“Grandpa’s Drum”: Analyzing Gatekeepers’ Online Discussion of Molly of Denali/Indigenous Children’s Boarding School Experiences

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 3:05 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Perspectives on Children's Media (Table 18)

Abstract

The question of when to introduce young children to “difficult” histories is one many caregivers and educators must consider in raising and teaching a child in the world. This poster will examine the social media reception of adult gatekeepers discussing an episode of the PBS Kids' show Molly of Denali that considers the historical removal of Indigenous children from their homes and families to residential schools. Drawing from publicly shared posts on the subject across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, it is suggested that viewers considered the work developmentally "appropriate", and rated “Grandpa’s Drum” a thoughtful, positive representation of how to begin an ongoing discussion of a terrible period in history.

Author

• Maritza Moulite, University of Pennsylvania