Quote
“Youth can know more or less what they like about
such texts; they frequently know and can articulate why they like what they
like; however, as we contend in this article, it is quite another thing for us
as adults to claim to know what they like does in terms of our understanding of
how they make meaning of popular culture texts” (Alvermann, Hagood, & Williams, 2001).
I chose this quote
because this summarizes the article. The first statement of this quote explains
that youth often know what they like about popular culture texts, or they could
be clueless about their preference for popular culture texts. However, when
they know what they like, they are fully capable of articulating the reasoning
for why they like such texts. The problem is that adults assume that they know
what youth gather from popular culture texts, either cognitively or socially.
Adults take a hands-off approach to popular culture and assume its “youth”
culture. They believe that this culture is to be of little interest to their
adult minds, as well as not believing that youth would want to participate with
adults in these popular culture texts. Assumptions are dangerous, and luckily
taking these classes have allowed me to keep up with younger generations.
D.E. Alvermann, M.C. Hagood, & K.B. Williams (2001,
June). Image, language, and sound: Making meaning with popular culture texts. Reading
Online, 4(11). Available:
http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=/newliteracies/action/alvermann/index.html
Resource
I chose this video because it talks about the difference between Generation Y and the previous generations. It talks about the culture of Generation Y and the problems they face with older generations, especially in the workplace. This is what the article was talking about when discussing the assumptions adults make about popular culture texts of youth.
CultureCoachInt. (2012, June 15). How to Better
Understand Gen-Y. Retrieved July 10, 2013, from Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6FHJr2ky7k
Questions
What is
your stance on using popular culture texts in school?
Using popular culture texts in school will
motivate and engage students in classroom activities. Most of them already know
how to gather meaning from popular culture texts, thus minimizing frustration,
which in return decreases the need to give up before completing a task.
What are
your concerns about using popular culture texts in school?
My only concern about using popular culture texts
in school is the fact that it may be used as a substitution to school-based
materials and resources. In other words, I’m afraid that students won’t learn
what they need to learn at their grade level if popular culture texts are used
to frequently. They should be supporting materials, rather than primary
resources for lessons. Unfortunately, students still have to take standardized
tests, and need some of those traditional resources to teach the content. With
that being said, I still believe that popular culture texts should be used to
support lessons and engage students.
How can
popular culture texts support school-based writing?
Popular culture texts support school-based
writing through its relevance to students’ lives. This will allow students to
see the interconnection between popular culture texts and the information
learned in school. Moreover, popular culture texts will engage and motivate
students to learn the materials presented to them in class.
Find and
link to a web-based popular culture text you might use to support writing in
your teaching context.
The aforementioned link is an interactive Google
Site, where students are given a problem and then lead through a series of
information to get to an answer. There are supplemental worksheets that go
along with this site, as well as a video. The Google Site stemmed from a video
recording about functions, and as the students go through the lyrics of the
song, they learn definitions and topics needed to fully understand mathematical
functions.
I love the function song and feel comfortable introducing a version of this with my 8th grader. Thanks for the resource!
ReplyDeleteYou are right Heather! If teachers are going to use popular culture texts in the classroom they need to make the learning goals clear and connect then to the standards. This will get more parents on board. Additionally the use of popular culture text is to bridge students interest outside of school with learning in school...it should not take over the school! ;)
ReplyDeleteI like the video. I feel some adults need to step back and see that the next generation has a different background. Adults should not judge the younger kids because they are affected by the current times.
ReplyDeleteLove the Function Song! Music is such a great tool to help students remember important concepts. During my student teaching my students learned songs about even and odd numbers, slides flips and turns, and the rock cycle. They loved it and it really helped them!
ReplyDeleteLove this video explaining Generation Y! I feel like this needs to be played in every workplace to explain the difference between the older generation and the newer.
ReplyDelete