Curriculum of District X: The views of this district concerning media literacy are that kids should use their time in school to concentrate on basic school related tasks such as reading and writing. Their is not really any allotment for time to study other forms of communication that do not involve the canonized texts, or even the cannonized forms of essay writing. The view of the community is that kids are over exposed to media in their everyday lives and that school time should be reserved for quality literature, and traditional teaching formats. Therefore, with their strong convictions to teach the basics and inability to incorporate forms of media literacy, district X is really getting away from what is important, and that is teaching students how to interact with media in a critical and well informed manner.

Framing English Curriculum: The main goal of an English curriculum in such a district would be to incorporate media literacy with teaching the basics. In other words, my curriculum would form new and meaningful connections between traditional styles of reading and writing and current versions of popular reading and writing that are characteristic of the media. By doing this, children would be able to connect what they learn in school to their everyday lives, hopefully enhancing the quality of their learning experiences as well as that of their level of enjoyment. In short, an English curriculum framed in terms of media literacy would create a more balanced and well rounded student equiped to face real world situations. Instead of simply talking about the traditional forms of literature, these students would be able to apply traditional forms of literature to everyday situations. This type of English education would be ideal for all involved, as it does not have to deviate too far from tradition and it can still include current applications of material.

Additional Benefits of Framing the English Curriculum in terms of Media Literacy: In this particular school district the value of media studies is considerably low. Basic English tenets seem to be valued, but the wide range of viewpoins presented in the various types of media appears to be offbase. Basically, this school district believes that, "We don't need to be teaching our kids about computers and technology as much as we need to teach our kids about pen to paper reading and writing." In other words, if kids can produce quality writing that is accompanied by average levels of reading liturature, we are meeting the goals of literacy and English education.

In contrast, it is my argument that media studies is an intigral part of student development in terms of literacy. We cannot simply accept the most basic levels of understanding and push students through to the next grade because we consider them to accel in basic reading and writing skills. We need to be critical of the fact that some students are able to produce teacher induced responses in order to make the grade. In order to counter this, we need to propose systems of teaching reading and writing that promote analytical and skeptical views of reading and writing. In other words, we need to promote the practice of critical thinking. Kids need to be able to analyze the credibiliy of sources along with the purposes and motivations for writing. In this day in age we as a people are constantly inundated with advertisments, public statements, and various other forms of media controlled propeganda. No matter where we turn we are being sold, bought, or persuaded. Media literacy teaches kids how to distinguish between the various forms of commercial persuasion that we are exposed to everyday and the genuine news stories of the time. By teaching kids how to differentiate between the various forms of persuasive pieces of journalistic advertising and the credible pieces of honest news, we are building a generation that is equiped to make appropriate value judgments on its own. This type of media education allows students to formulate their own educated positions and opinions about the issues at hand, and in turn, it allows for a greater sense of public awareness. By educating kids how to interperet the different types of media literacy available to them, one is enabling these students to transcend the beliefs held by others and to create a radically new environment of thinking that is free from outside influence. In short, exposing students to media literacy in this fashion allows them to create their own identities that may or may not exist independantly from the culturistic views that are encapsulating them.