November 1, 1995

Dear Conferees,

I am leaving on Friday for nine days in Chicago where I will be giving a session at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Convention. The convention will be the last four days of the week, and previous to that I am doing research and visiting a number of Colleges that have programs similar to my new position as the Director of Catholic Education ( a new Education Division strand). I hope to visit Colleges both in the Chicago area and Milwaukee (depending on the weather - it snowed last week). While in Chicago, I will stay with my family in Des Plaines. I have attached a copy of the talk or at least the outline that I will be giving at the Convention, and a description of the new position I will be starting next semester in the Education Division.

I have also attached the possible talk I am giving at the 1996 NCSS Convention that will centering on ethics and the student. The 76th Annual Conference will be held in Washington, D.C.





Father Benedict NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE SOCIAL STUDIES
 75TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE: "BUILDING FUTURE VISIONS ON PROUD TRADITIONS"

S1-189 "PICKET FENCES AND CATHOLIC BASHING: AN ASSESSMENT OF ANTI-CATHOLICISM IN THE AMERICAN MEDIA AND ITS IMPACT IN THE CLASSROOM"
FATHER BENEDICT AUER, O.S.B., D.MIN.
 ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION
 ST. MARTIN'S COLLEGE
 LACEY, WASHINGTON 98503
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1995 11:45-12:40
 SKYWAY 265
ABSTRACT:
THIS SESSION WILL LOOK AT THE PRESENT IMAGE OF CATHOLICISM AS PORTRAYED IN FILM, TV AND TALK SHOWS. POPULAR IMAGES OF RELIGION WILL BE ASSESSED AND ACTIVITIES FOR UNDERSTANDING RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES WILL BE LOOKED AT. A PROGRAM AT TIMBERLINE HIGH SCHOOL IN LACEY, WASHINGTON, IN WHICH THE SPEAKER TOOK PART WILL BE DISCUSSED. SINCE CATHOLICISM IS THE LARGEST CHRISTIAN BELIEF IN THE UNITED STATES, STUDENTS FREQUENTLY FEEL THE PREJUDICE OF THE MEDIA, AND THIS SESSION WILL INCLUDE OBSERVATIONS AND A COMPARISION WITH ANTI-SEMITISM.

SESSION OBJECTIVES :

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS SESSION IS TO LOOK AT THE MULTICULTURAL RAMIFICATIONS OF RELIGIOUS BIGOTRY ESPECIALLY ANTI-CATHOLICISM UPON THE AVERAGE SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT. A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF AMERICAN STUDENTS ARE CATHOLICS, ESPECIALLY HISPANIC, NATIVE AMERICAN, VIENAMESE, AND MANY OTHER GROUPS. A CONSTANT BARRAGE OF ANTI-CATHOLICISM IS NOT HELPFUL IN PORTRAYING A POSTIVIE IMAGE OF AND TO THESE PEOPLES. THIS SESSION WILL EXPLORE WAYS OF MEETING THE NEEDS OF THIS POPULATION, NAMELY ROMAN CATHOLICS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS. IT WILL BE MULTICULTURAL IN NATURE. IT WILL ALSO BE EXPLORED HOW RELIGION CAN BE HANDLED IN A CLASSROOM WITHOUT TEACHING RELIGION OR MAKING IT INDOCTRINATION.

SESSION CONTENT/SKILL FOCUS :

I WILL GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF ANTI-CATHOLICISM AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS FOR TODAY'S HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THEN I WILL ASSESS THE CONTENT OF CERTAIN MEDIA PRESENTATIONS OF CATHOLICS AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. I WILL INCLUDE A NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES USSED BY PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND SOME ACTIVITIES I HAVE DEVELOPED. I WILL ALSO SHARE WITH THE GROUP OF NUMBER OF ARTICLES AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THIS TOPIC.

THE AMERICAN MEDIA

"POLL OF 1,209 ADULTS, STRONG MAJORITY HOLD TV RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RISE IN TEENAGE SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND VIOLENCE. " NEW YORK TIMES (AUGUST 20, 1995).

"BY THE TIME A CHILD IS 6 YEARS OLD, SHE OR HE HAS SPENT MORE TIME WATCHING TV, VIDEOS AND MOVIES THAN IN TALKING TO HIS FATHER." MICHAEL MEDVED

"THE AVERAGE CHILD ENTERING FIRST GRADE HAS SPENT NEARLY 5,000 HOURS WATCHING TELEVISION, AND THAT SAME CHILD BY AGE EIGHTEEN WILL HAVE SPENT MORE TIME WATCHING TELEVISION THAN ATTENDING SCHOOL." PETER FINN, "DEVELOPING CRITICAL TELEVISION VIEWING SKILLS," EDUCATIONAL FORUM 44 (1980), 473-482.

"AIR TIME FOR WAR CARTOONS INCREASED FROM 1.5 HOURS PER WEEK IN 1982 TO 43 HOURS PER WEEK IN 1986. IN 1980, CHILDREN 'S PROGRAMS FEATURED 18.6 VIOLENT ACTS PER HOUR AND NOW HAVE ABOUT 26.4 VIOLENT ACTS EACH HOUR." MARILYN SMITH, "TELEVISION VIOLENCE AND BEHAVIOR: A RESEARCH SUMMARY," ERIC , 1993.

"...THE BEST TIME AND PLACE FOR STUDENTS TO BEGIN A SERIOUS STUDY OF THE MEDIA IS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL SCIENCES CURRICULA." DON SNEED, "MEDIA LITERACY IGNORED....." PAPER DELIVERED AT ASSOCIATION FOR EDUCATION IN JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION, 1989.

METHODS TO TEACH CRITICAL VIEWING
MODELS FOR CRITICAL VIEWING
[BASED ON KEVIN O'REILLY AND JOHN SPLAINE, CRITICAL VIEWING:  STIMULANT TO CRITICAL THINKING   (SOUTH HAMILTON, MASSACHUSETTS: CRITICAL THINKING PRESS, 1987)

  1. WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM'S POINT OF VIEW?
  2. WHAT INFERENCES CAN BE DRAWN FROM THE PROGRAM?
  3. WHAT PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES ARE USED?
  4. WHAT EVIDENCE IS USED TO SUPPORT THE PROGRAM'S ARGUMENT?

INDIVIDUALIZED TO PARTICULAR TYPES OF PROGRAMS:

ENTERTAINMENT ANALYSIS MODEL [VIPE]:

OTHER MODELS ARE FOR COMMERCIALS, INTERVIEWS, ETC.


CATHOLIC BASHING AND THE AMERICAN MEDIA: REFLECTIONS ON RENEWED ANTI-CATHOLICISM IN THE UNITED STATES
I. RESPECT AND DIGNITY - 1930'S, 1940S AND 1950S
  1. OUT OF TUNE - 1960S and 1970S
  2. OPEN WAR - 1980S and 1990S
  3. HISTORY OF ANTI-CATHOLICISM
5. CRITICAL THINKING AND ANTICATHOLICISM
Devine (1986) pointed out that it may be necessary to restructure students' schemata when prior experiences that are limited to a different context interfere with gaining a new concept, for example, relationships between the concepts of social class and caste system.


THREE LESSONS THAT MIGHT HELP STUDENT TO THINK CRITICALLY

ALL THREE COME FROM THE COLUMBIA EDUCATION CENTER'S SUMMER WORKSHOP (1994) AND CAN BE ADAPTED SPECIFICALLY TO CATHOLICISM OR MAY BE DONE IN GENERAL:

LOCAL EXPERIENCE WITH TIMBERLINE HIGH SCHOOL


ALL FRESHMEN COURSE INTEGRATING SOCIAL STUDIES AND LANGUAGE ARTS [RABBI, MOSLEM LEADER, AND CATHOLIC PRIEST]

MODERN EUROPEAN HISTORY (A.P.)