Ro
En
Рy
What is media literacy, how can we critically analyze information, and why is developing analytical thinking important? On Tuesday, September 8, 30 ninth-grade pupils from Russian speaking classes at Dimitrie Cantemir Lyceum in Chisinau discussed these questions during a media education lesson organized by the Independent Journalism Center.
The lesson was moderated by journalist Dumitru Stoianov, who spoke to the pupils about conscious consumption of information, the value of a multilaterally educated person in a digital age, and the power of media.
“Media Education as an optional subject is a school course that helps you distinguish true information from false, urges you to protect yourself in the virtual world, and shapes your awareness as a responsible digital citizen. Regardless of the profession you choose in the future, Media Education helps you turn into critical thinking personalities. Such skills will always be in demand”, the journalist says.
Aliona Pintea, deputy principal of the lyceum, mentions that Media Education is an extremely necessary subject in the present-day society, as it develops pupils’ ability to analyze and teaches them to become conscious information consumers.
Neli Verejan, 9th grade pupil, considers that media education is useful and necessary, especially in the conditions of distance learning. “We need to know what resources we could use to be protected in the virtual space”, the pupil says.
Olga Marcenco, 11th grade pupil, mentions that media literacy has become a necessity due to an enormous flow of information in today’s society. “We must learn to be able to see who tells us the truth and who lies. Besides, in the virtual space, we have to keep certain rules of conduct in mind, otherwise, our identity can be stolen”, the pupil considers.
Since 2019-2020 academic year, Media Education is taught at all the three levels of education – primary, gymnasium, and lyceum, and in 2020-2021 academic year, the subject has begun to be taught at Dimitrie Cantemir Lyceum.
Media education lessons are conducted by the Independent Journalism Center in partnership with Internews in Moldova within the project “Increasing Support for Independent Russian-Language Media and Efforts in the Sphere of Media Education”. The project is financially supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. One of the project objectives is developing Russian-speaking pupils’ critical thinking.
