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HOW MEDIA EDUCATION CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
(It did mine!)
by Sr. Rose Pacatte, fsp
At the 1991 assembly of the National Catholic Association
for Communicators (Unda-USA) held in Portland, Oregon, I encountered the
idea of "media awareness" or "media literacy education"
for the first time. Elizabeth Thoman, the Director for the Center of Media
Literacy, presented a workshop on the role of educators, parents and pastoral
ministers regarding information and entertainment media. She followed
with practical and helpful ways to respond to the influence of these media,
the search for meaning, the power of images and life and culture in a
media age. I was hooked.
As a Daughter of St. Paul, I had been working in various
aspects of our apostolate of communications for almost twenty-five years.
But "media literacy education" was something new for me for
two reasons. One, I knew first hand that media could be used effectively
to proclaim the Word but to study the media culture so that the Message
could be integrated into this new culture was a whole new dimension. Secondly,
the necessity of learning to develop critical thinking skills in front
of the media for myself and to share these with others seemed to be an
compelling and relevant response to the signs of the times.
From that meeting of Catholic communicators in 1991, my
life has taken a path I never would have imagined. While finishing an
assignment in New York I began reading about media awareness and searching
out and attending media literacy conferences both in the US and in Canada
(where media literacy is off and running!). Just before going to Guam
in 1993 to work in our Pauline Book & Media Center there, I applied
to the Institute of Education at the University of London, U.K. (because
this degree was and is still not offered anywhere in North America), and
was accepted. In 1995 I obtained an MA in Education in Media Studies,
returned to Boston and began our Pauline Center for Media Studies at our
Provincial House in Jamaica Plain.
Some of the workshops and presentations sponsored by the
Pauline Center for Media Studies include: Five Principles of Media
Literacy (an introduction for parents, teachers and pastoral ministers);
Justice and Peace in Hollywood Cinema (versions for youth and adults);
Praying the News (critical and Gospel ways for watching the news);
Pop Culture: a Christian approach to contemporary music and How
to Conduct Parish Video Nights for Young Adults.
More than anything, studying media literacy education
has helped me grow in my own critical skills in front of the media. Far
from "spoiling" my enjoyment of the media, I now consume media
through a vision of the person and the Gospel I hadn’t fully developed
before. My choices are more informed and when I watch television, listen
to music, surf the Net, I now try to do three things when choosing or
‘consuming’ media:
- look for human and Gospel values
- try to learn new ways to share skills with others so
that the Message may be integrated into the "new culture"
created by modern communications and
- exercise media awareness skills in a continual ‘dialogue’
with programs and persons with whom I live and work
Media education has indeed changed my life, helping to
bring faith and life closer together. Learning more about it might change
yours, too and those to whom you minister. If you’d like more information
about media literacy education feel free to contact the following:
Pauline Center for Media Studies
50 Saint Pauls Avenue
Boston, MA 02130-3194
Tel 617-522-8911
FAX 617-541-9805
Email mediastudies@pauline.org
www.pauline.org
(seminars for learning about media literacy education and ideas
for youth seminars)
Pauline Book & Media Center
Rt 1 885 Providence Highway
Dedham, MA 02026
Tel 781-326-5385
Email dedham@pauline.org
(books and matericals about media education and high school materials)
Center for Media Literacy
Tel 1-800-226-9494
Email cml@medialit.org
www.medialit.org
(curriculum, books, videos and training for media literacy education)
A general Web search for "Media Education"
National Media Education
Conference 1999
June 27-30
St. Paul, MN
NMEC98@aol.com
www.ConferenceOffice.com/NEMC
(Highly recommended for anyone seeking an
intensive introductory course in media education)
Sister Rose Pacatte is a Daughter of St. Paul and is currently
Director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies in Jamaica Plain.
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