In “Awakening Teachers Capacities for Social Justice,” Kraehe and Brown argue that teachers have enough impact on their students to have them practice social justice through art. Giving students this opportunity would educate teachers on the sociocultural backgrounds in their classrooms and what kind of changes need to be made in order to provide every student with an equal education. In Real Life shows how the meanings of games can be perceived differently by every person depending on their social/economical standing. This novel explains how students can learn about social justice through different art methods, not just books.

When I was in high school, my arts program was losing funds every year. By the time I got to my senior year, we had one art class in a school of over 3,000 students and it did not teach topics on social justice. Most students only took it to fulfill their A-G requirements or used it as a way to avoid other subjects. When it was time for me to take that art class, we were given simple assignments like drawing shapes or making animals from paper mache. Outside of class and in other classes, the only art that took place was the posters we’d have to make for presentations. I feel like my peers could have benefited from a better art program that taught us about our Latinx history and how we can make changes to positively affect our own lives.

If there is positive empirical evidence on the effects of using different art mediums in classrooms, do you think that the education board should provide schools with an equal amount of funds for textbooks and art?

The Arthur Interactive Media study argued that digital technologies can be useful for conversation and reflection to promote character development in students. The goals that AIM focuses on are empathy, honesty, forgiveness, generosity, and learning from others in order to develop a positive social and emotional character. In the AIM project: “So Funny I Forgot to Laugh,” students are able to interact with the story and give their own responses to the situation which gives them the chance to reflect on everyone’s feelings. In the NPR “Doras Lasting Magic,” the creators of Dora emphasize all of the well-thought out details that go into developing an interactive show for children while also representing a very large portion of the U.S. population.

Throughout my k-12 education, my school didn’t have the funds to provide every student with a laptop, so my school’s curriculum focused on traditional textbook lessons. My school also solely focused on teaching academic subjects and not on whether their students were getting along or not. 10 years later I am given the opportunity to tutor a third grade classroom and I can see how that curriculum has changed into giving students the freedom to navigate educational programs/ websites on their laptops. The school I work for also has an emphasis on pro-social interactions between students, in and out of the classroom, in their curriculum. When I compare the students that I tutor to the classmates I had in grade school, my students are a lot more emotionally communicative and socially mature. They can address their problems in a safe manner (communication) while also acknowledging the other person’s feelings (listening). When they do not attempt to follow this process, their teachers remind them of how conflict can be appropriately fixed. At home, I remember practicing my second language with Dora’s help. As a kid, I thought it was simple to make a show like Dora the Explorer, but as I listened to the podcast, I realize that shows like Dora are a result of the social and political climate at the moment.

If digital interactive programs are statistically improving children’s social and emotional development, why does research continue to argue that the media and TV time is bad for children?

In “Tapping Into Parallel Universes: Using Superhero Comic Books in Sociology Courses,” Hall and Lucal argue that there are other non-traditional and engaging mediums (comic books) that can be used to discuss relevant topics and themes that occur outside of the classroom. In McCloud’s TED talk, he argues that “comics are a visual medium that try to embrace all of the senses within it” (audio 7:40). Comics can depict meaning and resemblance in different ways to tell stories that we have heard or stories that have similar content to others. Yang’s TED talk on the importance of comic books in the classroom discusses how visual elements are essential for understanding the meaning, text, and tone of a text (audio 7:59).

I agree with all three artists that comic books are an essential part of learning, especially for student who are visual learners. During grade school I wasn’t given the opportunity to read comics because they were seen as “too easy” or immature for school. I remember my brothers and uncles being really into comic books but they never caught my attention because I thought they were only about superheroes. It wasn’t until high school that I found out comic books can tell a story about anything, even serious topics. I think that if my teachers used comic books during history classes or literature, the subjects would have been more fun and engaging for everyone. I don’t think that teachers should only teach in a traditional manner because not all students learn the same way, some need more visual stimulation than others and comics are a good way to satisfy that.

If comic books are an essential part of visual learning and understanding, why do teachers deem them as “too easy” for their students?

1. The differences between each of the sites is the medium and the outlet that is being used to publish these comics. Two of the comics are displayed through video, three of them are published like an actual comic book with bright colors and images (some more detailed than others), and one of them is like a short newspaper comic with very simple drawings and short phrases. I think every artist tried to target a different age group in terms of the context of the comics. They all also touched on some important topics of societies expectations like what is expected of people who are considered “superheroes” and what older people should do on their free time. These comics kind of moved away from stereotypes to convey a larger message. I think the intended audience is college students because they talk about parties, social relationships, expectations, computer software, and school stressors like grades. I wouldn’t change anything about these comics because they are all unique and provide a different medium for reading. Each comic has qualities that make them inclusive for everyone to read. I think some personal experiences were needed to make these comics. Prior knowledge of comics is also needed just to know where to start and how to start designing one. All forms of literature can be very complex, so doing research is very essential to create an original piece. I prefer being sent straight to the first comic in the series just because I would not be confused as opposed to when reading the most current comic strip that I have never heard of or read before. The sites do use the medium effectively because it’s easily accessible for all people to navigate through the pages/ strip of the comic. As I mentioned before, these comics are easy to read, can be adjusted, and can be immediately accessed.

In “rethinking the education in the age of technology,” Collins and Halverson study the new, but complicated, system of technology in education. Colin and Halverson argue that people need technology in order to improve their education and reach their goals and to create new forms of collaboration and learning (p. 26). In accordance to implementing technology into schools, Gaiman believes that preserving libraries is just as important for people’s learning. Gaiman argues that libraries lead to literacy and empathy that allows people to think beyond themselves. He also argues that without libraries, people will not have access to books and fiction, students can’t dream about things and won’t innovate when they’re older in order to change their world for the better. Walter Dean Myers also argues that reading is knowledge that others can’t take away from you (PBS NewsHour). Similar to the importance of libraries in “This American Life: Room of Requirement,” a library is a space of freedom. It’s a space that makes anything that you need, appear for you (Audio: 42:58). The need for libraries can also provide the freedom of reading anything you want. When district authorities instruct schools to remove certain forms of literature from their schools and libraries, they are denying teachers the proper materials of support that are needed to understand the material and challenges that are discussed in Persepolis (McNicol, p. 39). In Degand’s article, he argues for the importance of digital media in schools to teach students about methods and theories, culturally conscious content, and critical thinking schools in order to critique societal stereotypes and biases in the media (p. 368). Digital media can also allow students to move beyond the modes of traditional art to create visual experiences of their academic understandings.

As I read all of these articles, listened to the audio, and watched the videos, I realized that I have been given the opportunity to learn through different forms of media. Throughout all of my school years, college is the first place where I learned in ways other than the traditional textbook. It was hard to navigate the media at first due to the lack of knowledge I had about technology, so I can agree with Collins and Halverson that technology is really important for students to expand their learning if educators want their students to pursue a higher education. During my senior year, a lot of students did not apply to college because they did not know how to use a computer to submit the applications which is a big problem that could have been avoided if computers and technology had been a requirement to graduate. Before I was given the opportunity to use learn through the use of technology, I heavily relied on libraries for information. Beginning with kindergarten, my teacher heavily emphasized the importance of reading and how it would improve all other aspects of our learning. She would send a purple backpack home with us that was filled with 3 books of our choice. In elementary school I had reading logs and I got my books from the library and in middle school I had book reports and projects that required me to do some research in the library. While it was a hassle at the time, I now understand the importance of libraries and their access to everyone who needs information, regardless of context. As we encounter a new era of technology use, libraries remain a safe space for people who need one. Libraries also create an environment where everyone can learn, a feeling that everyone is deserving of.

If media and technology are important to increase student’s critical understanding of subjects, why has it not been made a requirement for schools to hold a class on the use and navigation of it?

In “Telling Stories, or How Do We Know What We Know?,” Gerbner argues that storytelling has become a form of marketing, dissecting the nature and history of its true intent. Over time, the main media has become broadcasting. Within this popular form of media, central content becomes tailored to fit society’s current political and social views and depends on a demographics “heaviest watchers.” Gerber emphasizes how storytelling has become part of an industry that profits off of misrepresentation that is determined by viewers. In Mirra et. al’s article about a new critical theory and practice of multiliteracies, the media is always seen as a controversy in education. On one side, technology is perceived as a distraction or access to inappropriate content and on the other side, it is a tool that can expand students’ ability to create (a great medium for students who strive for a change in their communities). Mirra et. al argues that technology should be understood as a tool to enhance “connected learning” where marginalized students, in society and in education, are provided with more opportunities for inventing and not just consuming/ producing. In “Art and Stories,” Halverson also emphasizes and argues that technological tools are what individuals need in order to communicate their stories and the meaning of their stories. If educators want their students to be creative and innovative, they need to provide all students with an equal form of tools for literacy, production, and citizenship (Halverson). 

When reading Gerbner’s article I thought of all of the TV shows and movies that try to portray a certain culture, but end up focusing on stereotypes that Western individuals have of others. These stereotypes can sometimes be really negative depending on the kind of audience that producers are trying to target. I agree with Mirra et. al that technology is a privilege for most because it provides individuals (who can afford it) with more opportunities. I work in a classroom where students’ have computer privileges a few minutes a day and only work on multiple choice math or word problems. I think there should be a separate subject of instruction where students need to learn how to navigate and advanced program (of choice) by a certain grade level (will increase the complexity and their critical thinking) in order to prove that technology is useful in the classroom. In Erica Halverson’s TED talk, she states that a few students announce that they did not know what literacy really meant until they got to college and I experienced the same thing. The only form of literacy I learned about throughout grade school was the content I learned from textbooks. In grade school, my education was a structural, one-way interaction between student and textbook and occasionally a teacher. From kindergarten through twelfth grade, I was never given the opportunity to learn beyond a textbook but I was expected to excel beyond the average student when it came to getting into college, so I can agree that if educators want their students to be inventors and creative, there needs to be other methods of teaching that will lead to a more advanced way of learning and understanding. 

How can educators find a more inclusive way to teach their students how to utilize the media?

My name is Graciela Rivera and I am a Psychology major with a minor in Education and Human Development. My favorite form of media is TV shows and music. The last book I read is “The Shack” by William Young. I am a senior pursuing a career in Special Education. I am currently a RPM therapist for a non-verbal 9-year-old girl with autism. I enjoy spending time outdoors and being active.