The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the
stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty,
and we must rise - with the occasion.
Abraham Lincoln, December 1, 1862
In an ever changing world of social media, global communities, technology, and rapidly increasing knowledge, the delivery of adult basic education is struggling to stay current and relevant. Adult learners are becoming less and less engaged with outdated teaching models and materials. Instead, they are drawn to everyday interests of music, art, media, Internet, television, radio, sports, and fashion for their creativity, challenges, participation, and engagement. According to recent statistics, “Americans aged 18 and older spend more than 11 hours a day watching TV, listening to the radio or using smartphones and other electronic devices” (Richter, 2015.) This bombardment of entertainment and information makes it difficult for students to engage in more traditional means of learning. In order to meet the demands of the current educational needs, educational systems, and even educational pedagogy, need to undergo a paradigm shift.
Reasons Educators Should Study Popular Culture
Due to the fluid nature of popular culture, its ability to cross gender, economic, and sociological boundaries, educators have an unprecedented opportunity to connect students, concepts, and curriculum in new and exciting ways. Originally “developed as a construct to distinguish the culture of the bourgeoisie from that of the masses” (Schultz and Throop, 2010, p. 318), popular culture drives thought, discussion, and even ideals. Utilized properly, popular culture can be an effective learning tool to find connections and build bridges of knowledge that connects academics to movies, television, music, and even video games. Individuals from all age groups and socio-economic backgrounds can find a common ground through popular culture. Teenage girls and college professors can have deep, philosophical debates pertaining to manga (a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels, typically aimed at adults as well as children), since “despite the common American assumption that comics are only for young boys, manga has gained popularity among a wide range of readers irrespective of gender, nationality, and age” (Kunai and Ryan, 2007, p. 3). Grandparents can relate to their grandchildren through sports. Mothers and daughters can bond over the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy or Marvel’s Agents of Shield.
Using Popular Culture to Connect Students to New Ideas
Students learn best and most when they enjoy what they are doing. An engaged student is far more likely to learn and retain concepts than one who is sitting still and mindlessly taking notes. When learners are encouraged to “think outside the box," they are far more creative (Goodman 2014). Popular culture texts can engage students, not because they are simple, but because they draw on student’s personal and cultural interests, prior knowledge and contextual surroundings. It also engages students by catering to their different learning styles. While most adult learners are able to absorb and assimilate new concepts, some are unable to make the necessary connections. For these students popular culture could engage adult learners in ways that course books and lectures cannot, by weaving current and exciting content into curriculum and content. “Students who aren’t interested in discussing historical details are likely to open up quickly when you mention a popular YouTube video or sports team” (Guide, 2013). This would be especially useful for second language learners and learners with attention deficit disorders.
Consequently, comic books, such a manga, can be used as an effective tool in the classroom. Students find “reading manga is likely to give students less stress than reading textbooks, novels, or articles, particularly since many students have previously read manga for fun and thus associate manga with something exciting rather than something tedious” (Kunai and Ryan, 2007, p. 6). Kerry Cheesman asserts in his article, Using Comics in the Science Classroom: A Pedagogical Tool, “Comic strips found in newspapers and magazines . . . can be used to get students' attention, introduce a new topic, and stimulate critical thinking and ethical discussions in the classroom.” (2006, p. 48). By using popular culture texts as a scaffold to learn skills, it would be easier for students to understand and decode school based literacy.
While creating student interest in educational curriculum, popular culture has the potential to marry politics, entertainment, and social commentary. Educators who have a deep and meaningful understanding of popular culture can utilize it to drive critical analysis in the classroom. “Popular culture and media are an important place to critique the politics of seemingly straightforward storylines, plots, characters, and images” (Rethinking, 2015). Entertainment media deals with diversity and equity issues of gender, race, class, and sexual orientation (Tisdell, 2004). These issues are not only important on television and in the movies, but they are woven into every facet of life. Making the connections between what students watch on television and how in impacts their daily lives can enhance and strengthen their ability to subvert stereotypical ideals pertaining to diversity and equity issues. Fictional characters can take on “national significance, and even become part of public debate on social issues” (Tisdell, 2004). For example, in the 1990’s the character of Murphy Brown tackled Dan Quayle's criticism of single mothers by becoming a single mother herself, thus creating a responsive social commentary on the issue.
Analyzing song lyrics can add depth and relevance to the teaching of poetry, figurative language, and fluency. This can be extended by having students bring in the lyrics to their own favorite songs and discussing the meanings behind the words. Finally, the discussion can be extended to songwriting as a form of poetry, and how poets, like songwriters, use similes, metaphors, and other figures of speech to connect with the audience.
Animation can also be an effective learning tool in developing adult learners skill competencies in visual communication, concentration, problem solving, and other cognitive aspects. Cartoons bring characters to life. They make learning enjoyable. In the 1970’s Schoolhouse Rock videos became a popular vehicle for supplemental learning, and over forty years later, students are still singing “Conjunction Junction” and “I’m Just a Bill”.
Popular Culture Broadens Learners’ Horizons
Educators can utilize popular culture in the classroom to broaden learners’ horizons and guide them to think critically about society, the world, and themselves. “Popular culture, then, is also a way for adults, children, and teens to reposition themselves, from cogs in the machine to social actors intent on jamming, resisting, and/or rewriting the status quo (Rethinking, 2015). When learners engage in critical thinking and analysis, they begin to see the world differently, they begin to make links and connections that traverse previously set blocks and boundaries. Additionally, learners can “resist corporate incursions into everyday life as well as how educators might use popular culture and media to examine issues such as exploitation, violence, power, and privilege” (Rethinking, 2015).
Popular culture encourages divergent thinking in adults in that it requires learners to think beyond the scope of the material in order to generate ideas and expectations, in other words, to think creatively. Creative thinking is an effective problem solving technique. “Studies suggest that . . . divergence capability operate at a genius level, but that our ability to think divergently decreases dramatically as we become adults” (Goodman, 2014). Consequently, educators can use comics as a starting point for discussions tied to the concept(s) contained within the comics. Comics can be especially useful in course discussions revolving around ethics, which would be “very easy to do in genetics, for instance, with contemporary issues such as cloning, embryo screening, implications of the human genome project, genetically modified foods, and so on (Cheesman, p. 49). You can teach the same academic literacy skills including high order thinking skills such as critique, analysis, comprehension, reflecting, evaluating and discussing, however, students could find an easier time connecting to material that is relevant in their lives.
References
10 Questions For . . . Joss Whedon. (2003, May 16). Retrieved October 5, 2015, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/16/readersopinions/16WHED.html
Cool Teacher’s Guide to Pop Culture in the Classroom - Online Universities.com. (2013,
March 5). Retrieved October 1, 2015, from
http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2013/03/cool-teachers-guide-pop-culture-classroom/
Cheesman, K. (2006). Using Comics in the Science Classroom: A Pedagogical Tool.
Retrieved October 15, 2015, from
http://www.trincoll.edu/Academics/centers/teaching/Documents/Week 5 -- Using
Comics in the Science Classroom.pdf
Duff, P., & Zappa-Hoffman, S. (2012). Using Pop Culture in Language Teaching - 2012.
Retrieved October 11, 2015, from
https://www.academia.edu/9680788/Using_Pop_Culture_in_Language_Teaching_-_2012
Garold Murray (2008) Pop Culture and Language Learning: Learners’ Stories Informing
EFL, Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 2:1, 2-17
Goodman, S. (2014, March 18). Fuel Creativity in the Classroom With Divergent
Thinking. Retrieved October 5, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/fueling-creativity-through-divergent-thinking-classroom-stacey-goodman
Kunai, I., & Ryan, C. (2007). Manga as a Teaching Tool: Comic Books without Borders. \
Retrieved October 9, 2015, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED526420.pdf
Lieb, S. (1991, September 1). Faculty Development at Honolulu Community College.
Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://www2.honolulu.hawaii.edu/facdev/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm
Marshall, E., & Sensoy, Ö. (2015). Rethinking Popular Culture and Media. Retrieved
October 1, 2015, from http://www.rethinkingschools.org/publication/rpcm/rpcm_intro.shtml
Mosley, G. (2011, November 7). Zombies: Using Popular Culture As A Teaching Tool.
Retrieved October 1, 2015, from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=142116365
Richter, F. (2015, March 13). Infographic: Americans Use Electronic Media 11 Hours A
Day. Retrieved October 4, 2015, from
http://www.statista.com/chart/1971/electronic-media-use/
Robinson, Ken (2010): Changing education paradigms. Retrieved September 28, 2015,
from
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html
Savrock, J. (2009, February 1). Using Pop Culture to Develop Critical Media Literacy in
Adult Education. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
Schultz, K., & Throop, R. (2010). Popular Culture and Curriculum. Retrieved October 8,
2015, from https://www.academia.edu/1370023/popular_culture_and_curriculum
Sigman-Grant, PhD, RD, M. (2001, August 1). The Adult Learner: Dealing with
Resistance. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wicworks/Sharing_Center/Road_to_Excellence/The_Ad
ult_Learner_MSG.pdf
Tisdell, E., & Thompson, P. (2015). The Role of Pop Culture and Entertainment Media in
Adult Education Practice. Retrieved October 1, 2015, from
http://www.adulterc.org/Proceedings/2005/Proceedings/TisdellThompson.PDF
Using Pop Culture in High School Psych Class. (2015). Retrieved September 28, 2015,
from http://psychteach.com
