The Other Side of Media Literacy Education: Possible Selves, Social Capital, and Positive Youth Development

I walked several steps in front of Sean,1 Michelle, and Ashley as we wound our way towards the familiar building that agreed to house us while we edit movies. Michelle checked for text messages while Ashley joked with Sean about college plans. Since Sean is a senior, juniors Michelle and Ashley complained that he would be leaving them in a year. They talked of plans for Michelle to catch up with Sean at Clark Atlanta University once she graduates, and Ashley complained that she doesn’t want to go to Clark. With all of the talk of colleges and supportive comments of making it to Clark, these teens laughed and linked arms, drawing attention from the few others on the walk that morning. Just over a year earlier, I had first met Sean, Michelle, and Ashley when they came to a film production summer program I ran for six weeks. At first they were all quiet. However, in the year that passed since that time, Sean, Michelle, and Ashley became close friends who support and encourage one another. The friendship between Sean, Michelle, and Ashley is an important source of support, and it is a side of media literacy education that often goes overlooked. As much focus as there is on critical thinking and technical skills gained through media education, there is another essential and influential aspect of these programs: positive youth development. For many media education programs, it is simply assumed that the goals of learning cooperation, building leadership, and developing a community of support will be accomplished. In looking at media literacy education as a critical part of education for today’s youth, it also important to highlight the other side of these programs, demonstrating the many social benefits they offer in addition to their skill development. To draw attention to this quieter side of media literacy education, this article focuses on both the individual growth and the social supports that can be developed in these programs. Specifically, it draws from research conducted in the summer of 2009 during a six-week film production program, the Chester Voices for Change (VFC) Summer Institute. Based in Chester, Pennsylvania, the Summer Institute worked with ten local teens, aged 12-18, training them in film production and providing them with part-time internships at local newspapers or media-related businesses. Research for Action, Philadelphia, PA, USA