In the 1960s many teachers in the British secondary schools began a major effort to redefine their attitude toward the mass media in the light of certain social and cultural pressures. Changes in students made it necessary to provide materials of a less formal academic kind and to introduce literature, music, and art that would relate more integrally with the pupils' own tastes rather than shape their perceptions unwillingly into an elitist mold. No longer could the teaching of English rest secure on the postwar assurance that there was a set of explicit grammatical skills and a literary heritage to be taught. Discussions of the mass media were introduced during this period. Textbooks suggested newspaper and advertising analysis activities, introduced the topic of popular culture, and included some modern poetry. At the beginning of the decade a position of absolute condemnation of the mass media was prevalent, but by the late sixties the task appeared to be one of helping children to discriminate the good from the bad in popular culture. Teaching suggestions were given using popular magazines and television scripts. The syllabi of the examining boards also changed over this decade with popular literature being added to the lists. (MKM)