Film Education

These days’ children are far more technological than they used to be, and because of this, we have to find ways of being able to teach children in a way that is attractive and interesting to them Films could be an example of one of these ways. Media and technology are starting to play a bigger part in jobs and using film education could give children a head start and when they go on to get a job they should be better prepared. The correct film would be good for children to learn lots of different types of things. Different types of social situations get confronted in films and showing the correct types of films will show children how to react to them and they can take that on board in their own lives. If a child enjoys how they are learning, then they will take more in. Any child would rather learn while watching a film rather than copying what a teacher has written on the board or being dictated at. There is a film for most subjects, some would be hard to find, and there are different ways to incorporate a film when learning. For example, films about an important person in history would be good for teaching History. The film ‘Lincoln’ for example could lead to a whole topic about Abraham Lincoln.  

There are, however, certain disadvantages to using films though due to children in schools being different ages so you would need to find the correct films with the correct age certificate for the correct pupils. This could be a big disadvantage due to the fact that year elevens and year sevens are completely different ages and would need completely different films. This would mean that a lot of films would have to be bought by a school and films are not cheap and this could be very costly. Another disadvantage could be that it has to be taught well. If a teacher puts on a film with no instructions about what the children should be looking out for the children will normally just watch the film and might not be taking the important points in.

There are three important principals in film education known as the three c’s. These are all really important to cover when the film has been viewed. The first one is critical which means that the children should be able to understand and analyse the film they have just watched because if they can’t do that there would be no point of watching the film in the first place. The next principle is cultural which will widen the learner’s experience of the film. Films from all around the world could be used to do this. The last principle is creative which is the pupils making the films themselves.

Film education doesn't have to be about just watching films; creating a film could be an important thing as well. Team work would increase when children are making films together. It could be an important way of furthering a child’s knowledge about the subject. Most subjects could be covered using this technique as well. For example, in English acting out a William Shakespeare play and filming it would lead to a wider range of knowledge about Shakespeare. A disadvantage with this could be the children going off topic due to excitement of making the film.

Should films be used as a technique to teach children about different situations? I personally believe that they should. This could be because I have only just finished school and it could be the fact I like the thought of watching more films in school. In my opinion films do have a place in education as long as it is the right sort of film. In most cases a comedy film would not be the correct option if you are trying to teach children about different cultures and different religions. I also believe that making their own films would broaden the knowledge a child would have about a subject. Using film education could relate to learners at any age from primary school to being a student in university. I believe if this had been used more when I was in school I’d have learnt a lot more and had more motivation to learn.