Television has created and shaped our culture both in and outside of school. T.V is what portrays the image of popular culture. (Jan 5 2004, notes) With the development of the television in the nineteen fifties, comes the access to world issues and trends such as fashion and language. Because of this, television is said to have a “Globalizing” effect, in which the whole world is linked through television. With this in mind, we see the trends change as times change. Take for example the acid washed jeans, and the neon colours of the eighties or early nineties. This look was thought to be “cool” at the time, but looking back, people often question why they wore the clothes they did. This example can be directly related to the fashions viewed on television at the time. “Every new media changes us” (Jan 5 2004, notes), it changes the way we look, and the wa

In this manner we can see the affects that television has on schools, shaping individual to be more like the “popular culture”. “Television has been the centre of our popular culture for fifty years. It has influenced our identity, who we have become, both as individuals and as a culture.” (Nelson 2002, pg 59) By being forced to go to school kids are exposed to the popular culture every day. They see what the latest trends are and learn the new slang. This exposure in the class- room is different then the exposure of T.V. because nobody is forced to watch television. Television can be turned off at any time unlike school. “Whereas a classroom is a place of social interaction, the space in front of a television set is a private preserve. Whereas in a classroom, one may ask a teacher questions, one can ask nothing of a television screen.” (Nelson 2002, pg 68). In turn, television presents a curriculum, it teaches us how to act how to discriminate and how to present ones-self.

By being part of a sports team one gains a feeling of belonging and acceptance. “Participating in school sports had less to do with physical fitness, improvement of skills and performance, and much more to do with the social aspects of participating”. (Nelsen, 2002, pg 80) Try to name a captain of a football team who didn’t have a date to the prom or a star athlete who failed out of University. Success in athletics, contributes to social success and in many cases success in school. This shows great implications of how being popular and being well liked contributes to recognition inside the class- room.

Students now –a-days are being controlled to be more like the typical “good” student through drugs (Ritalin). “Authorities are drugging children into submitting to school culture”. (Nelsen 2002, pg 99)

Some topics in this essay:
University Success, , North America, popular culture, Christopher Whittle, 2002 pg, nelsen 2002, nelsen 2002 pg, jan 5 2004, outside school, “popular culture”, 5 2004, jan 5, Kingston Ontario, nelson 2002 pg, popular culture schooling, world issues, television created, 2004 notes, 5 2004 notes,