DOCUMENT RESUME ED 358 491 CS 503 190 AUTHOR Allen, Sheilah TITLE The World according to Gene Rodenberry. PUB DATE [93] NOTE 20p. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher) (052) EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PCO1 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS English Instruction; Higher Education; Instructional Innovation; *Mass Media Role; Mathematics Instruction; *Popular Culture; Science Instruction; Secondary Education; Time IDENTIFIERS Deep Space 9; *Star Trek; Star Trek the Next Generation; Story Concepts ABSTRACT A teacher of reading across the curriculum uses stories, many based on the television show "Star Trek"or its derivatives "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (STNG) and "Deep Space 9," to illustrate educational theories and practice,. Theteacher began a discussion of the nature of language, meaning and the significance of literacy by discussing an episode of STNG entitled "Darmok" in which an alien race spoke only in metaphor. Humor is present in many episodes of "Star Trek," as wellas concepts like the power of fear. Cultural differences are explored in a number of episodes of STNG. The teacher uses "Star Trek"as an introduction to a lesson and as an impetus for story writing. One of the most enduring qualities of the three series is their focuson problem solving, which can serve as demonstrations for students. The series are also used for teaching the technique of role playing. Episodes of STNG and of "Deep Space 9" can be used to teach contentareas such as English, mathematics, history, physics, chemistry, and biology: "Clues" involves an examination ofspace and time; "Drumhead" involves a Joe McCarthy-like investigator; "Cause and Effect" involves a time loop; "Time's Arrow," involving backward timetravel and Mark Twain; "Emissary" deals with guilt, responsibility,and explaining the nature of time to an immortal-ace; and "The Forsaken" which involves a "shape-shifting" character. "Star Trek"helps teachers and students to think about politics, prejudice, feminism, leadership, addictions, loyalty froma different perspective. (RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best thatcan be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Sheilah Allen THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GENE RODENBERRY* 11411.41 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE T U S DEPAPITMENT OF EDUCATION MATER HAS BEEN GRANTED ESN e nt E ducabonar Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CE NTE R (ERIC, 44os dotumeof has been reprodul ed as ,ererved horn the person or organ.zahon oogsnabng Ir afft-1,- M.nor changes nave been made lc( Improve reproduction Quality TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE S P .. S 01 view or opinions staled In 11(15,1(0u n Jo n,neCeSSarOy represent olfir INFORMATION CENTER 'ERIC) OE RI posd(Lof poleCY Sheilah Allen THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GENE RODENBERRY * "Hollywood,America'sgreatest moderncontributiontoworld culture, is a business, a religion,an art form, and a state of mind? (Paglia, 1992, p. 14) So what does Hollywood have to do with teaching?Perhaps, surprisingly, alot. Inthese daysofmid 1993 thelinesof distinction between reality and fantasyare increasingly becoming blurred.Hollywood helped to elect a president;more and more, the Hollywood view of the world is impactingon us through the all- pervasive media.Thus any story relates to the externalcontext of the Hollywood vision of the present--let alonethe future. Recently I've become aware of the extentto which I use stories to illustrate educational theories and practices. I notice in my classes (I teach about readingacross the curriculum) that when I begin to tell or read a story, the studentsare attentive and focussed in a different way.They seem to relate to the story-tellingmode (the parable model).And the storiesItell are of different kinds,some * For the non-Trekkies inour midst, this will not make sense soyou may as well stop reading here.Even for Trekkies, you may needto buy one of the books about "Star Trek"or "Next Generation" which are listedin the References.By the way, Mac Leans magazinehas discovered that if you wanted to watch "Sror one of the offshoots, you could cio so 23 hours a week if you live in Vancouveror Toronto! Perhaps non-Trekkies needtothink about what studentsare watching as "Next Generation" and"Deep Space 9" are the most popular shows on television. 2 related to the past and some to the present. Favourite examples from the present relate, I must admit, to "Star Trek" or one of its derivatives: "Next Generation" or "Deep Space 9". Ina truly incredible way, "Star Trek" has becomeso much a part of the popular culture that many of us can talk withassurance about characters, episodes, and issues.I should add that other media--books, movies, magazines--and other television shows contributeto discussions in my classes. What does this signify for my teaching practices?I assume that it's important for me torelate my teaching to students' interests and experiences. Through our shared experiences with "Star Trek"we find a common ground. I also assume that in order to teach certain behaviours I need to model ther.l.Making connections isvitally important for making learningcome alive.What does that mean to me, why should I bother to learn, why isitrelevant to my life? These are legitimate questions which deservean answer. In some sense, "Star Trek" provides a futuristic touchstone againstwhich all that we know now can be measured.And because of the positive view of the future left tous by Gene Rodenberry we can go forward with a sense of optimism and hope. The impact ofthis worldview: on teaching practices can't be overemphasized. Inwhat follows, I want toexplorespecific examples from the media, pointing out howbehaviour and attitudes of other cultures and timesconnect to both my classrooms and secondary school classrooms. My purpose is to explore how these 3 environments can interact.At a time of confusion and chaos in the educationalenterprise we needtobe devisingstrategiesfor involving and interesting learners.Enter Hollywood. On a recent rerun of "STNG" ("Star Trek the NextGeneration") Paul Winfield appeared as a reptilian alien who wantedto communicate with the Federation (episode entitled "Darmok").The problem was that his race spoke only in metaphors:eg.Darmok and Jalad by the river in the moonlight.Captain Picard had to figure out whatsuch a 'sentence' meant, thereby enabling the tworaces to communicate. I found the problem-solvingprocess particulary fascinating. The poignant conclusion was indeed Picard'sunderstandingof the metaphoric language accompanied by the deathof the alien captain. He had given his life to establish this link.When I talked about this in my class, we began to explore thenature of language and meaning. The significance of literacy inits broadest sense was raised. Whatever the merits areof learningindirectly as opposed to directly, the metaphors of "Star Trek"work for me. We learn about the meaning of being human fromSpock, the Vulcan; Data, the android; Q of the Continuum; and themany other aliens with whom the Enterprise comes in contact.From the original series to the present, those stories strucka chord with many of us, settingup connections to present learning.Only last week a student,a history major wanting to make past eventsmeaningful to students, asked me about an assignment in relation to "Cityon the Edge of Forever," the classic oldie with Joan Collinsas Edith Keeler.We discussed 4 how he could use this storyas an introduction to a lesson on World War II. If I seem heretobe vacillating between thestory and the metaphors,thisisinpartpurposefulinthatI'mtryingto demonstrate the way Iuse the stories to make a point. If the connections are not clear, Iwill try to make them more overt.This is new territoryfor me asit was for my classes. We made adjustments to each ether in a fairly uniqueway inthat I tried things out on them that were risky forme. For example, prior to introducing a class on helping students to learn fromtext, I asked how many had seen the recent "STNG" in whichCommander Riker-- and a handful of others--were constantly tiredafter rest period. It turned out that they had been abducted byunknown aliens for scientific research.This led to our considering the conferenceat M.I.T.. held earlier this year, in whicha group of multiple abductees share id their experiences. We got into such issuesas ways of knoving,point of view, shared experiences(or thelack). By aroc9ing students' interest in such topics,I was able to make the connection to textbooks which make assumptionsabout student learners. We built together a repertoirefor making text more accessible to secondary school students. To return to the metaphor, "StarTrek" enabled us to reflecton our present experiencesina detached way--we could think about politics,prejudice,femi"ism,leadership,addictions,loyalty and more from a different perspective.The themes in the episodes 5 provided leads forme torelate learning about those topics to learning about the topics inmy classes.When we were considering metacomprehension and metacognition the example I used was from "STNG"--"Yesterday's Enterprise"--in which TashaYar came back (she had been killed ina prior season but was back in an alternative universeinwhichonlyGuinan--Whoopi Goldberg--knewthat something was amiss).The meta concepts became understandable when related to Guinan'sawareness of a different reality.We talked about thenatureof knowing aboutreality,both external and internal--hence the tie