Could a British teacher ever do this?
From:
Stephen Coleman
Date:
Apr 14 22:28 UTC
Short link
Excellent post. I'd very much like to see your list of political youtube
videos. As you say, this kind of creativity is likely to engage young people
far more than most of the awful attempts by political parties/local authorities
etc to 'connect with the youth.'
Stephen Coleman
Professor of Political Communication and Co-Director, Centre for Digital
Citizenship,
Institute of Communications Studies,
University of Leeds
________________________________
From: paul canning [mailto:paul.canning@gmail.com]
Sent: Mon 14-Apr-08 10:39 PM
To: <email obscured>
Subject: [UKIE-EDem] Could a British teacher ever do this?
Like with many people who saw it and commentated, a video from the Obama
campaign from students at the Bronx High School of Performance and Stagecraft
in New York was just so inspirational and frankly moving to me. It's had a huge
response, in viewer numbers and feedback. Plus, of course, a backlash.
I put it here
http://paulcanning.blogspot.com/2008/04/could-british-teacher-ever-do-this.html
I posted about how, because of 'stupid, blind bureaucracy', I just couldn't see
a UK teacher doing anything like this.
Shane from Gallomanor responded and this sparked me to go on a YouTube hunt and
- guess what - I found lots of 'da youth' posting videos about politics. Most
of which (actually nearly all) had much higher viewer numbers than 'official
ones'. And including lots about - who would have guessed - Lord Goldsmith and
the Oath.
This actually lines up with how the YouTube phenomenon is developing in the
States - politics is not a subject avoided by young people.
What struck me was the difference in style. The hit videos were totally
different to the 'official' ones. They came across as more 'real' because they
were 'real'. If I was seventeen, I really hope I'd be doing something like what
they're doing.
Why can't 'we' do this? What is it about what we do which seems doomed to be
boring and irrelevant to young people (or am I too 'glass half empty'??).
Can we not simply 'dump' political youtube content by young people in one place
to encourage the phenomenon rather than push them through filters of our own
making?
Simply put, why do we have to be so bureaucratic and controlling about young
people and politics?
Paul Canning
Member profile for paul canning:
http://groups.dowire.org/contacts/paulcanning
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