On Tue, 26 May 1998, Dennis D. Martin wrote:
> Generally I think high school students need to be aware that movies
> (even more so than textbooks) must be taken with a large dose of salt.
> They should not stand on their own but must be read (viewed) critically in
> conjunction with other sources.
> None of us would use films in teaching medieval studies without a lot of
> commentary and critical helps; for that reason, I think it unwise to
> recommend them uncritically for a high school independent research paper.
>
> Dennis Martin
I agree that assigning or using movies in a course is not a substitute for
teaching or for analysis. Quite the contrary. Unfortunately, too often
showing a movie in class in high school has been thought by both students
and teachers as a substitute for "in the flesh" teaching. I suppose
that's the same assumption some of our colleges and universities have
about video-classrooms and distance learning. But it's not what I
intended. I teach movies in my classes as representations of the Middle
Ages, as are the 'primary documents' and 'secondary sources,' not as
unmediated access to the Middle Ages. Using movies in the classroom, as
I've found in teaching English secondary education majors, requires
experience and study of film literacy.
Mark
U of Delaware
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