Movie In Class, Why Not

Movies In Class, Why Not?

Someone says that since the day computers were invented, children have become lazier than ever before. Today, books are no longer their best friends. Instead of spending time reading books, children are more interested in watching television. In consequence, one common question is asked "Should we use movies in classroom regularly?" In the article "History 101: Pass the Popcorn, Please", Elaine Minamide states "Anything that gets kids thinking and talking can only be positive". On the other hand, she argues using movies "as dessert not the main course". By giving many examples of kindergarten children, who "already knew the ABCs" and get used to the "song and dance" routine from Sesame Street, or ones of teachers in San Diego who often supplement the instruction with contemporary films, she throws out a matter:" As the time goes by, will students' dependency upon audio-visual learning make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to extract meaning from books alone?"

Actually, the traditional method of studying like sitting, listening to the lecture or reading books can develop students' imagination, but as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe says "There is nothing more dreadful than imagination without taste." I wonder if without watching movies in classroom, all our imagination about the real world is still right. Therefore, I am not persuaded by Minamide's arguments, but I believe that using movies in classroom might give a new way to education.

One important benefit of movies is to give vivid illustrations for all students. There's no doubt about the first position of motion pictures among other entertainment kinds, especially, in our modern social, movies are so familiar with children. Whenever a child sits in front of the screen, nothing can disrupt him, and obviously, something repeats regularly will become unforgettable. The more movies children watch, the more attracted they are. Therefore, video has been widely used as an instructional tool in classroom and distance education during recent years. After many researches, scientists concluded "Learning will be more effective if the numbers of available cues or stimuli are increased" (CNN News- "Children and Television"), and we almost consent that imagines, which can add authenticity and reality to the learning context, worth more than ten thousand words. One example of audio-visual learning being successful is when my literature teacher introduced her lecture with "David Copperfield" DVD. That was the first time I felt really engrossed. The bright colors, quick movements and lively sounds captured all students' attentions. Instead of doing private things like sending voice messages by cell phones as normal, we all concentrated on the lesson. "David Copperfield" was no longer a dry literature composition but such an interesting one that we kept talking about it even when we were out of the class.

In the article Minamide worries that today "children spend so much more time watching TV and movies than reading books," but she didn't give us any accurate statistic or ever her own experiences to illustrate this statement. I can say that this statement is not absolutely right. An obvious example is all my high school classmates in Viet Nam who just often spent two or three hours watching movies per week. Is it too much for high school students? The answer is "No." My own experiences show that relaxation is as important as learning. The more time we learn, the more time we need to rest.

While Minamide supposes that reading is the only way to get process, I wonder why she doesn't think about the variety of education. Everyone comes to school with different sets of expectations and various learning styles. While some are motivated by books, others are drawn into audio books and movie activities. At the age of elementary school, kids are not old enough to visualize how the real world is. My ten -year- old sister often asks a bunch of questions about the wild in Africa. Even though listening to the lecture in class and reading whole books, she still could not have a clear picture with reference to the life of lions. After watching the program "The King of the Wild" on Animal Planet, she could even make a speech about lions. Rebecca Collins, lead author of a research in University of California shows "Teenagers can get sex education as well as laughter by watching movies," a new study found. "We've always