February 8: Art Education and Pop Culture

Discuss the relationship between popular culture and art. Why is it important to provide children with a range of media from traditional/historic media to contemporary/popular art media?

In the world today popular culture is unavoidable as a result of the fast paced, at your fingertips media. Today’s children are even further immersed in this world than we are. Children are at ease with television, movies, YouTube, print and the Internet at large. Possibilities we could never imagine are part of our student’s lives, and these possibilities can be used to both good and bad ends. While we should have some concern over what are children are experiencing we should also embrace what we can gain from the media to educate our children. We are a click away from displaying various pieces of art and museums are accessible through virtual tours. Movies can tie into curriculum and even advertising techniques help us engage and educate.

It is important to provide children with exposure to a wide range of media, both historic and contemporary so that they are aware of the positive uses. It is no longer just a toy, an amusement or even just a simple method of communication like written letters or the phone. It is a completely new entity. It is important to provide children with an understanding of all media and its history so that they are prepared to function in the media based society. To ignore where media began would leave them without an understanding of how modern technology came to be which leaves them with no foundation for future understanding. To understand modern media is to give them even more building blocks to succeed in society. Without computer and media savvy we would all be lost. The more children know, the more we teach them to engage and utilise media in positive ways the better prepared our children are to learn, to explore and to grow.

As far as the dangerous side of popular culture is concerned, children can be provided with critical thinking strategies so that they can challenge various media messages. Students can be taught how to view movies, read literature and advertisements, and critique art in such a manner that they will be able to discern that which is harmful or untruthful. Teachers and parents can work together to make sure that children have their first experiences with various medium in a supported manner and teach viewing strategies until children gain independence.