This is just a preliminary comment concerning the use of video in the classroom. I have used video ever since I have had access to video equipment. When used properly and appropriately it almost never fails to enhance and improve the lesson. Our students come from a video age. Failure to recognize this fact can be fatal to connecting with students. Many of my colleagues recoil at the fact that so many of our students spend so much time in front of a video screen, be it television, computer monitors, or an XBox. This is not going to change. In fact, that horse left the barn when Thomas Alva Edison and the Lumiere brothers (France) produced those first memorable motion pictures in the late 19th century (btw, YouTube possesses some great portions of early motion pictures by the aforementioned pioneers). Thus, all of us need to take a deep breath and deal with this fact. My seventy-six year old mother (still working and a lifelong educator) spent many hours every week at the theater in a small rural Minnesota community as a child in the 30s and the 40s. I would attest to the fact that this early exposure to motion pictures has not stunted her intellectual growth. Now, the question for we educators is to steer our students to quality video, television, etc., rather than rant about the "soul-deadening nature of modern popular culture." That argument has failed for over one hundred years now. Are there vulgar, profane, and obscene representations? Of course. Are there beautiful, poetic, and life-affirming representations? Of course. Our job as educated elders is to guide our students to these pieces of art. Our projectors allow us to open up this wonderful world to our charges. By the way, just before the holiday break I found two ecstatic pieces from the greatest tap-dancers in history, the legendary Nicholas Brothers (found on YouTube--an excerpt from the great musical "Stormy Weather" (1943) starring Lena Horne, Cab Calloway, Katherine Dunham, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Fats Waller, and other luminaries too numerous to mention). I showed these clips to a class full of kids who live and breathe hip-hop. Their reaction? Awe and wonderment. Thanks, YouTube! drfaust
p.s. you government and history teachers, don't forget c-span!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Excellent points!! To quote, "When used properly and appropriately it almost never fails to enhance and improve the lesson." What powerful lessons your students must have had -- that everything is inspired by something . . . that the past and present really are connected -- to name a couple. What a cool idea.
Great post! Like every generation before us I think it's easy to sometimes long for those "simpler" times before all the new technology, whatever that might be for the current time. It's important to remind ourselves that we can't go back, so we should embrace it and teach our youth how to be responsible users.
I also LOVE that your students got a chance to see those old clips - brilliant!
Post a Comment