By Joanie Harmon, Ampersand UCLA School of Ed & IS Online Magazine
In March, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school board unanimously passed a resolution to require critical media literacy learning from elementary level through high school levels. The decision, led by LAUSD board member Jackie Goldberg and supported by UCLA Teacher Education Program lecturer Jeff Share, signals the recognition in the educational arena of the need to teach students from a young age the basics of critical thinking to navigate the vortex of media, fake news, and disinformation.
Goldberg and Share had a recent conversation with Ampersand on the goals of LAUSD to enfold critical media literacy into Common Core learning, their own experiences with the media, and how critical thinking skills around media will prepare generations to come as informed participants in democracy.