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