DR C’s MEDIA LITERACY:
Teachers Talk TV’s Role in Their Own Youth.

     In my work with teachers it is quite common to hear them say that they had a Flying Nun lunch box, or wanted their bedroom decorated like a genie bottle [ I Dream of Jeannie ] or that they snuck off to the basement to watch Beverly Hills 90210 without parental supervision.

     With guidance, teachers can also become more introspective about their media tastes & preferences – realizing now what they may not have consciously recognized then, that they used TV and other media as a form of identity development.

     So they might note for example that they were attracted to Dallas, Knots Landing, Dynasty and Falcon Crest because they were about the rich and famous families that they dreamed of being.

     If they grew up rurally or lived on a farm their choices may well have included Little House on the Prairie or The Waltons.

     Donna Miller is a middle grades teacher in North Carolina. Looking back on her TV tastes and preferences as an adolescent she noted that:

“I was captivated by the shows with strong female leads. Of course I had the ‘Farah flip’ along with half of the girls in 7th grade. The other half had the Dorothy Hamil do from her Olympic debut. I wanted a cool life like the women on TV. I wanted a sleeper sofa like Mary Tyler Moore, beaded curtains and straw hanging lights like Rhoda and a Mustang Cobra like Farah. I wanted to be independent and have a job like Mary who seemed to have it all. My mom got me a large wooden D for my wall just like the M that hung on the apartment wall in Mary’s. I have never thought about how television shapes your identity, but it certainly helps to frame your wants and desires”.

When teachers like Donna are given the opportunity to take this sentimental journey, they are frequently eloquent observers of their past, not unlike Kevin Arnold’s [ The Wonder Years ] adult recollections of his own coming of age.

     Through this process , teachers not only re-visit themselves as vulnerable adolescents, they can become increasingly empathetic to today’s teens and the media landscape they inhabit. Chris Stevenson has described his exploration of TV with his students for the NMSA publication, Teachers as Inquirers. It was, he wrote, “the most worthwhile, influential educational enterprise we undertook”.

     I am grateful to generosity and candor of the teachers who have given me permission to publish their personal narratives on this website and would be very pleased to accept appropriate reflections that teachers wish to contribute to this section.

At left, The Waltons. Image below, The Wonder Years.

TIM’s TV

     As a growing boy, I had loved anything with monsters and that which related to the natural world. I was fascinated with dinosaurs, so my favorite television and movie character was Godzilla which represented nature with extra special strength.

     Since I felt weak and small compared to my peers, I fantasized about being bigger and stronger. I also wanted to be the boy twin of the Wonder Twins from the cartoon, The Justice League. As brother and sister twins they represented heroes who cooperated together as a team.

     This was a strong characteristic taught to me by my parents and then emphasized through television choices. The Wonder Twin boy could turn into anything he wanted and he usually chose something big and strong. I believe I felt this had the element of strength I was missing in my own physique , as well as an emphasis upon creativity that I valued.

     Though I watched television until the age of 16, action television and movies began to appeal more to me. Through the TV show, Knight Rider, I enjoyed the immortality of youth that the main character Michael portrayed. The connection between humans and the growing influence of technology was present in other media like Terminator and War Games. The character from these stories represented a maturing image of strength to me and allowed me to make the transition out of cartoons. These were popular programs that I talked at length about with peers at school and especially my neighborhood companions. This action genre that my well-chosen peers also enjoyed, helped to build my social life.

     Other television shows such as The A Team, McGyver and Tour of Duty taught me a variety of scientific information and history that I enjoyed as a child. Later in life I rediscovered the joy of science and these choices affected my choice of occupation.

     Watching these programs with my family, significance was placed on working well with others, and spending time together which was emphasized in these programs I think the programs I watched are far different than the popular programs of today. My favorites were based on fantasy; whereas todays popular shows seem more connected to alternative ways of living. I chose TV and media at the time that emphasized my value system in my adolescence.

                    [ Tim Hawig , middle grades teacher ]

Image below from Dynasty.

Image below from The Wonder Years.

BETHANY’S TELEVISION

     As a young teenager with no siblings at home I used television for company when my homework was done and household chores were completed. My parents were divorced. I lived with my father during those years. Though I had a TV in my bedroom I had no cable and my dad was the type of parent to randomly walk in to my room to check out what I was watching I was never mindlessly allowed to watch television.

     My dad insisted upon news programs like the local evening news and PBS programs. Endless hours of Masterpiece Theater or A& E original movies were typically what we watched. I do not remember the names because I found them dull and would make up an excuse to call a friend or visit one of our neighbors.

     Reception in my room was poor so when I did watch these shows I viewed them in the living room with my dad. He often asked what I found to be annoying questions such as: ‘Why do you think that character said that’? or, ‘Do you think those types of events could happen in real life?’. In the end it was easier to go outside and read a book. Unfortunately for me he would follow me outside and ask me the same type of questions about my reading material.

     On the few occasions that I was allowed to choose programming I watched family oriented shows. The Andy Griffith Show was my favorite because my dad would just watch it and not ask any questions. Also I enjoyed the depiction of a single parent raising his child functionally rather than in the often strained relationship my father and I shared.

     There were only 3 or 4 houses situated on the busy highway where our house was located, so I enjoyed watching small town life with its quirky local citizens.

     The only 2 sitcoms I vividly remember watching are Growing Pains and The Cosby Show. For the most part I found sitcoms too formulaic and predictable to watch. I enjoyed the characters of Growing Pains because the kids on the program were able to do fun things that my dad never allowed. I sort of lived vicariously through them. I saw the characters of Mike, Carol and Ben as real kids who were able to have fun by having lots of friends over and having cool places to hang out. I thought that maybe reality could be that way if my dad would loosen up a little…… I was essentially watching families that I thought must somehow be better than my own family.

     In my later teenage years and after I learned to drive I lived with my mother in a neighborhood that had a few kids my own age. The only 2 TV programs that I distinctly remember watching are the X Files and Profiler.

     I enjoyed the X Files because though its characters were on alien-chasing missions they still had very real emotions. I could identify with their mission in life. I was finishing high school, trying to prepare for an unknown future and becoming at least what I thought to be adult.

     It was a strange and difficult time of life for me, and I liked to see characters working out strange problems, even if they were not like my own.

     Profiler was a show about a single mom and her daughter. The mom was being stalked by a killer, and he was always at the back of her mind as she worked at the FBI as a profiler, along with trying to protect her daughter. At the time when I was watching that show, it was just my mom and me. The attraction to this show was that my mom was being stalked by a killer as well- cancer.

     Cancer was trying to kill my mom while she was trying to support and protect me. Mom and I watched this show together, and she never asked me any questions. We would sit on her bed and she just allowed me to watch and think whatever thoughts I wanted. It was really not so much the show I liked. Instead, it was the time we spent together. Like the lead character on Profiler, my mom survived the attack by her potential killer. She and I still agree that we liked watching the show together.

                    [ Bethany Bevins- middle grades teacher ]

Image below from Growing Pains. Image at left from The X Files.