How the Use of Non-Traditional Media in the Classroom Combats the Growing Apathy in Teens

It’s no secret that the landscape of public schools has been shifting since the tech boom of the late 20th century. Over the course of twenty years, schools have placed great emphasis on computers, technology, search engines, and the like that seemingly grows with every school year, but is merely tracking with the technological growth society experiences. With the ability to search the internet for an answer to every question on a whim, find a particular book in a moment’s notice or contact anybody one wanted to instantaneously, one would presume that a school’s curriculum, by nature has gotten significantly easier for students to master. However, with the responsibility of an increasingly cyber-influenced lifestyle comes a growing apathy for tension-causing situations that are common in education. For a generation that has never known a life without instant access to the outside world, having to gain knowledge about a particular topic manually is not only daunting, but often discredited as unnecessary by that generation. Only through the use of the technology we all have become so reliant on—along with interesting and niche mediums of information being used alongside traditional forms, can the growing apathy in the United States Public School System be challenged.

When incorporating other mediums in the classroom, teachers ought to start the branch-out from traditional material with young-adult novels being taught in tandem with the canon in literature classes. This is often a smooth transition away from the norm, as it still pertains to manual knowledge retrieval. According to Joyce Stallworth in the article, “The Relevance of Young Adult Literature,” novels that more closely relate to students’ problems and everyday life are seen by the students as, “an electrifying genre for getting today's young adolescents reading and exploring who they are,” (Stallworth, 2006). When students are reading the stories of relatable characters dealing with and solving highly similar problems, they are more likely to regard reading as cathartic. In addition to relatability, students who traditionally feel shut-out from the intended lesson in literature classes due to lower-than-desired comprehension of archetypal themes present in literature, are more likely to comprehend the same themes when being compared to a separate, more contemporary works. This success is attributed to “envisioning,” which is described in the article, “Dimensions of Young Adult Literature: Moving into ‘New Times’,” as, “incorporat[ing] all the stances readers must take in order to comprehend a text,” (Hallman & Sheible, 2012). Therefore, using a similar, more contemporary work alongside a traditional text helps students comprehend each individual facet of a text, while also improving student engagement. Hayn and Shultz suggest in their article, “Deceit, Despair, and Dejection: Connecting Speak and The Scarlet Letter,” that when given, “this approach, students are likely to read more, respond more to classroom activities, and attempt projects with greater interest and understanding,” (Hayn and Shultz, 2008).

Even with the implementation of young-adult literature in the classroom, a problem that many Language Arts teachers struggle with—and have struggled with for years—is motivating students to complete the assigned reading on their own time. While it is an incredibly slow and tedious process to complete every reading assignment in class, nearly all the reading being assigned as homework each night presents an effortless outcome of alienating students that think of themselves as slower-paced, have after school jobs, busy lives, or find it difficult to keep attention on one thing at a time. The question becomes: what are we trying to teach? If all the learning from the lesson is hinged on whether a student was able to stay focused and read on average thirty pages each night in order to be prepared for tomorrow’s lecture, we are merely teaching and rewarding self-discipline, while ignoring the intended lesson of appreciation for literary art and thematic writing. If that is not the goal, and teachers are indeed trying to foster an interest in being a well-read citizen, then allowing students a break sparingly and utilizing audiobooks inside and outside the classroom will become a vital tool. Teachers using audiobooks in their classrooms are forced to acknowledge that, “As technology continues to reshape society, new forms of text will become increasingly significant in the lives of students.” (Hallman & Sheible, 2012). In addition, teachers that compromise for their students and implement audiobooks in the classroom have responded to the modern call for change, conceded that media is offered more diversely than a century ago, and have isolated the importance of reading and comprehension as hinged on making connections and forming opinions in an effort to bolster steadfast social responsibility in students.

Rather than condemning students who fail to finish the readings outside of class as “lazy” or “uninterested,’ teachers that desire to introduce socially responsible practices that students of all backgrounds will carry with them through adulthood understand that, “While a nation of workers requires a country that can read, a democracy requires people that do read, read widely, and think and act in response to their reading,” (Wolk, 2009). It is because of this that teachers must put the onus back on themselves in regard to the media in which students interact with, because accepting the barrier that exists between a student and responsible reading is setting up future generations for failure when all negative effects could be prevented by making reading accessible.

This is not to suggest that students are naturally apathetic or that standards need to be adjusted, but that methods must be updated to match the environment that students find themselves in. As focused on in the article, “Radical Change and Digital Age Readers,” picture books in the last two decades have been matching the level of creative imaging children have grown accustomed to. In order to meet the level of intricacy they have come to expect because researchers have found that, “even very young children have the opportunity to demonstrate through the use of the computer that they can perform demanding tasks and understand sophisticated topics,” the evolution of picture books is critical for grade school age students (Dresang and Kotrla, 2009). However, according to a Junior in the Advanced Placement program at a local and high performing high school, this growth in terms of multifaceted literary complexity is not being utilized in many classrooms from grades seven through twelve, in order to make room for vocabulary drilling and SAT and ACT preparation (Anonymous, 2017).

Despite ample evidence in the form of case studies, localized education reform and testimonials that students in all grades perform substantially better when they feel as though the curriculum is relatable--or at the very least meaningful--there are plenty of naysayers that feel as though learning only takes place when pressure, discomfort and boredom are present. The argument that learning cannot be easy or fun whilst being effective is played out generationally, as the sentiment is passed down in families of more traditional or conservative disposition, but also politically, as we Americans have seen the rapid and thoughtless budget cuts made to various aspects of the school system such as the arts and after-school programs. While it’s almost certain that we can all agree that no two humans are alike, many on the opposition feel as though if the accepted status quo of schooling fails a particular child, then it is the fault of the child and not the system itself, despite the knowledge-potential that child possesses. Failing to allow for different needs, interests and personalities is why the United States still has a high school dropout rate of 25% in 2016 according to the creators of the website DoSomething.org. What is more concerning is that the students that do well in the traditional school settings rarely have an affinity for school or a desire to become a lifelong learner, but rather they fit the mold for the public-school system by understanding the technique for test-taking or having highly involved parental figures in their lives. It’s enough to make one wonder if any of the students are really thriving in a traditional classroom, or if the very best is simply surviving.

The continuation of the status quo, looking at public schools with a one-size-fits-all approach, is the root of the problem with the public-school system in the United States today. However, appealing to student’s interests in aspects beyond the classroom such as sports, pop-culture, movies and music can help students recognize school as a safe-zone where their opinions and wants are welcomed, heard, and accounted for. Fostering a sense of belonging in school is essential to creating lifelong learners according to the ever-popular pedagogical theory of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In regard to something such as a music video utilized in a classroom discussion about poetry, “the relationship between images and text can be synergistic, where the message must be read as images-as-text in ways that make it difficult to say where meaning lies, in the words or in the images,” (Hassett and Schieble, 2007). Not only does the activity increase student participation by being inherently extraordinary and unusual, but it also provides students with a discussion-based opportunity to explore higher level thinking skills and demonstrates the multidimensionality of reading and comprehension. In addition to music videos and content, teachers have a responsibility to make connections and nurture relationships between students in order to create a safe, active learning atmosphere. While there is no science surrounding the exact way a teacher ought to go about creating and fostering relationships, for many younger or socially responsive teachers, including popular culture in the classroom is a seamless, casual way to break down the traditional barriers of authority figure and subordinate. A teacher that uses self-reflective practices such as curving an exam based on particular aspects not being retained by a majority of the class is no longer the only way to present oneself as fair and understanding. Nowadays, teachers are encouraging one another to step out of their comfort zone, discuss celebrity gossip, current events, or blockbuster movies and some are even able to tie it back to the content. This is described in Comprehensive Classroom Management, as “content-based relationship building,” (Jones and Jones, 2013).

While there is no question that students who are having fun, and feel comfortable while learning will naturally absorb more, there are still many people that believe learning cannot stray away from the “three R’s” and remain effective. However, as the world continues to evolve and find a place for the ever-widening abyss of the technological aspect of life, education will trail behind. Our only collective hope should be that someday, students from all backgrounds, exceptionalities and interests be catered to in the public-school system, and that we as a society begin to recognize technology and diverse mediums of information as the boon it truly is.

References

A. (2017, October 08). Literature and The Kansas High School Student [Personal interview].

Dresang, Eliza T, and Bowie Kotrla. “Radical Change Theory and Synergistic Reading for Digital Age Youth.” Journal of Aesthetic Education, vol. 43, 2009, pp. 92–107. Project Muse.

Hallman, Heidi L, and Melissa B Schieble. “Dimensions of Young Adult Literature: Moving into “New Times”.” The ALAN Review, 2012, pp. 33–38.

Hassett, Dwanene N, and Melissa B Schieble. “Finding Space and Time for the Visual in K-12 Literacy Instruction.” English Journal, vol. 97, Sept. 2007, pp. 62–68.

Hayn, J. A., & Shultz, B. P. (2008). Deceit, Despair, and Dejection: Connecting Speak and

The Scarlet Letter. SIGNAL Journal, 31(2), 8-10.

Jones, V. F., & Jones, L. (2013). Comprehensive classroom management (10th edition).

Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Stallworth, Joyce. “The Relevance of Young Adult Literature.” Educational Leadership, Apr. 2006, pp. 59–63.

Wolk, Stephen. “Reading for a Better World: Teaching for Social Responsibility With Young Adult Literature.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 52, May 2009, pp. 664–673.

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