Response to Jenkins article

In reading Classroom of Popular Culture by Jenkins I found that some of the points he makes on education and the use of video games interesting. He states that video games teach children how to learn through play. He also states that good video games give players strong identities. Some examples of this is being able to build a character from the ground up and look at the character's point of view, create their own skate park, community, and life. He further states that in this realm, students are able to be free, independent thinkers, that do not need to master something right away, but take it at their own pace. In doing so, it seems that students become independent thinkers and creative problem solvers. I have watched this in action with my own eight year old with the Webkinz frenzy. When she first brought her pet home, and went online, it seemed like a whole different world opened up to her. In this world, you are given a house for your pet, you are able to buy clothes, food, treats for your pet, as well as chat with other Webkinz users. My daughter has definitely built an identity for herself in this world and has taught her responsibility such as caring for this pet.

When we look at education, these same qualities are the things that we as educators want our students to walk away with after a lesson. In many aspects, Jenkins has it right. People do
seem to find more challenging learning experiences in popular culture than in the classroom. With that said, how can we move to a classroom that views popular culture as a tool rather than
the enemy? How can we persuade administration and parents that including popular culture will
give the end result that we want which is creative, independent thinkers? In my opinion, this
may still be a hard sell for many administrators, teachers, and parents. Many times, if lessons
seem to fun, it must not be educational. First off, we must break this stereotype. Secondly, finding resources for classrooms. How would we find the resources to bring these types of media into the classroom? With some districts, this might be nearly impossible. How do we then bridge this gap? Moreover, can we still teach higher order thinking skills, characterization, identity without the implementation of video games? Can we still create independent and creative thinkers without the implementation of video games? I think the answer is still yes. Do we need to incorporate some aspects of popular culture into our lessons? I think yes, but it needs to be what the teacher feels comfortable with. I am not a gamer by any means, and am frankly a little scared of that world. I am a parent who limits screen time at home with my eight year old daughter. With that said, I am not so close-minded that I wouldn’t like to explore other ways to motivate students either.

I believe that popular culture is a huge part of our lives, especially in the teenage years. Many people can remember certain songs, and movies, or fashion, and it will bring up strong feelings of nostalgia or an event in your life from the past both good and bad. I get that, I think we all do. I guess my point is that if the use of popular culture in the classroom helps students better grasp a concept, understand how to write, become creative and independent thinkers, helps students succeed, then it definitely should be there.

Popular Culture and Physical Therapy

As I was driving my daughter to school this morning, listening to NPR, they were having a discussion that interested me. The conversation was how the game station Wii has been used in both nursing homes and with physical therapy patients of all ages with great success. The physical therapist being interviewed stated that finding ways, especially with younger patients, to do their exercises every day can be hard. With this video game station, they actually want to do it.

Another person called in and spoke a little about a school that uses these types of activities with children that have ADHD or depression. Typically these students have performed lower in math and reading. What they decided to do was have these children actually exercise or play Dance Dance Revolution prior to studying, and the results had great success.

Not sure where I stand on either issue as of yet, but found it interesting.

Adolescents and Video Games

As an educator and a mother, I am still unsure where I stand on the issue of video games. As of right now, we do not have a Playstation, a Wii, or any other video game device, and my oldest child is eight. There seems to be research that supports and opposes the use of video games with children. Some say that the video games are too violent and others say that it promotes critical thinking skills. Like in Thomas Newkirk's book Misreading Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture he clearly points out that video games can be empowering for youth stating that playing video games can also promote teamwork, loyalty, perseverance, problem solving, and courage. As a child born in the 70's, it seems that I may have missed the popularity of video games.

Should popular culture be brought into the classroom?

This has been a hotly debated topic that has been around certainly since I started college in 1991, and without a doubt, has been a hotly debated topic before that. I know for myself, I have been for and against the inclusion of popular culture in the classroom at different periods in my life. As an English teacher, I have always felt that my primary role is to make sure that my students can at the vary basic level read, write, and think critically. My other job is to prepare them for the world outside the classroom. In my younger years, I never would have thought to include popular culture as a tool do to teach these skills, but with age also comes wisdom. What seems like such a novice idea to include the medium they, the students, are already tapped into makes a lot of sense. However, it receives much scrutiny from both parents, teachers, and administration. How can the stigma of popular culture inclusion in the academic setting be changed?