The teaching of media texts as a form of textual construction is embedded in the assumption that audiences bring individual preexisting dispositions even though the media may contribute to their shaping of basic attitudes, beliefs, values, and behavior. As summed up by D. Lusted, at the core of such textual construction are basic assumptions that include four postulations: (1) all media are constructions; (2) audiences negotiate meaning; (3) the television curriculum represents ideology and values and has social and political implications; and (4) the nature of media messages can affect social attitudes and behavior. For many people individual attitudes and world view about others seem natural and common knowledge. However, what seems so natural is actually learned from a person's earliest moments and becomes part of his or her social experience. It is not surprising therefore for teachers to take television for granted sometimes. They do not assist their students in examining its assumptions critically. A survey administered at a workshop on media literacy at Pennsylvania State University showed that most of the 20 language arts and English teachers attending were not aware of what they could do about media in their classrooms. Contemporary critical theory and media studies point out that the most glaring failure of United States schools in this decade is the failure to situate learning in its cultural context. (Contains a table of data and 12 references.) (TB)