Finally, an organization that helps kids to see beyond media glitz and glam...
Go almost anywhere in the world today and you will hear the same complaints about how popular media can corrupt our kids. We live in an age information overload and the fear that our youth are being homogenized by the values of MTV. That much nearly everyone seems to agree on. But what can we do about it? That’s when you usually encounter the shrug of the shoulders which says "Oh well, it’s a fact of modern life. Not much we can do about it."
That’s why it is refreshing to discover the Just Think Foundation, a Bay Area non-profit which not only seems to have a clear grasp of the problems but actually makes it’s mission to equip children with the knowledge and the skills they need to face the daily gauntlet of media images in informed and meaningful ways.
"We focus on different ways the media tells stories- how they use lighting, video, music and other special effects," explains Elana Yonah Rosen, Just Think’s energetic Executive Director and Cofounder. "We try to get children to start thinking, what is this story about?, what are the values it is teaching us?, what are the social consequences of these stories, the morals, and how do we feel about it?
"When children begin to understand that all media is constructed to make you think or feel a certain way and, sometimes, to create a fear of certain things then they can begin developing their critical thinking skills," Rosen says.
If this sounds like obvious rhetoric Just Think puts it’s money where its mouth is. Staff from its Developing Minds Project or the Body Image Project visit schools during and after hours to engage students with media education tools and resources that include video, animation, computer graphics, the world wide web, rap music, hip-hop beats, almost anything that kids find fun. Best of all, children can actually work with Just Think’s professionals and advisers to gain an insider’s view of how various types of media work. And when they were given the opportunity to present their own media messages, the results were often startling.
A clay-animation video made by students on racial issues that features singing tennis shoes and the theme "underneath our souls are all the same" was picked up and screened nationally by ABC television. Another group of students- from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan- made a feature film with Just Think called Parents We Miss You, about leaving home to live in boarding schools. It was selected by critics and shown at the annual Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"Diss the Hype!" urges a webpage designed by Toa and Laura, two high school girls from Sonoma County in Northern California. "The media disguises the negative aspects of drinking with girls in bikinis and men in the wilderness. If manufacturers really showed what alcohol could really do to you they would inevitably go broke. The issue of health versus the economy of any country is a continual political debate and without public pressure the economy is more likely to win."
Now a spanking new "Media Mobile", a 1974 schoolbus refurbished to serve as an interactive classroom on wheels and outfitted with iMacs, remote internet access, and even a video studio, enables Just Think to take media education on the road. Adorned with colorful digital art, paintings and poetry created by students, the Media Mobile is becoming a familiar sight on the streets of San Francisco, a bright and cheery thumb up at the nose of multi-media conglomerates and the giant advertisement billboards which bristle throughout the city.
"We use it to stimulate interest, bring up some of the issues, and get the kids thinking," says Nicole Wagenberg, Coordinator of the Media Mobile Project. "We will travel to the interested schools and work with the teachers so they can carry on the work after we leave."
Just Think was conceived in December 1994 when Elana Rosen and close friend Aaron Singer met for breakfast and an empassioned discussion about the state of mass media and its impact on children, at Mama’s Royal Café in Northern California’s Mill Valley. Ignoring the usual calls for censoring what children watch Rosen and Singer decided to take a middle path that would respect the intelligence of young people everywhere. And so a series of ideas for debunking media myths with the active participation of children was born.
Within months they opened shop, sharing space donated by other organizations. Contributions began to arrive in funds and equipment, along with endorsements from First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Jimmy Carter.
Today, with a roster of big name sponsors like Microsoft, America Online, Richochet, and Disney, the foundation has moved offices to one of the most sought after addresses in San Francisco, the Presidio, with rolling greens and magnificent views of the Golden Gate Bridge. The organization celebrated its fifth anniversary earlier this month by hosting a fundraising event that drew the likes of Poet and Playwright Maya Angelou (of I Know why the Caged Bird Sings fame) who spoke on the subject of Youth, Media and the Power of Communication to a packed audience at San Francisco’s Masonic Center, the Vice President of CNN-Turner’s Learning Channel, President of Schwab Corporation Foundation, and Producer of the Hollywood Motion Picture The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Although primarily committed to schools in the U.S., Just Think is also taking the message of media literacy to a wider audience.
By 1996, the it was leading workshops at the Third International Children’s Summit in Paris, France, which included setting up an internet video conference airing the views of children around the world on the subject of global communications.
Later that same year the foundation was invited to make recommendations on children and media to UNESCO’s Commission on the Rights of the Child. In 1999 it was consulted by the government of Bhutan to design similar education programs in the Himalayan Kingdom.
Meanwhile Just Think staff and supporting researchers and advisers were also drawing on their experiences in the field to shape a textbook that teachers and schools can now use to incorporate media literacy into their curriculum.
Also available in Spanish, Changing the World Through Media Education (published by Fulcrum Resources, Colorado) is aimed at students grade four to eight with a format that can be adapted for older students in High School.
"What is This Thing Called Media?", an early chapter in the book, asks children to identify different kinds of mass media; "Role of Media" seeks to raise awareness about the influence media can have on individuals and society; "Have You Seen Me?" helps students reflect on stereotypes propagated through popular media channels; "The ‘Perfect’ Look" discusses unnatural standards of beauty promoted by popular television and corporate advertising; "What is Normal?" challenges students to think about how the media defines the standards for what it considers "normal" (activities for students include making a list of "gender-specific" toys and products and discussing how these support the traditional myths about the roles of the sexes, researching popular television sitcoms to investigate how they have reflected or created cultural norms, writing an editorial on the importance of being an individual instead of "following the crowd"). Other weighty matters tackled in the book include alcohol, drug and tobacco use as portrayed in the media, violence on television and the movies, and – apropos in this year of Presidential Election – an exercise in choosing the qualities of a leader as portrayed in the media versus real life.
"Remember you are the master of television," reads an entry from an appendix to the book culled from publications like Telemedium, The State of Media Education, and Better Viewing. "The standard defense of broadcasters against programming with questionable content is ‘If you don’t like what’s on, then just don’t watch it’."
Sound advice for any child or adult seeking to safely navigate the Grave New Information Age.
Karma Singye Dorji is a writer and journalist from Bhutan, the last Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas. He is currently residing in San Luis Obispo.
Click www.justthink.org for resources for teachers and parents, websites and other media messages designed and produced by children, information about ongoing media education projects, media literacy news and events, to make a gift to the foundation, or for more information about the history and mission of Just Think.
To book the Media Mobile for your school e-mail Nicole Wagenberg at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call her at (415) 561-2900 or write: Just Think Foundation, 39 Mesa St., Ste. 106 The Presidio, San Francisco, CA 94129
