Articles Archive - 2008

National Media Education Week 2008 Encourages Youth to "Think Critically and Act Ethically"

Media Awareness Network (MNet) and Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) are once again partnering to present Canada's third annual National Media Education Week, under the theme Think Critically, Act Ethically.

National Media Education Week is an initiative to promote media education and encourage all Canadians to participate in media literacy activities throughout the country. This year's week, which takes place between November 3 and 7, will focus particularly on the issue of ethical and responsible online citizenship while promoting media literacy as a key component in the education of young people.

Media literacy outcomes are in the curricula of every province and territory in Canada. There is an increased awareness among educators that for young people to be truly literate today, they need to develop rigorous critical thinking skills to sift through and make sense of everything they see, hear and read, in school and in the wider community - including in media.

MNet and the CTF, both long-time supporters of media education in Canada, are working with a diverse group of collaborators to develop and promote a wide-range of media literacy activities during the week.

This year's collaborators include: National Film Board of Canada; Canadian Association of Principals; Association for Media Literacy; Media Education Project (Guelph University); McGill University, Faculty of Education; Canadian Association for Media Education Organizations; Ontario Library Association; Historica Encounters Canada; Pacific Cinémathèque; London Public Library; YOUCAN; TVO; Canadian Network for Innovation in Education, Prime Minister's Awards of Teaching Excellence, Office of the Privacy Commissioner and Girl Guides of Canada.

Working together in communities and classrooms to make it happen

National Media Education Week 2008 events include youth forums, media production workshops, classroom activities, panel discussions, parent information sessions, professional development workshops and conference presentations.

We encourage everyone to devise their own unique activity for the week. A great example of how schools can get involved is the Jeans Project, completed by students from St. Patrick's High School in Sarnia, Ontario.

Teacher Tracey Whitcombe and her Grade 12 Women in Society students used this project as a concrete way of affirming all the positive traits students possess while at the same time rejecting negative stereotypes that are often perpetrated by media. On one leg of a pair of jeans students finished the statement "I am…" and on the other side "I am not…" They were to base the "I am not" leg on what the media makes them feel they should be, while listing their positive traits on the "I am" side.

The results were wonderful artifacts that were effective in making a statement against media stereotypes of women. Students displayed their pieces throughout the school to share their views with other youth.

[JeansProject JPEG 1] [JeansProject JPEG 2] [JeansProject JPEG 3]

Schools can also join together for events. East Hill Elementary School in Rivière des Prairies, Quebec, hosted a media panel session during last year's National Media Education Week that brought together students and staff from four area schools. Guest speakers from local television and radio news shows and local newspapers spoke about their first experiences working in media. The event ended with a 45-minute question-and-answer period where students' curiosity about the media shone through.

The event was spearheaded by Mike Cohen with the English Montreal School Board's Communication and Marketing Division.

It's not just teachers and schools that are taking the initiative. Three very savvy Grade 12 students at Canterbury High School in Ottawa, Ontario also got in on the action this year. Naomi Hyba, Michelle Olding and Hannah Jackson spearheaded a media project that resulted in the creation of Athena, a magazine for girls by girls to serve as an alternative to today's mainstream magazines.

They also used the magazine as a forum to discuss media messaging. Much of the magazine's content focused on keeping young women media aware and encouraging them to use critical thinking when it comes to the media, including a critique of Dove's Real Beauty campaign and an exposé on the unethical use of "eco-friendly" branding to market products.

[AthenaMagazine.jpg]

These are just three great examples of initiatives that teachers and students alike can partake in during National Media Education Week and throughout the year.

Community groups can also get involved. Last year, the London Public Library in London, Ontario, hosted an internet safety workshop for families. Families attending the workshops could evaluate if they used the internet safely and learn the latest tips and suggestions for how to best protect themselves online.

We encourage everyone to mark their calendars now and plan to get involved. There are many excellent activities that can be implemented in your school or community.

Throughout the week, CTF and MNet will be looking for innovative media education initiatives by educators and youth to feature in newsletters and on the NMEW Website. Anyone interested in having their activity profiled should contact MNet at info@media-awareness.ca

For more information on how you can take part in National Media Education Week 2008, visit www.mediaeducationweek.ca. Please contact Media Awareness Network at nmew@media-awareness.ca with your ideas and plans for celebrating the week so we can add them to our list of activities and events.

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Media Awareness Network is a Canadian not-for-profit centre of expertise in media education. Its vision is to ensure children and youth possess the necessary critical thinking skills and tools to understand and actively engage with media. (www.media-awareness.ca)

© 2008 Media Awareness Network

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