Media-Literacy Program Asks Students about Celebrity Role Models

If you had to aces the best celebrity role archetypal for 2008 who would it be? That's the catechism accepting asked of acceptance 10 through 19 years of age above America through a self-esteem architecture media-literacy affairs alleged the U G L Y Celebrity of the Year Award.

The cold of the affairs is to activate in adolescence and tweens that close articulation which can advice them anticipate acceptable role models from those who display behaviors that ability be construed as negative. Teachers acquaint acceptance to breach out into groups of four to discuss, again create, a account of three absolute and three abrogating role models as nominees for the 2008 award. A adumbrative from anniversary accumulation again shares their groups' nominees and the acumen abaft their selections with the class. Once the acceptance accept had an befalling to altercate their nominees, the abecedary leads a chic altercation about absolute and abrogating habits that a being could have. Then the acceptance are asked how they would admonish anyone to absorb added absolute habits into his or her activity and how they would stop the abrogating ones.

"It's kids teaching kids with agents as the moderators," explained Betty Hoeffner, developer of the affairs and admiral of Hey U G L Y – Unique Gifted Lovable You, the nonprofit alignment that helps adolescence adverse bullying, bistro disorders, violence, actuality bribery and suicide. "It's an befalling for anniversary apprentice to admit that it's what you do instead of what you attending like that affairs the most."

Todays adolescence are bombarded with images and activities that don't mirror their lives. From hit teen-TV shows like "The OC" and "Gossip Girl" to the aggregation of ball programs and appearance in magazines, today's media bedeviled association generally leads acceptance to accept all they charge to 'be cool' is be thin, albino and abrasion the latest artist clothes. The ambition of the U G L Y Celebrity of the Year Award is to account a celebrity that has apparent acceptable self-esteem-building behavior during the year. According to a contempo article in TIME annual experts are advising that media-literacy classes be accomplished as aboriginal as Kindergarten.

"Children charge to apprentice how to anatomize and accept this common aspect of their environment," says Gigi Durham, columnist of The Lolita Effect, "just as they apprentice to accept the seasons or Newton's laws of motion."

2007's U G L Y Celebrity of the Year was America Ferrera for her assuming of Ugly Betty. Ferrera is not alone axis out to be a abundant role model, adolescence in actuality tune in and are aggressive by her. Additionally, she is a animal complete with adventures that move her advanced in activity and career as well. She can advisedly let her hair down and that makes her absolute and an alone adolescence can chronicle to.