With the push for technology to be used in today's classrooms, it is easy to unconsciously exclude certain students. Now, now one would consciously teach to exclude students but sometimes, as teachers, we do that. You know what you are trying to accomplish by using a certain movie clip or image or sound file, but students are trying to figure that out. They will make assumptions and draw their own conclusions. Normally that is what you want them to do . . . you don't want to give them all the answers, you'd rather have them think on their own. While talking with a few other professors and teachers about this, we came up with these questions that you should try and answer yourself before you show the media in your classroom:
- Who is included? Who isn't included?
- How are those who are included represented? Positively or negatively?
- Does the media reinforce stereotypes in any way?
- What are a few assumptions that students might make?
If you put yourself in the student's position and look at the media through those eyes, you might find that what you thought was innocent might be something that one student could find offensive.
Now, while you can't please everyone, using certain guidelines can help you so your classroom will function as a safe environment for everyone.
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