[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Contemporary models of cultural pedagogy naturally include a sig-nificant focus on media outlets, which play a substantial role in modernchildhood development, regardless of whether concerned adults like it.Media analyses in the study of cultural pedagogy are rarely conclusive,however, as they have tended to focus on individual instances of media pro-duction and consumption.To ascertain the pedagogical effectiveness of par-ticular programs and resources, for example, considering content alone is notsufficient.In their study of how teenagers respond to British television,Buckingham and Bragg discuss the pedagogical function of television drama,distinguishing between  overt and  covert pedagogy:  By overt pedagogy,we are referring to clearly defined moral or health-related  lessons that view-ers perceive the programmes to be putting across.Covert pedagogy refers tomore general attitudes or beliefs about relationships which viewers inferfrom their viewing, whether or not they see these as intended on the part ofthe producers (161).Although the distinction between overt and covertpedagogical functions is certainly essential to understanding media impacts,considering the ways in which specific programs and resources fit intobroader cultural categories is equally important.In the case of televisioncomedy, for example, shows such as South Park can be read as both belong-ing to a specific genre (the sitcom) and transgressing established boundariesof the genre.As Buckingham and Bragg note, although  Comedies may alsopromote more overt moral lessons for example in the homilies about trustor sharing with which more traditional U.S.sitcoms tend to conclude, nev-ertheless,  the defining characteristic of comedy is precisely that it is not tobe taken seriously.If comedy teaches, it must surely seek to do so with a verylight touch (168 69).Programs such as South Park complicate what seem tobe straightforward interpretations of media content, as they manipulateestablished frameworks for both comedic and critical purposes.If the chil-dren of South Park could watch a show such as South Park (Terrance andPhillip often play this very role on the show), how would they respond? Canparents and teachers assume that children in the real world are as media-savvy as Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny, or is much of South Park s culturalsatire lost on younger audiences?Returning to the issue of sexuality and sex education, the cultural ped-agogy model of childhood learning need not be so terrifying for parents andteachers.Although young people may access controversial materials throughmedia outlets, a degree of education undoubtedly takes place that cannot beduplicated in the classroom.In their discussion of the benefits of learningabout sex from the media, Buckingham and Bragg note,  In general, themedia were seen to possess several advantages over other potential sourcesof information.They addressed topics directly that many children foundembarrassing to discuss with their parents or teachers, or that parents might You Know, I Learned Something Today. 203feel they were not  ready for.[.] The media also seemed to offer the ben-efit of anonymity, particularly if they were consumed privately (60).Youngpeople may not wish to discuss particular topics with parents and teachers,but they also recognize the limited authority that their peers have when dis-cussing other topics.Television and Internet sources can provide additionalinformation with which children can begin to formulate concrete knowl-edge and personal beliefs.In this way, learning about  mature matters canbe seen  as a form of bricolage, a matter of  piecing it together from a rangeof potential sources, as well as  a collective process, conducted among thepeer group (61).We should note, of course, that cultural pedagogy does not guarantee anydegree of accuracy, nor does it present a superior, coherent framework oflearning.Mr [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]