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Hannah Walker
SEU 342
Professor Wolfmeyer
18 March 2020

Double-Entry Journal

Directions: You will read an assigned book on literacy in your content area and create a
double-entry journal noting lesson ideas that you might use in your own teaching someday
(minimum 10 entries across the book’s chapters).

- 10 entries of what the book presented

- At least 100 words on how you would implement your findings in your own classroom

Text: Critical Media Pedagogy: Teaching for Achievement in City Schools, Ernest Morrell et. al

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction, 1-14
Chapter 2: Youth and Critical Media Production in the 21st Century, 15-27
Chapter 3: The Neighborhoods, the Schools, the Projects, and the Study, 28-49
Chapter 4: Critical Media Pedagogy in Ms. Garcia’s Class, 50-79
Chapter 5: Critical Media Pedagogy in Mr. Lopez’s Classes, 80-106
Chapter 6: Critical Media Pedagogy in Mr. Dueña’s Class, 107-124
Chapter 7: Pedagogy in the Third Space, 125-152
Chapter 8: Conclusion, 153-170

Quotes Reflection

“As youth who have been historically
marginalized learn to read and write, a critical
approach to literacy education helps them to
re-read and ultimately rewrite the world.
Literacy, then, becomes more than an act of
decoding; it becomes praxis as newly literate
populations become more skilled in their
ability to act powerfully upon the world.” (pg.
5)
Literacy is a critical skill to be successful in
this society. As a society, we have actively
marginalized students who attend schools that
may lack the resources to help boost literacy
rates. However, as technology is advancing
and we are becoming more reliant on it for
educational purposes, we must also shift the
focus on how literacy is defined and
discovered. With the amount of youth being
producers and consumers of media, there’s a

Mr. López: World History class and social
media- “Students felt empowered when
learning that they, too, could become reporters
using social media sites… throughout the
school year, students indicated they began
re-tweeting and re-posting socially and
politically charged articles and messages for
their Facebook friends and followers, A
drastic shift from prior content in comments
and postings. Students began consuming
media critically.” (pg. 22)
Putting an emphasis on “critical,” Ms.
Garcia’s class: “ all the students’ writing
assignments are labeled as “critical.” For
example, students write a critical literacy
narrative, a critical life poem, and a critical
persuasive essay. The classroom is a space for
students to explore deep social issues, many
of which influence students in their school
and community. (pg. 52)
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new form of literacy surfacing: literacy
through understanding one’s relationship with
media. A way we can improve academic
literacy is through something that is so widely
accessible: media. Our civic duty is to link
academic literacy and media
production/consumption in the curriculum.
My generation is a generation of producers
and consumers. Mostly everyone is somehow
connected on social media and speaking
first-hand, I had to teach myself how to use
social media more critically, finally
acknowledging the power social media truly
wields. For one, media sites are literally wired
to play with human psychology to get people
to use their apps and consume more. Social
media can also be a powerful political tool.
When used correctly, students like those in
Mr. López’s class, finding social justice
educators to follow and re-tweet. I think it’s
important to teach students the true power
social media has and when in the wrong
hands, can be used to reinforce hurtful
stereotypes and promote fake news or hate
speech. But, as Mr. López does, I would like
to incorporate a workshop, educating students
on how to use social media as a social,
political, and educational tool.
The word ‘critical’ in an English Language
Arts environment means that the writer
expresses and/or analyzes the quality of a
specific subject. By analyzing the quality of
their work or the work of someone else, it will
emphasize the importance of writing
processes. Quality refers to the merits AND
faults of the subject being studied. Putting the
emphasis on “critical” encourages students to
explore and engage with topics that have
cultural or social relevance to their lives. As
educators, we need to work on re-framing the
curriculum so that students feel a sense of
urgency and necessity in what they are being
asked to digest. Through critical
understanding, students will then be able to

Ms. Garcia’s class: on persuasion- “students
must learn specific persuasive terms and
language and write and deliver a persuasive
speech. In this unit, Miss Garcia selects
controversial topics for students to discuss
and determine solutions. The units are tied to
issues that are associated with the Agents of
Change SLC, so topics that affect youth, their
families, and their communities are selected.”
(pg. 68)
“Allow students to have deep and thoughtful
conversations about critical issues, but be
prepared to handle students’ real experiences
and feelings.” (pg. 77)
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mature and expand on their perspectives and
beliefs, giving them a voice in their own
communities.
The book mentions common selected topics:
gang violence, presidential elections, Los
Angeles tagging injunction laws, and trying
juveniles as adults in the court systems. After
selecting a topic, Ms. Garcia requires that
students prepare an essay and a presentation,
both including citations. I loved reading about
the drafting and revision process; Ms. Garcia
required that students peer review and draft at
least three times. I also thought it was
effective that Ms. Garcia participated in this
process herself, picking a topic to research
and actively researching for her own
presentation. Modeling is very important in
education, and when the teacher is working
alongside his or her students, the students feel
that what they are learning or doing actually
has importance. Not only that but teaching
students about how to use persuasive
language to spark social and political change
is an important critical skill to have. And
having students pick topics that directly
impact and affect them, their family, friends,
and their community, students feel a sense of
urgency and is more likely to promote
high-order thinking.
A big part of the job (of being a successful
educator) is fostering a supportive community
and a safe space for students to develop their
opinions and to grapple with socially and
politically relevant topics. I want to be able to
treat my students like adults, where we can
have mature and sometimes uncomfortable
conversations. Some students might not feel
safe talking about certain topics in any other
environment but are genuinely curious in
discovering more and determining how they
feel about it. However, in treating students
like mature young adults, there will inevitably
come a time where a student wants to discuss
personal experiences. I’m afraid I might not

This is actually a quote from The Harvard
Educational Review, included in the book:
“Looking at death only through the lens of
violence generate silence around the issue of
this death as loss. Thus, the tragedy and
overall impact of deaths felt by surviving
African-American adolescence are hidden by
mainstream society’s inability and
unwillingness to deal with the issue of death
or with the brutal way most black adolescence
encounter death. (pg. 85)
Activity with Colonization and Christopher
Columbus: “In this gallery walk, students
participate in a say, mean, matter, activity in
which they describe what they see (details
about the image), make an interpretation of
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be equipped to give them the right response. I
appreciate that I have the opportunity to read
about other teacher experiences, where I can
feel better prepared to field these questions,
but I fear that there will come a time where I
won’t know exactly how to handle a situation
in the classroom. I suppose the only way I can
prepare is through more readings like this.
Through reading and practice, I’ll be able to
field uncomfortable conversations and
“difficult expressions” when facilitating class
discussions like this.
As ignorant as this is, I never thought to
actively create an environment where students
can mourn. Of course I would think to
acknowledge a community tragedy, but
actually allowing students to talk about the
tragedy in class, I just never thought to do
that. Because of the news, I’ve been
desensitized to tragedy. It’s disgusting to
admit, but tragedy is all around us and
somewhere along the line, I’ve lost some
empathy. In my experience as a student,
we’ve all been systematically desensitized. I
mean, sure, we address community tragedy,
but it is a lot like how the news presents
tragedy. It’s often disguised by violence and
we tend to forget as a society that it’s okay to
mourn. As educators, we need to be the
change and address the realities of youth. We
need to provide students with the proper
resources and outlets to reach out for help. I
have always wanted to be the type of educator
that creates a space for community
understanding and healing, but after reading
this, I’ve been confronted by my own
blindspots. I want and need to teach empathy,
I just need to actively work towards stripping
myself of my current blindspots.
It is so crazy to me how white-washed a lot of
the curriculum is. When I was in school, we
talked about Christopher Columbus as if he
were a saint. Christopher Columbus is
probably the most prominent example of

what they think the image is trying to express
(what the author means), and identify why
this image is significant (why the image
matters). When students review these images
with Mr. Dueñas they begin to get a deeper
understanding of how the Spanish conquest
affected native populations in the Americas.”
(pg. 116)
In relation to the Chicano Studies in
California and MEChA organization: “This
collaboration among students, teachers, and
community organizations not only created
strong relationships with those involved but
also fostered a variety of collaborations
between teachers and students and initiated a
variety of new projects. Key to this
collaboration is student activism and the
production of critical media, which is
empowered the students to inspire and
educate others.” (pg. 128)
“After the Mexican revolution, artists such as Activities like this allow students to get out of
Diego Rivera, Clement Orozco, and David the classroom. A little change of environment
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colonialism that curriculum refused to
acknowledge other perspectives. I chose to
highlight this quote because of the teacher’s
willingness to flip colonialism on its head. In
Mr. Dueñas’s class, he encourages students to
look at paintings that depict the destruction of
indigenous people due to colonialism. This is
something that curriculum generally hides
from students. By hanging the paintings up
around the room, he encourages students to
formulate their own opinions of the
destruction inflicted by white settlers.The
activity also requires students to compare and
contrast these brutal paintings and picture
books about Christopher Columbus’s
expedition as told through the traditional lens.
In reading this, I’ve come to admire teachers
that recognize the harsh truths. Being able to
denounce any sort of racism or injustice is
very important in the classroom setting: it not
only sets the example of what’s inherently
right for the students, but it creates a safe and
nurturing environment for all.
The primary purpose of this project was to
work in conjunction with the student group at
the University of California, Movimiento
Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) to
create critical media for the community.
Community outreach and involvement inspire
students to get involved outside of school. In
this particular case, the hard work and
dedication from MEChA pushed their campus
to include Mexican American Studies
curriculum. Getting involved with this group
allowed students to observe activism
in-action. Mr. Dueñas asserted the need to
learn about Mexican American heritage and
pushed students to get involved with the
reestablishment of Mexican American
curriculum. The project overall, created
strong relationships with everyone involved,
uniting different communities.

Alfaro Siquieros used mural media to build
critical literacy among a large illiterate
population that had been denied an education
by the ruling class. These great artists painted
images dealing with themes of oppression,
liberation, rebellion, and the celebration of
their indigenous culture and history. 100 years
later, community artists and youth in Los
Angeles continue to use the same media tool
to express similar themes, building critical
literacy and empowering community
members.” (pg. 140)
“When we think about teaching critically, we
think about how teachers relate to students,
how they relate to the profession, and how
they challenge current injustices in schools
and society. With respect to the former, we as
educators must have a truly deep love for this
profession and the students we serve no
matter who they are; it takes this kind of
unconditional love to embrace the journey of
critical pedagogy with our students, regardless
of the media studies.” (pg. 155)
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is crucial in education. In the book, the
school’s art club was inspired by this story
and took it back into the classrooms. The
school art club felt that the school building
was lacking in culturally and historically
diverse murals. The book also mentions a day
of service in the community they all live in,
where the mayor encourages folks to beautify
Los Angeles. Mr. López gathered a group of
students to give back to their community by
repainting walls and planting trees and plants.
After volunteering for the day of service, Mr.
López assigned a project where students
would have to write up proposals and grants
to paint murals around their communities. I
think this is such an interesting way to
promote critical literacy.
I thought this quote was interesting to include
because it’s why I chose to pursue this
profession in the first place. I appreciated how
Morrell et. al described having a love for
students means having a love for the potential
that all of your students have. They point out
that it’s more difficult to hold low
expectations for those that you love. So by
developing a love for all of your students,
expectations will be high. I also think that it’s
poetic to fall in love with the students’
potential. In going through that process, we
will become unconditional advocates for each
students’ success. We must also make
meaningful connections with each individual,
constantly reminding them of their potential
and how much you believe in them.