Thinking Critically About Media

Thinking Critically About Media: Schools and Families in Partnership makes the case for teaching media literacy at school and at home. It was published by Cable in the Classroom in 2002 and is a valuable source of information and advice for parents, educators and the press, and especially reporters who cover education and media. The report contains articles by leading media literacy experts whose work, opinions, and recommendations cover a wide variety of issues.

Contributing authors include: Robert Kubey, Folami Prescott-Adams, Lynda Bergsma, Milton Chen, Sarah Armstrong, Roberta Furger, David Considine, and Neil Anderson. They present a rich variety of perspectives and recommendations to consider.

In addition, about two dozen smart educators read the papers and participated in a lively and compelling conversation presented at the end of this volume. Several key concerns and questions surfaced:

• The often artificial distinction between media and technology
• The need for an adequate and consistent definition of media literacy
• The importance of parents as teachers
• The need for practical, meaningful teacher professional development.

Download report (PDF)