President’s Message: Media Literacy Week Wrap-Up

Hello, Media Literacy Proponents and Enthusiasts,

We’re exhausted but exhilarated!

Gateway Media Literacy Partners (GMLP) surpassed expectations  and racked up some “firsts” with its third annual media literacy week, “Media Literacy: Remix Culture,”Oct. 4-10.  And, happily, on Oct. 1, as our own efforts were about to unfold,   President Obama declared October Information Literacy Month.  Wow, what timing! Thank you, Mr. President.  By the way,  information literacy is a skill closely allied with media literacy.  You can read the entire proclamation at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Information-Literacy-Awareness-Month.

Here at home, we had proclamations, heralding our special week, from the Cities of St. Louis and Edwardsville, Ill., as well as from St. Louis and St. Charles Counties.  It is the first time St. Charles County and Edwardsville join us in this formality, and we thank them for understanding and recognizing the need for media literacy and media literacy education.

Big, big”thank you’s” to Art Silverblatt and his wonderful committee, for bringing it all together in such splendid fashion.  And another big “ thanks” to our volunteers, Sarah Berkowitz and Amy Kosberg who, behind the scenes, played key roles up to and throughout the week.

So please enjoy the re-caps, highlights and uploads of video and stills, as well as resources, in connection with our memorable week.  (link to a page on the Third Annual Media Literacy Week), and consider being a part of the action, next year!

I strongly believe we are collectively realizing media literacy matters, and we can only be stronger and more vital, in part, if we empower ourselves with the special critical thinking skills that media literacy education teaches us.

Therefore, I want to thank the Missouri Deapartment of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) director of curriculum, Sharon Hoge, for her staff’s work on “Information, Communications Technology, and Media Literacy” Grade-level and Course-level Expectations.”  GMLP has pledged to work with and help DESE as it works to bring more media literacy instruction in Missouri’s classrooms, and to refine curricular standards in its attempt to be in line with the important 21st-century skills initiative across the country.   http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/unitindex.html

And, in our quest to give more meaning to media literacy for those who aren’t familiar with it, we have instituted GMLP’s media literacy enrichment certificate, first unveiled during GMLP’s  Media Literacy Week. We will offer certificates at specially designated programs in the future.( See story on GMLP Media Literacy Enrichment certificates).

And, as you may already know, GMLP is  a member of and closely aligned with the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)  www.namle.net , at a time when each organization is primed to help the other.  For some recent and important news regarding NAMLE, please see the story.

Finally, if you attended this year’s Media Literacy Week kick=off event, you know we not only celebrated our accomplishments, but we also set the stage for the massive amount of work ahead

especially that so many local, state and national media literacy initiatives are now  being discussed, or are  already under way.  Join us in the action, will you?

Cheers,

Jessica Z. Brown