Media literacy has become controversial. Here’s how to handle that.

A new year! Maybe some new carpet in your classroom? Certainly some new students! Things are looking rosy, even if the world beyond the classroom walls feels somewhat treacherous. Perhaps, you’re thinking, the peril of current events can be assuaged by the promise of media literacy; let’s teach these kids discernment, so that they use media rather than allowing it to use them. 

By all means, let’s commit wholeheartedly to teaching media literacy, but let’s also face the fact that many, many people are deeply suspicious of it (read more about this here). In my experience, much of the opposition views media literacy as illiberal and censorious. As prominent legal scholar Jonathan Turley has written, “A new industry of ‘disinformation’ experts has commoditized censorship, making millions in the targeting and silencing of others.”

So please, know this: where I might view media literacy as a vital skill that will help students navigate news with a critical eye, there’s a very good chance that some parents of your students understand the term as a call to arms in a war against minority viewpoints (if this seems illogical, take a peek at my longer piece for a more thorough explanation).

As with other contentious subject matter, we have a handful of choices about how to handle it: we can skip it entirely, we can carry on as usual, or we can stick with our curriculum but anticipate opposition and proactively engage the skeptics. I would suggest that the latter choice is the one that stands a chance of mending, rather than further fracturing, the partisan divide that underpins the opposition to media literacy.

So what would that engagement look like? For me, it looks like a bit of extra work now that will probably save a bunch of time, aggravation, and labor later in the year. This might start with communication—via a weekly class email, or in a presentation at back-to-school night, for example-- in which you invite parents to share their hopes and dreams by asking a question such as, “How do you hope your child uses media in the coming years?” Or, “What worries do you have about your child’s access to media?”

The responses will share common themes: that parents want their kids to develop healthy habits, that they want them to be happy, that they want them to think for themselves. If it were me, I would reflect those themes back to the parental audience by saying, “It sounds like many parents are hoping….” This is the cue to then share your plans and how those plans will help realize our shared objectives.

I’d start with where you draw your inspiration—what grounds you—in your big-picture understanding of media literacy. So, for example, maybe you tell parents that your approach to media literacy education begins with the vision of the National Association for Media Literacy Education, or the five key questions of the Media Education Lab. It’s important to have a compass that guides your journey and to share that grounding with parents.

Then, I would give a taste of what students will actually experience in the classroom. For example, if news is a part of the curriculum, I would share with parents that their kids will access sources that strive for balance and/or explicitly offer perspectives that span the political spectrum, such as Tangle, AllSides, or Ground News. If you share my belief that learning to recognize and navigate bias requires exposure to bias, you could also tell parents their children will sometimes access news-- NPR or the opinion page of the Wall Street Journal, for example—that is considered by some to have a slant. Parents would be interested to hear about resources such as the media bias chart from Ad Fontes that can help students analyze news outlets’ bias and reliability.

We all know political polarization is a challenge. Many of us respond to that challenge by trying to stay apolitical. This will not work. If we were to actually “avoid politics,” we’d be left with little of substance to teach. So, although media literacy is among the many subjects that stir the political passions, it’s important stuff. Let’s teach it. But let’s also be realistic in anticipating that some folks will reflexively mistrust this teaching unless we get ahead of the conversation. Don’t wait to be ambushed later in the year. Engage parents now to build a common understanding of the goals of this teaching so that our students can develop the skills they’ll need to wisely and purposefully navigate media and society.