ABSTRACT
This essay reflects on the ways in which the pandemic has made inclusion and equity urgent priorities for media educators. Boundaries between home and school, private and public spaces, formal and informal learning, and mediated and nonmediated worlds have been blurred. The widening divides in media access, information literacy, educational resources, and health disparities have become a glaring reality. What “inclusion” and “equity” mean has been questioned, challenged, and refined during the pandemic. Inclusive media practices cannot be generalized universally. Instead, they should be examined within the contexts in which they emerge. There is a recognition that identities, systems, and cultures are intersectional, dynamic, and situational. Some questions that we can ask of ourselves are about whose voices and experiences are ignored, silenced, or erased within media education spaces. As media educators, we need to reflect on our responsibilities and roles in addressing inequalities within these spaces by centering issues of radical care, compassion, empathy, and honest dialogues to help cope with the grief, loss, and instability all around us. Grounded in the Trauma-informed, Equity-minded, Asset-based Model (TEAM) approach, I share my insights and perspectives on inclusive practices and their implications for the future of media education.
