Education and communities in the media

Music

Suburban: "Heavy Metal Drummer"-Wilco

I love this song! It exemplifies my suburban high school days: going to see bands play in the cafeteria on a Friday night, sometimes actually playing in them (I thought I was sooo cool). And of course the theme of falling in love at a rock concert, something I have done countless times, often with girls who I never even talked to. It perfectly captures how music can made me feel in high school.

Rural: "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"-Lucinda Williams

Exemplifies what I picture when I think of a rural childhood. Sang mostly from the point of view of a child. With lines like “Cotton fields stretching miles and miles/Hank’s [as in Williams] voice on the radio...” and the refrain of “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,” I feel like I can picture exactly the rural South.

Urban: Things Fall Apart-The Roots

While no single song on this album tackles education, the album as a whole exemplifies what is often depicted as the macho self-aggrandizing rap world (although on a deeper level than most rap). It speaks of growing up and living in Philadelphia and becoming famous primarily by defeating other MCs. The urban rap lifestyle is depicted in a poetic and sometimes ironic style.


TV

Suburban: The Simpsons

Classic show about a suburban family from just about anywhere in America. Springfield Elementary satirically depicts good students (Lisa) and bad (Bart and a host of others), the overtaxed teacher, and the principal that cares more about how his school looks than about the education of his students.

Rural: Friday Night Lights

Depicts a rural community through the local high school football team. Football is a central part of the community. Depicts some racial and social tensions that are often thought of as typical of rural communities with a more diverse demographic, such as many communities along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Urban: The Wire

I have never seen this show, but season 4 supposedly depicts a middle school in Baltimore. Reviews are mixed, some praising it as totally real and others saying that it is too dark and pessimistic. This has sparked my interest, and I will definitely check out the show to see what I think of it.


Movies

Suburban: Superbad

This movie is a hilarious tale about me (kind of). My friends and I spent many nights in high school and on summers home from college trying to find a party where we could get wasted and find a girl who actually liked us. Perfectly captures senioritis in spoiled suburban kids with comments like, “...I’m about to graduate. They should be sucking on my b---sack.” All the rest is there, too: running from cops, horrible fake I.D.’s, and trying to get older people to buy us alcohol.

Rural: Napoleon Dynamite

This movie is about a boy in a small Idaho town. It follows his fairly normal life, with little to no plot. Though this is depicted in humorous ways, the impression the movie leaves is that almost nothing happens in rural communities. Many characters are depicted as simple-minded and provincial.

Urban: Requiem for a Dream

Although this movie is not about education, it offers a very certain depiction of urban communities. Three young adults become addicted to heroin while a mother of one of them becomes addicted to diet pills. This depicts urban communities as full of disaffected youths and drug dealers who prey on them when they turn to drugs.


News

Suburban: from the Star-Ledger: Florham Park schools contract with local vendors for lunch

This article reports that Florham Park school district has contracted local restaurants to provide lunch for students. Students’ parents order their lunch online and it is then delivered to the schools. This shows how large a gap exists between urban schools and their suburban counterparts. While suburban parents are able to order restaurant quality food for their children’s lunch, many children in urban schools are on the state’s free lunch program.

Rural: from the Star-Ledger: Somerset Hills, Bedminster to discuss school district merger

This article reports that 2 small rural school districts are considering merging. The article notes that the 2 districts may be looking to save money in these tough economic times, and that merging could save some money. The state also notes that in bureaucratic terms, mergers could make sense, as New Jersey has more school districts than municipalities. This article shows some of the changes that could take place in rural schools as New Jersey tries to reform its education system.

Urban: from the Star-Ledger: Newark mentoring program to link high schoolers, youngsters

This article reports that the city of Newark is starting a mentoring program in which high school students will mentor younger students at a nearby school. While the article strikes a promising tone, it leaves the impression that Newark schools need a lot of help.