I just wanted to start out, people mentioned and wondered in class about the way the media portrays Urban schools, and its potential effect on people.
There have been major studies and theories developed around the idea of the media helping to shape people's understanding and view of the world. It's called "The Cultivation Theory" If you really wanted to know more about it you can click HERE
One part of this Cultivation Theory is called "Mean World Syndrome" in which, as a direct result of large doses of media consumption (and at this day and age we are all consuming media in large doses on a daily basis). Mean World Syndrome is when people start believing that the world is a more dangerous place than it really is. It is how they are socialized, and where they get information about the world around them. This is why people generally think that more murders occur in the world than really do, or think crime rates are a lot higher than they actually are.
Since the only real view the media gives the viewing pubic, are of these terrible schools and situations (Like oberved in Lean on Me) and the newspapers concept of "If it bleeds it leads", it would be safe to assume that these things ARE in some way responsible for forming people's views and perceptions on these things.
Of course, it would be safe to say that this isn't something people in the media are doing intentionally. But, as long as these sorts of stories and films put money in their pockets, it's not likely to change. (Most media people feel no ethical responsibility for this sort of thing, though they really should.)
I was wondering though, while a lot of educators and people tied into urban education see these films and obviously find big problems with them, what, if anything is being done about it? Obviously nobody can start a one person campaign to set people straight, but are the schools doing anything perhaps to combat these images?
Also, if these stories are all based on true events, what do the people these films are about have to say? It must be flattering to have a movie made about you, but at the same time it would have to be difficult to watch a distorted version of the truth. If these professionals did anything close to what these films suggest, I would think these teachers would be intersted and concerned about the image of Urban education, and would be upset to know that their stories were being used to perpetuate stereotypes.
(i'll just add that my first degree was in Mass Communications, so whenever media stuff comes up, i always find myself thinking about things through that lense).
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Good question--if these portrayals of urban schools are so off the mark, what are city teachers and/or schools doing to counter them? I think part of the problem is that good teachers are so busy doing their jobs that it's exceedingly difficult to find time to write a letter to the editor or to produce their own representations. "The First Year" documentary, after all, wasn't made by a teacher. That's why I think it's so important for those of us who teach at universities (myself included) to speak out in forums that actually reach a general audience (as opposed to more obscure academic publications).
As to how the teachers who've been portrayed feel about their portrayals, it seems to me that many enjoy being turned into heroes. I recently read an interview with Erin Gruwell, the subject of Freedom Writers, where she talked about that. I'll try to post a link to it if I can find it.
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