Tooning In : Essays on Popular Culture and Education

Suggests that popular culture is vital to how adolescents make sense of the world and educators should tap into it as a tool for imparting critical thinking skills in students. This work critically examines and interprets concepts of popular culture, allowing readers to re-examine the fundamental aspects of popular culture as a societal force.

A collection of eloquent essays, Tooning In critically examines and interprets the concept of "popular culture." Many interesting works have addressed this subject, but few have provided a critical perspective regarding the possibilities of popular culture as a tool for teaching and learning. White and Walker suggest that popular culture is a vital aspect of contemporary life and can be wielded as a tool for efficacy and empowerment, particularly among youth. The book addresses such important questions as: What is the role of popular culture in students'' lives? What are the possibilities for popular culture in schooling and education? What are the differences between traditional and transformative approaches to popular culture? With essays specifically devoted to film, music, television, games, and other alternative popular culture texts, Tooning In invites readers to re-examine the fundamental aspects of popular culture as a societal force.