Maya Gwynn
With KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn with Black Perspectives IE, a show we learn about the amazing things members of the Black community are doing in the Inland Empire. My guest today is Micah Amaro, artist and teacher. Thank you so much for being here.
Micah Amaro
Thank you for having me.
Maya Gwynn
I've been wanting to talk about media literacy for a long time. When I think of media literacy, I think of it as a survival skill in a digital age right now. What's the most basic definition you give people to help them understand, especially like when you're teaching kids?
Micah Amaro
At a surface level, it's like things that connect to you in a way, right? Culture-wise, like something you grew up with, something that inspired you, putting those things that you like and define you as a person into a piece of art form, right? Kids, they love certain characters, and at a young age, they don't realize why they like a certain character so much. As they grow up, it's like, Oh, I like this character because it reflected me, like I could see myself in that character, like personality wise, looks wise, just showing them like, hey, you know, you might connect to this thing on a deeper level than what you think, because you could see yourself represented in that piece of media that you enjoy, or a song or like an artist or something like that.
Maya Gwynn
Definitely, or even why you don't like this character. How can people better distinguish between credible journalism, opinion, content, activism and propaganda, especially now when they all look the same and the algorithm is specifically to what you're looking for, so you can just be validated with your own specific opinions all day, if you wanted to.
Micah Amaro
I would say it's really a combination of, I don't think it's necessarily bad to have like algorithm specifically catered to you, but it's also good to kind of connect with other people in different spaces, right? Like, maybe you have a group of friends and you guys all have the same opinion, but, you know, maybe go to, like a local market or a pop up or something, and, you know, talk to people there that might have different opinions and something you could actually have a sit down and have a discussion about, and you get kind of like a little pot full of different opinions and perspectives to see, like, oh, okay, you know, maybe I agree more with this person, rather than what I just know myself.
Maya Gwynn
How does exposure to misinformation or sensationalized content affect children's emotional development that you've seen?
Micah Amaro
I would say it kind of puts them in a box in a way, like they feel like they need to act a certain way, because they see it popularized right? A lot of phrases that kids say.
Maya Gwynn
I just saw that In-N-Out, they're not doing the number 67 anymore, because people just keep yelling "six seven".
Micah Amaro
Like you don't understand why you're saying it, or why you think it's funny. It's like, oh, just because my friend thought it was funny, I find it funny. And I feel like that could go with negative things. It kind of hurts, especially if you have a group of kids who are all thinking that same mindset. It's kind of hard to break them out of that individually, because they just go right back into that group and they're just like, oh, well, they still think this way. So I'm going to think this way. I really feel like it hurts their personality. It kind of hurts what they're able to do and grow into.
Maya Gwynn
Their individuality. That makes complete sense. And I'm curious what some of the realizations that you got in real time when teaching, especially elementary school kids media literacy. Were you talking about like, politics? Or were you talking about -
Micah Amaro
I would try to bring in something relevant that I probably feel like they were experiencing in their day to day lives, like where we had the fires. And, you know, a lot of kids express, well, why am I even in school when there's a fire going on? Things like that. Like, I kind of let them talk about that while they're drawing, like, even if the drawing that they're doing had nothing to do with the fires.
Maya Gwynn
Would you bring in headlines?
Micah Amaro
Yeah, little things like that, just to show them, this is what's going on. And I always tell him, like, kid was like, Well, I don't want to play outside because I keep coughing, because there's smoke in the air, there's ash in the air. I said, that's a valid point. And I said you could tell your teacher that and maybe ask your other classmates, do you guys feel like playing outside? Because we're all coughing. And I would always express to him, it's okay to voice those opinions. I'm like, because if you voice them out, especially like to your friends, or here in a school setting, in a classroom, there might be other people that agree and are like, Oh yeah, and they just didn't have the courage to say something, and you did. And so that kind of helps them with that. So just little things that they would kind of bring up on their own, like maybe they were dealing with a family member, or, like, just something that they've seen on the news or heard their parents talk about, and we would talk about it. And I think having art, or like, a piece of activity to do while they're talking about those things really helps. Because even if that activity has nothing to do with what they're talking about, just keeping busy drawing, painting, coloring as they're like, processing those opinions and emotions about the topic, I think it kind of makes them feel safe and comfortable.
Maya Gwynn
Definitely. So it seems like what you're describing, it's kind of - when I thought of media literacy, like I saw a TikTok where a teacher is talking to kids and they're like, okay, well, this was after a national team loss, and they're looking at the only Black woman, and then they zoomed in on her face. And then he asked them, like, why do you think they're zooming in on her specifically? But it seems like what you're talking about is that you're using media literacy as just like a safe space to just talk about emotions and feelings and I love that. That's really interesting. If you could change one thing about media education in schools across America, what would it be and why?
Micah Amaro
Being okay with the idea of being uncomfortable with certain topics. I feel like we kind of don't want to talk about certain things because we don't want to make people uncomfortable. But sometimes we have to do that really. We have to do that in order to have the bigger discussions, and even if it's something that's fixable, right? Like, that's how we get things done and fixed and talk about it, especially from a young age with kids, to kind of help them form those cognitive thoughts and actually think things through.
Maya Gwynn
Have you had any pushback from parents who are, like, kind of afraid of what you're talking about?
Micah Amaro
Sometimes, especially when it comes to, like, the LGBT community. I've had pushback. I know I've advocated for a few students, especially when it comes to my trans students. I had one school, they wanted to send a paper to let parents of those students know that they changed their name. But I'm like, I don't think that's a safe thing to do, just in case, you know whatever is going on at home. Luckily, that was something that they hadn't started doing, and one of my students told me about it, and I went to the office that same day. I was like, I don't think that's a good idea.
Maya Gwynn
Have you had any pushback just with people? Maybe the irony of people not knowing what media literacy is?
Micah Amaro
Yeah, especially when it comes to art, and parents like seeing what their kids created, because I do have them do a lot of projects that are personal to them, right? And things that maybe their parents didn't know that they are into or think about. A lot of parents are understanding once I explain to them. I think that also helps them to have those conversations with their kids too, and kind of talk about things and be more in tune with what their kids like and need.
Maya Gwynn
That's amazing. Okay, we're gonna move to a rapid fire portion. If your work had a theme song, what would it be?
Micah Amaro
What is the thing that I listen to often to kind of get me through the day? For some reason, the Hawaiian Christmas song has been in my head like daily.
Maya Gwynn
If you have to teach a master class or give a TED Talk on a random skill you have besides what you do already, what would it be?
Micah Amaro
Social media and how we consume it basically.
Maya Gwynn
What's your favorite IE restaurant or just a landmark that reminds you of the Inland Empire?
Micah Amaro
I love Mitla Cafe. Fun fact about that one, though. So the creator of Taco Bell actually ate there like years ago, before Taco Bell was even thing, and that's how he got his hard shell tacos recipe is from that one. And it's like a staple in San Bernardino.
Maya Gwynn
And how can people keep up with you and support your work or your art?
Micah Amaro
Follow me on social media at amaroart96 and that's where I mostly post.
Maya Gwynn
Nice. Thank you so much for being here, Micah.
Micah Amaro
Thank you for having me.
Maya Gwynn
Micah Amaro is an artist and teacher. Find this segment and others at kvcrnews.org/bpie. Support for the segment comes from the Black Equity Fund at IECF, advancing racial equity and supporting long term investments and black led organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Join us again next week for Black Perspectives IE. For KVCR Public Media, I'm Maya Gwynn. Thank you.
