To View or Not To View?

By Carol Jago

What I am going to say is likely to anger many teachers and students. To assist those who may want to skip what follows, I will declare my position immediately. I don't think English teachers should show films in class. For those who wonder how, with all the wonderful versions of classical literature available on video, I could come to this conclusion, please read on.

Most of the 49 states that have adopted language arts standards (only Iowa has chosen not to) have included in their list of standards references to viewing. Along with the familiar--reading, writing, listening, and speaking--viewing and visually representing have been added as essential language arts skills. Like the Standards for the English Language Arts, written by the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association, state documents recommend that students go beyond seeing film versions of the texts they read and study visual texts in their own right.

I applaud this expansion of the language arts, particularly in an age when children are bombarded daily with seductive visual images. Every time they gaze into television, computer, or movie screens, children must exercise judgment. Teaching them about advertising ploys and the power of the visual image to affect a viewer is essential. I also believe that the study of film as genre is an important and lasting outcome of a liberal-arts education. But instruction in viewing and film should not occur in an English class. Our...