Like the blind men and the elephant, teachers often practice one small aspect of media education and conclude that they have the whole picture. The barriers to media education in the United States are still formidable, but there are indications that educators working under these arbitrary categories are beginning to intellectually cross-pollinate in order to position media education as an important cornerstone for teaching students democratic citizenship skills in a complex, technological world. The critical viewing materials received mixed reviews from teachers. Because media education was linked in the public's mind with the recreational technology of television, the critical viewing curriculum was seen as an unnecessary frill and new funding for computer literacy programs pushed critical viewing off the education agenda. It is important to note that this type of kneejerk political response to educational reform has resulted in a long history of disjointed funding and confused teaching practices in the United States.
Media education is no exception.
The federal agencies, followed by the communication industries, eliminated almost all guidelines regulating children's programming. Protectionist coalitions are still working with mixed success to restore minimum regulation of children's programming, especially guidelines for advertising directed at children. The protectionist stance toward media education is a logical extension of the traditional educator's role of gatekeeper to the curriculum and as arbitrator of taste. Another facet of protectionism focuses on health issues. Values such as conspicuous consumption, the supremacy of the individual over societal concerns, environmental destruction as a cost of progress, and competition as opposed to cooperation, are thorny, open-ended philosophical issues in U.S. society.