertised brands of cigarettes, MarlboroTM, CamelTM, and NewportTM, are the three brands chosen by 90% of all kids who smoke.

Web Sites Focused on Media Literacy

Fortunately, teachers interested in working the topic into their classroom lessons now have a wealth of resources at their disposal. The aforementioned Just Think offers a wealth of material for educators interested in the topic including two provocatively entitled videos, Get Naked and CTRL+ALT+DELETE.  The site also offers some very interesting curricula ideas including Flipping the Script and Hidden Heroes. Virtually all of the statistics quoted above come from this site's Quick Facts page.

Teachers can also turn to the Center for Media Literacy for curriculum materials. The CML MediaLit Kit™ Framework features the components of an inquiry-based media literacy program using the concepts and key questioning practices to be able to construct and deconstruct various media. The site also offers a wealth of links to many of the agencies noted above due to their interest in the topic of media literacy.

Other sites such as Media Literacy Clearinghouse, MediaLiteracy.com, MediaLiteracy.net and PBS offer resources for teachers seeking methods for melding the topic of media education into their existing classroom lessons.

A Compelling Topic

Though time constraints make it difficult, given the current statistics it would seem to be a must for teachers to find ways to bring media literacy to their respective classrooms. It is time that adults helped children understand the basis of the rhetorical question so prominently displayed on the Just Think site:

“Are we creating media? Or is it creating us?”