A Student
Teacher’s Perspective of Teaching Literacy Using Popular Culture
Lambrinth (2003) states that many teachers do not like to teach
using popular culture because they already have preconceptions of literacy that
do not involve popular culture, and its power to alienate the pre-existing
literacy in schools. However, Marsh, et al. (2005) provides figures showing a
higher percentage of teachers believe that children learn from popular culture,
for example via the television.
After interviewing a student teacher about her perspective
on teaching literacy using popular culture, it became apparent that she felt
comfortable in doing so because of her confidence of understanding its place
within society today. She explained that it would need to be used within a wide
curriculum that would interlock with ‘typical’ educational literacy.
She elaborated by stating that because popular culture has a
strong influence upon our society, with the use of mediums such as television,
film and computer games (Dean, 2010), children would become much more engaged
and motivated to learn. It would have a relevance to their own lives and lives
outside of the classroom. As Arthur (2005) explained, it is important that there
is similarity between the experiences of literacy at home and at school. The
student teacher agreed with this and continued to say that an easy way of doing
this was to use what the children are exposed to and shaping it to fit your own
curriculum.
After extending the conversation further, by introducing the
wealth of and common perception of high culture, she began to ponder the idea
of using both and making links between the two to have a literary rich environment
at school.
As we moved on to parents and how they may react to teachers
using popular culture in school, she indicated how parents are responsible to
the exposure of popular culture to their children and we would only be
extending upon and utilizing this. Arthur (2005) examined parent’s fear of
popular culture and his results showed that their primary worry was cost. Buying
into brands and merchandise costs, and therefore, would teaching using literacy
that promotes brands and merchandise cost too. (Arthur, 2005)
The student teacher concluded the survey by stating that
popular culture will inevitably work its way into education through 21st
century technologies anyway. Merchant (2007) suggests that ways in which to
introduce popular culture into education in an easy and manageable way, was to
do so via the use of technology and introduction of developing and expanding
technologies.
Dean, G. ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London:
SAGE
Arthur, L. (2005) ‘Popular Culture: Views of parents and
educators’ in Marsh, J. (2005) Popular
Culture, New Media and Digital Literacy in Early Childhood Oxon: RoutledgeFarmer
Lambrinth, A.
(2003) They get enough of that at home:
understanding aversion to popular cultures in schools Reading 37(1)
Marsh, J.,
Brooks, G., Hughes, J., Ritchie, L., Roberts, S., Wright, K., (2005) Digital Beginnings: Young children’s use of
popular culture, media and new technologies University of Sheffield
Merchant, G.
(2007) Writing the future in the digital
age Literacy 41(3)
This view closely supports my own, popular culture draws on children's home culture. It may also be a way of creating an inclusive classroom for those children not able to access popular culture outside of school.
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