Mass Comm, Biggest Loser, NFL, & Obesity

So is there really a connection between four of these things: Mass Comm, The Biggest Loser, NFL & Obesity...Yes there is! And a good one too. But the issue is time.

One of my personal goals this semester is to lose weight and not gain the grad school 20 again! (Spring semester was a disaster and I packed on 25 pounds--eek!) I have been highly successful this semester with the help of a personal trainer and a personal goal to be lighter in body mass than when I started this semester. I continue to struggle with eating enough protein and finding the balance between too many calories and not enough. But, as with my goal for a second license in English, this goal will be realized with hard work, perseverance, and an overall view of health in my mind.

Throughout my struggles with weight loss and healthy eating this semester I have recognized that the mass media has jumped on the bandwagon to support a healthier lifestyle as well. It is no secret that America is in an obesity epidemic. Diabetes has skyrocketed to be the new "it" disease in all people across age levels, genders, and demographics. The food industry has put the man-made product, high fructose corn syrup, into everything, health care has had a major push from congress, and the Obama Administration is calling for massive focus on healthy lifestyles for everyone. Lastly, every medical doctor has stated that America is fatter now than in the last decade and this is costing insurance company trillions in lost everything except for pounds of weight loss. Truly, the mass media has highlighted this issue and provided every person with information that this is a concern of massive proportions.



"The Biggest Loser" has been on NBC for eight seasons starting in October 2004. The show has been highly successful with contestants losing over 1000 pounds of weight since the show started. But, the program is broadcast over the television which means that many people just watch the program and do not physically move any body part past turning on the remote. I am unaware as to how many people have lost weight because of this program, but I hope that the program has helped provide a motivation for some people to get out there and lose the weight they have. "The Biggest Loser" also provides simple tips for everyone to follow about nutrition, strength training, and weight loss for people. People can find links to the trainers' websites, cook books, protein supplements, and tips. This focus on weight loss is a step towards a better environment for everyone involved.

While watching the Colts/Texans Football game, the announcers stated something about "NFL60" during the game. The NFL recognizes that 60 minutes of play a day for children is necessary for health and to recognize that obesity is an issue for children. As I was looking at the NFL60 website, (http://www.nflrush.com/play60/) a video plays with Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints takes some students through a physical fitness routine on the front lawn of the White House.

The mass media reflects what is happening in society. What is happening in society is people are too heavy and this is costing companies too much money. Therefore, something needs to be done about this issue. But being told to exercise from Joe-Regular-Fitness-Expert is boring and uneventful. Thus, let's put together a television program about people losing weight, having trainers yell at them, and then they're voted off the island. OR, let's have NFL football players teach some students on the White House lawn doing a fitness routine.

Both approaches are steps in the right direction towards this issue, but if anything is to actually happen, it needs to happen with the values at home. AND be supported by everyone involved, not just certain people. Physical exercise is hard and the labors of all the effort take time in order to see results. Thus, the issue in this "gotta have it and have it now" society in which we live in. The delayed gratification from physical fitness is a long-term goal that we all need to strive for because our lives depend on it. The mass media can only help with this epidemic by continuing to put sports stars doing exercise and success stories of massive weight loss on the television. It can be done, but with plenty of sweat and movement that gets the heart rate up. I am not at my goal yet, but I continue to be in the gym six times a week. I've lost 30 pounds and feel great, but have a ways to go before I can accomplish my goal.

Knowledge Gap & Chapter 12

A month ago we read about the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis in Chapter 12 in our textbook. Ever since that time, the information from that chapter have been floating around in my head. An important thing to remember for every college student is to draw connections between classes and draw on critical thinking from each class to make connections to the world as a whole as well. As a graduate education student seeking my second license, I am linking this chapter in Mass Comm class with the achievement gap in my education classes.

Also Severin & Tankard could learn a bit from reading Ruby Payne's "A Framework for Understanding Poverty" as well. Both the Knowledge Gap and the Achievement Gap are gaps that can be closed, but what is hard to understand is how everything else is connected to these gaps in this country. Due to financial status a person's focus on what is necessary is ordered differently depending upon how much a person owns or has in their pocket. However, I believe that the word "poor" is a frame of mind. One can be financially be "poor", but have the brightest disposition on life or vice versa. Also if a person is struggling with an issue of housing, the last thing on that person's mind will be whether they read the mornings newspaper. Thus, my point is that perspectives, opinions, and levels of importance are all based on the financial standing and knowledge the person has. This is reality and why school districts, the state, and the country spend millions trying out how to close something that falls deeper than teaching everyone equally. This whole issue falls on the values, beliefs, and perspectives, that the students are taught in their family prior to even attending school. But this is a whole new posting.

Severin & Tankard open chapter 12 with bulleted points as to what disadvantaged adults in the United States think about. Most of the bulleted points reflect basic living needs instead of highlighting information savvy people. These points show that when a person's basic living needs are dealt with they are more apt to focus on other things in their lives. While I know how to find the information to all of the bulleted questions, I do not have to deal with any of them in my life. However, the bulleted list does not show very "in-depth" thinking that a more financially stable person would have to deal with. Thus, Severin & Tankard have proven their point from the book, "The Information-Poor in America."

Farther into Chapter 12, Severin & Tankard give some possible reasons fro a Knowledge Gap. I will highlight two with some comments afterwards. "1. There is a difference in communication skills between those high and low in socioeconomic status" (Sevrin & Tankard, 2001). The Minnesota standards for education highlight aspects for every subject that a student needs to know in order to graduate. While these standards have pros and cons, what is not seen is how students are expected to know those standards if they do not have the same vocabulary. A student from a low socioeconomic status has 5000 fewer words comprehended than a student from a higher socioeconomic status. "2. There is a difference in the amount of stored information or previously acquired background knowledge" (Severin & Tankard, 2001). Sure, persons from higher socioeconomic status know more about a subject, but is that person "street smart"? Students from lower socioeconomic status know how to live without much financial rewards and have to know how to navigate their ways around a harsh public assistance system. If the Wall Street Crash of 1930s and 2007 taught us anything, it is that persons of higher socioeconomic status can drastically become financially strapped in the matter of seconds and find themselves without a home due to foreclosure. Now these persons find themselves navigating their ways around a public assistance area without prior knowledge.

One final thought is that these gaps will continue to increase because the facts tell us it will. But, one thing that can be done about this is to focus on the individual student. While students come to the classroom from all backgrounds and have plenty of issues surrounding them, we cannot discount them based on financial, or socioeconomic status. What we should do is teach the subject with high expectations from every student, because everyone deserves the chance to be seen as high achievers. Hope, positive words of encouragement, some extra attention, and a smile may be all that some students need in order to put their best foot forward. Therefore, that is what I intend to do in my classroom because I know there are plenty more Shakespeares, Mozarts, and Einsteins out there.

Overheard Comments

I have a part-time job at Cub Foods to somewhat support myself while I am attending Hamline University. My job is not a career move and I hope to some day end my employment with this business, but not until I find a full-time teaching position, Lord willing, by 2010-2011 school year. I can't wait! I am looking forward to it, too.

As we all know, the checkout areas of all grocery stores have displays of tabloids and magazines. While working last week Monday, I overheard the following comments from some customers who had just noticed the tabloid headlines. I will script the dialogue for clarity purposes:

Person 1: "Man, the media have no idea what is happening in the world, do they?"
Person 2: "Nope. They are in their own little world."
Person 1: "It appears that they just write what they THINK is happening in the world and we're all supposed to believe it."
Person 2: "They need a reality check because they are so out of it."

That is all that I heard because they moved farther away and I lost the rest of the conversation.

My first thought was that the media are a reflection of ourselves and the media are reporting on what is happening in the world. Therefore if they thought that the media were "out of it" then that means that the masses are "out of it" because the media are reporting what is happening, not inventing things (well, tabloids "invent" things, but I think they were referring to People or Time Magazine or something). Also the magazine could have a hidden agenda and using that to sway people towards an opinion that the magazine was supportig. Thus what these two women think is actually the other way around.

Knowing that these two people were far beyond any thought to dissuade them that their thinking was wrong, I did not comment to these two ladies. However, I did say that perhaps they should write a letter to the editor of the magazine if they felt that strongly about it. While now embarrassed that I had heard their whole conversation, they stopped talking. (Hello! I'm checking your groceries two feet from you and I am a person with ears! It amazes me every time when people think that I cannot hear their conversations.)

Growing Up Online Documentary in Class Today

The PBS documentary, "Growing Up Online" that we watched today in class brought up several questions and also forcasted a bleak view of the future of many things that were taken for granted. Specifically, I believe that books are amazing tools, entertainment, and leisure activity and should never go out of style. It scares me to learn that SparkNotes and CliffNotes are used primarily to read Shakespeare. And I would like to state that SparkNotes and CliffNotes are NOT legitimate sources for reading texts as the red-shirted student stated. I was mortified by this statement from that student, but do know that it can happen again in my own classroom some day.

I was shocked to hear that students were so engrossed in MySpace and Facebook for such long periods of time. I have a Facebook page myself and enjoy communicating with my friends this way as it is easier than e-mail and shorter than a phone call. I spend about a half an hour a week on this SNS as that is the only amount I can justify spending on it due to other responsibilities. Well, I guess I am showing my age because I can think critically about this sort of thing and do not need the constant yearn for "you're a great person" from my friends. I also know who I am and what I enjoy so I do not need that constant pressure to impress everyone else.

It was disturbing to see the photos that the students posted on their pages, too. While Autumn Edows was forced to remove her photos from her computer by her parents and she does not have them anymore, it does not mean that the photos are gone. Pictures posted on the Internet have a way of coming back to haunt people. While the teens may be "trying a new" style out for a time, they are not thinking long term effects of their decisions. Once again, the critical thinking aspect pops up again! Those evocative and racy photos can mean a lost scholarship or job in 5-10 years when they are college seniors.

Another thought that I have been pondering is whether this fascination with SNS and computer chatting is a phase for this generation of teens. In my day the popular thing was pagers (remember those!) and having a separate land line in your house separate from you parents phone line. That was my generations "phase" and it was technology based, still. I see a pattern here as technology evolving around us and the teens just being caught up in the technology of the time. I wonder also if this fascination with the SNS ever goes out of style as the teens get older, or do they just continue to be swept up in this mass media frenzy.

As far as teachers go and teachers being more like entertainers rather than teachers, I say no. However, I support the use of new technology in the classroom as a vital tool to use. I question the video presentation with only seeing Chatam, New Jersey school from that aspect and showing a PURELY bored English class in progress to portray the image that students are bored by "traditional" ways of teaching. I have student taught, subbed, and witnessed several teachers of English that bring the material alive without the use of technology. I recognize that students want "the watered down version" of Shakespeare, but stand by the fact that reading the actual text is vital for its survival, student's learning, critical thinking, and reading. Teaching is hard, there is no doubt about that, but school is not a place to be entertained for five hours. Education should be fun, yes, but if I am to entertain, I will quit my education today because I do not believe that I should be like Jerry Seinfeld to get my objectives across to my students. This makes a mockery of our whole education system that is in place in this country. A system that has it's flaws, but one that I believe is great and has plenty to offer students.

World mesmerized by event...but worthwhile use...

As I was exercising three weeks ago, flashing upon the televison screens in front of me were the images of a floating saucer type balloon with a supposed young boy in the basket of the object. As I somewhat watched this event unfold I was amazed by the fact that this was the "event of the day." I also thought that there simply was better news out there to be covered than an hour and a half marathon of three television stations following this event. When looking at the effects of mass media and mass communication, this was surely one to look at. The following day, this same event covered the front pages of the St. Paul newspaper and the Minneapolis newspaper. Talk about publicity! Even Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and David Letterman had their jokes about this event.

The safety of the boy was the main concern for this event. This is important as the boy could have been killed and that is a tragedy for a family. I do not baulk at that and would feel sorrow for that family if had this happened. But the safety of the boy throughout the story was not even known. There was no fact about the boy was there or he was not. So, for two plus hours the news media ASSUMED that the boy was in the balloon. An assumption only? Was this the appropriate use of media for this event? I question the excessive use of media coverage to follow this floating object for over two hours with only repeating statements of what was happening. While some people may have been entertained by this news coverage, I was bored by this because it was not that important.

While we now know what the event was about and the family is being questioned about the event and possibly being charged with neglect and being handed a bill for the costs of the five hour search/following of their son, whom was never even in the balloon object in the end.

I feel that mass media should be used to spread information to massive amounts of people about topics that affect or impact more than just one person.

Updated blog accoount for Mass Communications class, fall 2009, Hamline University.