In learning more about literacy in this course, I’m having a hard time not relating something to literacy. I’ve started to realize that everything is tied together and the common thread can, more often than not, be literacy. Our public service announcement (PSA) is about future teachers of America and the necessity of reviewing everything they are about to post online. Otherwise, teacher professionalism and credibility can be compromised.
This requires all sorts of literacy. It requires technological literacy; future teachers have access to a wide variety of technology and while most of it can support learning, other types can negatively interfere with it. It also requires professional literacy. Teacher professionalism is of the utmost importance these days with more emphasis on accountable, competent, effective teachers in the modern classroom. It also requires visual literacy. Much of our PSA is visual; there is little text to read until the very end, and even in that case, the final message is only meant to reinforce our more powerful visual story.
Future teachers must know what is expected of them professionally and personally. They must understand not only what we are saying with our images and words but what is behind our message. Our jobs could be put into jeopardy and ultimately, this will impact the students. The students ought to be a teacher’s central focus, and this is why the scene in which the two students lose respect for their teacher is meant to be so impacting.