New Media: A Reaction to the Kaiser Foundation Research

It's no secret that young people are absorbing new media more than ever - a person need only look around a modern public high school to see how students are tuning themselves into new media at an astonishing rate. I'm happy with the Kaiser Family Foundation for taking the time to provide us with extensive and accurate data in regards to media use among children. Now, though, it is up to the rest of society to interpret the data, and figure out ways to either change the trends, or adapt to them.

As a teacher, I understand that the array of media that is available to students is not going to go away. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the trends suggest. I therefore have accepted (a while ago) that I must make the necessary adjustments to relate to these media forms in my classroom while still staying true to the subject at hand. This sounds (and is) difficult, but I do not think it is impossible.

There is a sign in my room that reads, "Rarely do we get what we want out of life without doing things we find boring or unpleasant. Rarely". I love this quote, because I feel that it cuts into the heart of The Kaiser Family Foundation's study. Nearly every day, I find myself explaining to many of my students that reading is the cornerstone of learning - that if they don't read, then they are cheating themselves intellectually. I implore them to put down the X-Box controller and pick up the homework that's been assigned to them each night. By throwing out phrases like "Call of Duty" and "Jersey Shore", the students can see that I, as an educator, am willing to acknowledge that these media are a part of their lives. However, by not budging on the concept of "reading what's been assigned", I am also providing my students with the structure and routine that I feel every adolescent needs.

In a twenty-first century English class, I still see myself teaching classic novels like "The Great Gatsby" and "The Old Man and the Sea" in the same way that they were taught to me. Sure, I may use Google Earth or the internet to illustrate geographical orientation, etc., but the only room that I am willing to make for revolutionary new media is by simply (and solely) acknowledging them colloquially. I do not allow cell phones, head phones, or laptop computers in my classes, because I maintain the belief that, while in school, students are meant to be studious.

Many of my students claim that they are going to attend college after graduating from high school. I have a difficult time believing that they will do that by consistently playing video games for 5 hours each night. Students will either make room for their school work, or they will find themselves either living at home or on the street by the time they're 30. I therefore do not believe that education as institution is going to allow a mindless game like "Call of Duty" to determine what is taught and how it is taught. Quite simply, students and children are going to have to accept the fact that school is and will remain the among most important aspects of their upbringing. They then must figure out on their own how they're going to make room for it in their increasingly "busy" lives.