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Education Beyond the School Walls: Media Literacy in the Private Early Childhood Arena
By Julia Yaremchuk, M.S. Education, Program Director for Sunshine State Academy
The early childhood private sector education has a myriad of variations when it comes to choices for parents and the education of children. Programs such as Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilio, STEM and call them ‘basic daycare,’ can be seen in every major corner of most major cities. Some of these programs are accredited, others follow the primary guidelines of the Department of Children and Families within each state or municipality. Early childhood education has had major gains in research and promotion on the needs of early intervention and impact that it has on reading, language, and school success. However, there is lack of interest on the topic of media literacy and the appropriate technology usage for young learners. Parents, educators, and program directors are at times oblivious on the impact that technology may have on the physical, emotional and psychological effect and affect on children. As a program director of a preschool and elementary school: kindergarten to grade 3; the topic of media literacy, technology appropriateness and media education has not been so relevant, as it has become the forefront topic in every home and classroom due to the Covid-19 crises.
Media literacy (or lack there off) in the early childhood arena began long before Covid-19 was even in the picture. The car ride to and from school cannot be managed, as stated by most of my parents, without a child holding a technological device in his or her hands, as they point their fingers to maneuver through the singing text, videos, and games along the highway. In the classroom, content is explained through images as well via resources in the media. It is a blessing that the American Academy of Pediatrics has upheld a strong position in the fight against media influence on the brains of young children, advising no screen time before the age of 2 years old. However, as pointed out by Jordan Shapiro in his Forbes article, “Here is the AAP’S revised guidelines on children and screen time: Media is just another environment” (2015), which changes the stance on the outlook on how technology is used today. Four years later in 2019, Steven Reinberg disclosed in his WebMD article, “a new study using brain scans showed that the white matter in the brains of children who spent hours in front of the screen wasn’t developing as fast as it was in the brains of kids who didn’t.” The author, as well, emphasizes that the loss of social interactions and technological over-usage brings about dysfunction in social engagement, cognitive behavior, and mental processing speed.
During the Covid-19 crisis, the brick-andmortar schoolhouse was transcribed to the virtual platform of online learning. Early childhood centers mandated to close their doors for some time, panicked to begin online instruction and/or totally closed shop. In the midst of the unknown, many directors, like myself began planning and researching how to make online learning age-appropriate, how to integrate useful applications for online learning and develop media education policies overall. In this review of pertinent online resources, the following will be addressed: the campaign for a commercial-free childhood (ccfc)- The Guide to Choosing Tech for Young preschoolers; the Center of Media Literacy- An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education; the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)- Core Principles of Media Literacy Education in the United States and finally an outlook from a different country, Canada’s Center for Digital and Media Literacy- Mapping Digital Literacy and Practice. Each resource chosen will allow implementation of changes within my current center on the policies and practices. The ccfc allows for considerations to be made to choose appropriate preschool apps for children, which can be a resource for parents and teachers alike. The Media Lit, Literacy Review allows from theory to practice overview on how to appraise media and what questions educators should have upon choosing resources. NAMLE focuses on the inquiry and critical thinking components in media literacy review. Finally, the MediaSmarts site allows for an overview on implementation in Canadian schools, thoroughly assessing the ever-changing practices of media within the classroom and at home. ▸ For more information: cindy@sunshinestateacademy.com
