My Thoughts on... "Popular Culture and Critical Media Pedagogy in Secondary Literacy"

Using pop culture and critical media in the classroom is always a hot button issue that we as future teachers need to consider when lesson planning. Should we bring pop culture into the classroom? should we try to take meaning out of the words said in songs or through movies? Or should we keep pop culture out of the curriculum because it might bring forward controversy? This article suggests several ideas as to how we as teachers can bring pop culture into the classroom in a fun way for students, that yields a higher success in understanding the learning target at hand. Some ways the author mentions using pop culture songs in the classroom in several ways such as : "a. Examining the messages that artists are trying to send through their songs to promote discussions among students. b. Looking at the experiences of the artists and having the students relate to their own experiences. c. English teachers can examine the use of language in hip-hop and how it relates students’ use of language." These tactics are and can be used to very much benefit student learning especially examining the messages artists are trying to send through their songs. That prompt in an ELA classroom can create a very good essay topic along with a simple discussion. I personally think that pop culture items should be used within a secondary classroom. Not only can it give students a different perspective of the world and other ways than what they are comfortable with. It can excite students in a new way and possibly yield a creative and productive side to student learning and work. Students analyzing something they genuinely care about and are interested in can increase engagement in students. Since I have been working in a classroom, I have seen how excited students get when they get the chance to work with something in popular culture. It sparks a sort of fire in their hearts for their learning all of a sudden, and I think that is worth exploring. Overall, this article did a great job at presenting the argument and some ideas for using it in the classroom.