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Thoughts on "Can Media Literacy Increase Digital Engagement in Politics?"

 I found this article to be the most intriguing of this week's reading. Working with middle schoolers, we are always looking for ways to engage them in the political process, especially in the 7th grade when they take Civics. Unfortunately, Civics is a really dense course and they have to tackle an insane amount of content to prepare for the end-of-course exam they take at the conclusion of the year. This is a very high stakes test and factors into their graduation requirements as well as the school's overall grade. 

Due to the stress of prepping for this test, I have noticed many civics teachers going through the motions: delivering content via lecture, notes, and PowerPoint presentations to ensure the students get the info they need. Unfortunately, this makes for less than engaging lessons for the students. I think incorporating lessons based on media literacy could serve as an opportunity to make Civics more engaging overall. I think it would also provide opportunities for enrichment outside of the classroom, which is important for a subject like Civics. 

I think it is also worth noting that subjects like Language Arts and writing based subjects could support this initiative. These skills can be easily supported and translated across subjects. 

Something of note I found in this article was the idea that a "news critic literary approach" can sometimes plant a seed of skepticism, and lead to less sharing in terms of politics overall. The article framed this in a negative light, but personally, I do not feel that it is a bad thing for young people to be skeptical and think critically about the information before they share it on social media. Social media is a place for rampant misinformation spread, and a little skepticism could help to curb this. It is also worth mentioning that just because they are not sharing, that does not mean they are not engaging and participating. Just seeing political articles and politician contributions on social media can encourage them to think critically about these positions. 

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