Q3: Media Literacy Education

A: The media is omnipresent -- it is certainly one of the most insistent, pervasive influences in a child’s life. That’s why I think it is important that we teach our children, starting when they are very young, to think critically about the media and become smart consumers. We should teach them to question, analyze, interpret, and evaluate what they see or hear. There is no doubt that the media affect how we perceive and understand the world, how we interact with those around us, and how we make our purchasing decisions. As we have access to more forms of media -- and at any hour of the day -- it is even more crucial, I believe, that we teach media literacy to our children. Parents can do this in the home, and educators can do this in our schools. Today, very few schools teach kids how to understand the vast digital media environment that now occupies most of their time, and as president, I will support significantly expanding these programs.

Two years ago, I spoke at the release of the Kaiser Family Foundation study, “Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year-Olds.” That study told us that, on average, kids between 8 and 18 years of age are spending 6.5 hours a day absorbed in media. That adds up to 45 hours a week, which is more than a full-time job. TV alone occupies three to four hours a day of young people’s time. And we all know that in most homes, media consumption isn’t limited to the living room. In two-thirds of kids’ bedrooms you’ll find a TV, and in one-half you will find a VCR and/or a video game console. We have to do a better job of educating our children to become savvy media consumers.

A: Media literacy is an important part of being a well-informed citizen, and I support efforts to equip our children with these valuable skills. I will support school districts that decide to offer instruction in using resources such as the Internet and newspapers to stay informed and make smart decisions.

A: I would support establishing programs and creating incentives to give our children the skills to navigate the virtual worlds and new media tools that have developed in recent years. I support programs in schools that incorporate Internet safety education, but we also need to develop ways for parents to teach their children to find educational and child-friendly content and information and to use their connectivity and access to information to become the next generation’s leading innovators.

A: My $60 billion education plan (paid for with cuts to specific Cold War-era weapons systems) offers a comprehensive and holistic approach to education in the 21st century, to include up to $500 million in federal money for the arts and music. Although I believe that states and localities are better at deciding how this money should be used than Washington, certainly instruction in navigating the vast digital media of today is important and should be emphasized.

A: I believe that education ought to be a partnership between parents, teachers, and students. Our education system works best when we have greater local control of our schools. There is no question that strengthening our schools is an important task for the future of our economy and our country, and I believe that closing the achievement gap in our schools is the civil rights issue of our time. We need to raise the bar in education by making a number of reforms. One of these is to ensure that our kids get the education they need to excel in the jobs of the 21st century. This means focusing our efforts on fields like math and science, so that the workers of the future can remain competitive in the new global marketplace.