Democracy in Theory and Practice

Overview

This unit on "MySpace in Democracy: inquiry on how social networks and media technologies promote and disrupt democratic practices" is intended to integrate with the School Districts Philadelphia's middle grades' Social Studies core curriculum. Through my proposed unit, students will conduct inquiry on how the proliferation of social networking sites, search engines, and electronic media shapes democratic practices. Inquiry and critical thinking will be core skills students will master. To lead students to master research skills this unit will use media literacy and free speech topics to provide students with seed ideas for their own inquiry. As Leonisa Ardizzone posits, students need to find themselves at the center rather than the margins of learning for critical pedagogy to take place. ¹ My students consequently need opportunities to create their own media where their voices can be heard and honored. The hope is that my students' voices will placed at the center of topics related to digital literacy and democratic practices.

I teach 6th grade reading, writing and social studies at Beeber Middle School, located in the West Academic Area of the School District of Philadelphia. The pupil population is over 600. The student body is 95% African American and less than 1% percent is Caucasian. The balance of other students is bi-racially mixed or from other ethnic backgrounds. Finding ways to engage many of my disengaged students in reading, writing and reasoning is critical in helping them improve their performance on standardized test and preparing them for life after middle school. Consequently, I use media literacy and inquiry as part of my pedagogy. Last year I participated in the Philadelphia Writing Project's digital story telling study group and received a Pennsylvania Council of the Arts (PCA) Art Commentary grant to conduct inquiry around identity construction using visual and performing arts. Furthermore, I have used inquiry to explore hip-hop and its influence on youth culture. What sets this unit apart from my previous work is that students will make inquiry on free speech and information technologies, using the very technologies and social networks that interplay to promote and disrupt democratic practices.