The Children of Telstar

The Children of Telstar

Moody, K. (1999). The children of Telstar. New York: Vantage.

This article is a case study of the Larchmont-Mamroneck public school system’s “coming of age” in the early to mid-seventies in Westchester County, New York.  The article is simply written and is an enjoyable read.  It outlines the introduction of video and televsion production in a Middle School and High School setting under the tuteledge of groundbreaking teachers, most notably, Mike Witsch.  The article doesn’t offer specifics of any one event but illustrates quite simply that the “work” being done in these schools was well ahead of its time.

 

(a television production class at Murray Avenue Elementary, Larchmont, New York 1962. Image from: http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/first-tv-studio-elementary-school)

The most important points in the article are:

“…all the great changes in history have one theory in common: The people caught up in those changes never really know what is happening to them.”  (page 2)”

• Throughout the article there is a sense of excitement and discovery from every participant lucky enough to be present.  The people there surely weren’t aware that their seemingly modest activities would later alter the way media is used and taught in schools.

“…declared ‘understanding media’ [as] a basic skill that should be consciously taught.”  (page 2)

• Possibly the most important idea from the entire article: that ‘understanding media’ is now an important skill to acquire and that it should be directly taught to students.  That media is not a passive experience, but rather a tangible media that can be manipulated by an individual to express themselves.

“…approach these media with a spirit of play and discovery, learn their properties, and later share what we had learned with students and teachers alike.” (page 4-5)

• This sentiment is echoed throughout the paper and resonates well today: learn by playing.  Experiment with different things, try combining two effects together.  What is true of the students and teachers of the television studios in the report is true of students and teachers in computer labs in schools today: learn by playing.

The article can perhaps best be understood by reading the summative statements found on page 121:

“The Mamoroneck Public School System distinguished itself as a media-pioneer in the 1960s and 1970s when it declared understanding media a basic skill–skill that, it advocated, can be achieved best through active use of the newer media, chiefly film and television.  It emphasized producing or ‘writing’ with these media rather than simply watching or ‘reading’ them.

“It was in 1970 that understanding media was declared a basic skill.  By that time it had become obvious to local educators that our media-saturated society required insights into, as well as a practical grasp of, electronic media in order to live with them knowledgeably.  Understanding would become a defense against the onslaught of pervasive television messages, especially if the language or grammar of the medium was mastered.”