Guest Post: There’s Power in Teaching Media Literacy by Christine Platt

Person reaches out to me. They say, hey. Do you want to host a guest post from the current Ambassador for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture? Folks, I am only human. I’m not made of stone. Who amongst you could say no to such a request?

The Ambassador in question is Christine Platt, a former Senior Policy Advisor for the US Department of Energy. But even then, even then, I had to be convinced. I mean, your job may be cool but is the premise of your book cool? See, I hadn’t quite realized that Platt was the author behind the new easy book/early chapter book title FRANKIE & FRIENDS. If you missed it this year, here’s a quick recap:

Frankie’s mama is leaving to cover a breaking news story. Frankie, Papa, and Frankie’s teenage sister, Raven, are all proud of Mama, even though they miss her when she’s away. But Frankie has a great idea: she can make her own news show! After all, Mama has told her that news is happening around her all the time. With a little assistance from her friends—including her doll Farrah, Robert the toy robot, and her tabby cat, Nina Simone—Frankie prepares for her first “broadcast.” And when she hears someone crying in the house, she knows that’s the developing story she must cover. With humor, empathy, and imagination, Frankie gets the scoop—and learns that even mature older sisters can miss Mama sometimes.

It is therefore with the greatest pleasure that I introduce to you today the following guest post from, yes, the current Ambassador for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture:

There’s Power In Teaching Media Literacy by Christine Platt

When I first set out to write Frankie & Friends, a chapter book series about a precocious young girl who wants to be just like her award-winning journalist mama, I’ll be honest—using it as a teaching tool for media literacy wasn’t my first consideration. Sure, I wanted the series to introduce young readers to journalistic concepts and terms. But initially, I imagined Frankie & Friends as an opportunity to relive fond childhood memories of my now college-aged daughter. Her love for reporting on anything and everything in her grade school life was both hilarious and heartwarming. Family, friends, neighbors, teachers, and classmates — if you were in her orbit, you knowingly (but most often, unknowingly) knew there was a high probability that whatever information you shared would later be re-shared by my daughter with additional age-appropriate commentary. Hence, the comedy! In retrospect, that season was the beginning of teaching my daughter about the unspoken rules of communication (such as people having reasonable expectations of privacy when little ears are listening) and introducing her to both social and societal rules on what has become an essential call-to-action in education: media literacy. 

“Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create and act using all forms of communication.” – The National Association for Media Literacy in Education

Long gone are the days when the most harm my daughter could do is repeat something she shouldn’t to a small group of family and friends. In today’s digital age, not only are children exposed to an overwhelming amount of media content, they also have more means to share content quickly and easily… and harmfully. From social media apps to online videos and video games, children are increasingly exposed to information that is deemed “newsworthy.” The truth is that most information that young people read, see, and hear isn’t fact-based or well-researched. And even more concerning? The majority of children are unable to distinguish between the two.

“In classrooms across America, a generation of new readers—digital natives who spend more than seven hours online every day and gather information from social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—are struggling to parse fact from fiction“—Edutopia 

As I began plotting Frankie & Friends series storylines, it became impossible not to take young people’s need for media literacy into consideration. Quickly, the series became an opportunity to underscore the critical role media plays in shaping young minds. And perhaps even more importantly, it became an opportunity to educate and empower children to confidently and responsibly navigate print, digital, and social media. 

“I believe storytelling is a tool for social change.” —Christine Platt

Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of communication. And also one of the most accessible methods to widely share information. Through the lens of fiction, Frankie & Friends allows me to tell stories that offer young readers practical guidance on how to navigate our ever-evolving ‘real versus fake’ news landscape. And I allow the core components of media literacy to serve as the guide.

The benefits of teaching children media literacy go beyond learning the difference between a credible source and misleading information. Using critical thinking and analysis is essential to children’s intellectual development, personal growth, and overall well-being. There is power in knowing how to and being encouraged to think critically. There is power in fact-checking claims and challenging assumptions. There is power in forming an independent opinion and understanding that it’s not a universal truth. And this is power that parents, educators, and librarians can expand upon and strengthen over time as children grow older, wiser, and more aware. 

“It’s a whole community effort that’s needed and we can’t rely on individual teachers. They have a lot on their plates.”—Erin McNeill, founder and president of Media Literacy Now

The protagonist in Frankie & Friends is very much like my daughter was all those years ago: playful and intellectually curious. It is my hope that children step into Frankie’s shoes for an imaginative exploration of the news happening all around them. It’s one of the reasons I invite young readers to become a member of the Citizen Press—just like Frankie! The ultimate goal is to educate and inspire the next generation of responsible global and digital citizens. 

When taught to understand the consequences of their written and spoken words and actions, children have more empathy, compassion, and respect for others, both online and offline. Because again, there is power in equipping young people with media literacy. When we do so, we are empowering the next generation of informed, empathetic, and socially conscious individuals who are prepared to shape a better future for themselves and for all of us.

My thanks goes out to Christine for today’s guest post and to Cate Turner for setting this up. The first FRANKIE & FRIENDS title is out today (yay!) so be sure to find yourself a copy at your favorite library or independent bookstore.

Filed under: Guest Posts