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  • That is an excellent point, Beverly. I think it is important to consider parents' potential thoughts especially when you are thinking about elementary and middle school students. Even some high school students can be greatly affected by their parents' ideals/beliefs.

    And from what I have experienced from living in a village, it is important to keep in mind the ideals/beliefs of the community as well, which may include differing religious beliefs, gender roles or values on education.

  • We like to suprise our students to get an emotional respose. We do this with photos, paintings, and music. We need to know our students before we try this. We need to know when to try and be very aware of the age group we are presenting too. It's easy to oversensitize our students because they see so much in movies already. I don't agree with censoring material, but I do agree with being sensitive to your audience.

  • When choosing an image, I think it is important to keep our audience in mind.  I think that the younger the students are, the more consideration needs to be given to the images we select.  Students at younger ages lack the life experiences that help them analyze images.  Older students have the life experiences (they have seen more) that help them process the image.  They are more able to think beyond the picture, meaning they can infer what might have been happing before the image was captured and predict what might have happened after the image was captured.  

    I think using images that spark an emotion or controversy in our students helps create a more meaningful learning experience for them because the stronger emotion they have they more involved they get.  They defend their thoughts/beliefs.  They solidify it in their memory.  

  • The images need to fit the conversation and content.  Graphic and controversial could be very engaging characteristics if used appropriately. I like controversial discussions because it forces the students to have opinions and back those with ideas and details.  Now, if by graphic and controversial you mean "inappropriate" it is important to know how that is defined by: your district, student's culture, etc.  However, even then it is important to prepare students (and I do teach high school) to look at items and be able to filter and use judgement and to think about what they are experiencing.  If we live in a bubble then we react more than interact.

  • Once students get into middle school, I think you can start showing some more graphic/controversial images. We use our best judgement, and we need to be sure about WHY we're showing the images we show.  I think the most important thing, however, is to keep your personal feelings out of it. Let the students decide for themselves what to think about the images.

  • Age  appropriate materials are what I consider first when showing images. I teach third and fourth grade so they giggle at almost anything. I think we should expose them to things they have never seen before, but just keep it classy. I think it is important for them to know what it out there without showing controversial photos to younger students.

  • This is a topic that deserves careful consideration.  As we experienced this weekend, images pack a powerful punch, engaging us on an a number different levels, including emotionally.  Age, maturity, and sensitivity should all be taken into consideration when considering what is appropriate for students.  I, personally, have a hard time with visual accounts of violent deaths... those images "haunt" me for a long time.  As a teacher, I want to create a lasting impression with any image I use without distracting from what I want to be taken away from that lesson. Appropriately used, we have an amazing teaching tool.

  • As I work with elementary students I would be very careful with showing pictures.  At that age I would be very leery about showing anything controversial.  That being said I think it depends on your students.  Some groups can handle issues that others cannot.

  • Age appropriate materials are an important concern when dealing with photos and art.  Many images are inappropriate for younger students, and I would use my best professional judgement to determine what to share with younger students.  I do feel that there is very little (aside from pornography or overly explicit language) that shouldn't be shared, or couldn't be shared, with high school students.  This doesn't mean I think we should be showing them racy or edgy material just because it exists.  However, we shouldn't be scared to show them things that may make them uncomfortable.  The world can be an uncomfortable, mean, or scary place.  Part of our job is to prepare them for what they may experience, so I think that showing them graphic images of war, or other images that are not pleasant is necessary at times.

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