Kids Getting Their Education From the TV
Dana had a post a few days ago the stuck in my head. She discussed kids who are already saturated with media now also getting their education from such. The first time I read this it seemed ridiculous. Kids learning to read from the closed captioning? Are any parents really going to turn on a movie rather than read to their kids?
Sadly, it’s probably more likely than I want to admit. Look at the “educational TV” already out there. One big one for kids, that I’ll admit we’ve tuned into on those mornings when we’re barely functioning, is Miss Lori and Hooper. For those not in the know, Miss Lori teaches preschool every weekday mornign on PBS Kids. That’s right, you can get your child’s preschool done through the TV. Rather than playing with your kids yourself or sending them to a preschool where they can interact with othr kids and a few adults you can just turn on the TV and walk away.
I’m sure, or at least hoping, that most parents don’t actually do that. They’ll watch it with their kids, intract, play along, and probably not watch the whole morning block. Around here Big Big World, one of the shows in the block, is the perfect way to entrtain my sons enough so that I can make breakfast without them killing each other or hanging on my legs. But once the food is on the table the TV goes back off and usually stays that way. We make exceptions for days when the flu bug has hit or if it’s raining cats and dogs and the kitchen floor is now mud. But the potential to abuse it is there, and I’m a bit afraid that it might be used in the place of actually engaging with the child more often than we think.
I mean if there are parents who think turning on the closed captioning is a great way to teach thir two-year old what letters and words mean there are probably just as many parents who think a preschool show on TV is just as good as an actual preschool.
TV, preschool, education, PBS Kids, Miss Lori and Hooper
October 6th, 2007 at 8:28 am
[...] wrote an interesting post today on Kids Getting Their Education From the TVHere’s a quick [...]
October 6th, 2007 at 9:54 am
I know this true and sad. I just recently started watching my 2 nephews again. The oldest lived with us till he was 2. We were planning on home schooling him. But his mom did her thing (long story) so, now he lives with maw maw. His mother lives there also, but she doesn’t do the mother thing. ma maw and I do that.
Okay, I said all that to say this. The other day I asked Eli if he wanted to come and do school with us. He screamed no school! PBS kids is school.
Sad to say before his mom got a job she neglectfully did not put him in Head Start which is a free program. (another long sad story) But, she has convinced this child that he was getting school for she could lay up and sleep all day til maw maw came home, then she would go roaming.
I can’t believe the people in this world that have kids and don’t want to be parents.
Okay, sorry for my rant, but that hits home and a nerve.
Thank you for posting this!
October 6th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
I think I’m guilty of going to the other extreme. We’ve had a ban on TV during the school week for a very long time now but since we’ve begun homeschooling, I’ve realized that in some cases it’s causing us to miss out on some great learning opportunities. There are some great shows on Discovery Channel, History Channel, A&E, etc. I need to get in the habit of checking the schedules to find those shows that relate to our studies. I think TV can be a resource we can use to teach our kids. But like other resources, they get the most out of it if the teacher is involved.
October 6th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
One thing that really shocked me is the fact that average television viewing by children drops in half when they start school…from four hours a day to two hours a day!
And here is what really bugs me. No one asks a parent who parents by the television set “What about socialization?” It is a twisted world.
October 7th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Katie, that is horrible for your poor nephew. I have a cousin of a cousin who works nights and sleeps days. She would just leave her son in his crib in his room alld ay while she slept. he’s now 3 and doesn’t talk, feed himself, and barely walks. it’s hard to see that sort of thing happeneing.
Carol, we’re pretty much a no TV family. There are those moments when it comes in handy, and I’ll admit that I get hooked into Travel Channel after the kids are in bed.
It’s just got to be about moderation, and it seems like for some parents it isn’t.
Dana, I’m trying to imagine 4 hours of TV. Even 2 hours seems like too much. And you’re right, with so much TV time where’s the socialization?
October 7th, 2007 at 3:59 am
[...] Summer Minor wrote a fantastic post today on “Kids Getting Their Education From the TV”Here’s ONLY a quick extractShe discussed kids who are already saturated with media now also getting their education from such. The first time I read this it seemed ridiculous. Kids learning to read from the closed captioning? Are any parents really going to turn … [...]
October 10th, 2007 at 3:29 am
My grandmother insists to this day that another grandchild learned to read from watching Sesame Street. He ended up graduating from the Naval Academy so he is really smart, but she uses this bit to harass me about not having a TV. It doesn’t matter apparently that 2 of mine (7,9) have learned to read without Big Bird and Elmo and seem to spend most of their free time reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys!
November 6th, 2007 at 12:01 am
[...] I wonder if there really are parents out there that need tips on how to talk to their children. Or if there are children that need their parents to know how to “teach them to think”. Is this a big enough problem that it needs to be focused on? Perhaps an effect of children being taught by TV? [...]