Chapter 6 - The Design of Learning Environments
OK, so we had more of the same things to read for this chapter. I thought the book was kind of repeating itself because I saw the same concepts that I read earlier in the book --- concepts like having learning environments that are learner-centered, knowledge-centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered... and so on and so forth.Until I got to page 149 and got to read about television. What it basically says is that educational TV is ok; and children will get the greatest benefit of watching entertainment TV if watched with the guidance of an adult. This is common sense; everything that kids do is better (or made safer) with caring adults around.
I grew up watching The Electric Company. I still sing some of its songs to my daughters even though it has been off the air for decades. But that is how deep an impact the show had on me. I was an impressionable child when I watched that show; every song that they sang I sang it too. Every dance that they did I danced it too. Every stunt that they pulled... well, suffice it to say that my parents should probably thank their lucky stars that The Electric Company is educational TV at its finest.
Which is why we have to be wary of the television acting as babysitter to our kids. Yes, it does have its educational benefits but for the most part, kids watch it because of its entertainment value. And that is where the danger lies.
posted by arlene chua @ 11:07 PM
3 Comments:
At 10:21 PM,
M-ages said…
I understand your point about the television, especially how it can greatly impact our lives. When my son was growing up, he loved Barney and would pretty much do the same replica of the show as you did with Electric Company. He learned songs, dances, and would find comfort in it all.
Times have changed and will continue to change. I try to grasp my son's attention now with world facts. He has grown from cartoon network - to teen nick - and now appreciating our worldly events. He's 9 and I want him to realize the world for what it's worth. The good and the bad. This way I can stir up some emotions to help him engage in something other than entertainment.
At 10:27 AM,
Devi's ED630 Blog said…
I agree with your blog but I gues I have seen both the good and bad of children watching television. My ex-boyfriends nephew grew up watching winnie the pooh cartoons. His parents did not notice it but he started talking like the charater tiger. This affected his speech dramatically, he had do go through speech theraphy just to fix the problem. But on the other hand my nephew loves to watch TV, he learns so much from the TV. His favorite channel is the animal planet, I was so amazed that he new the so many names of different animals. Some of them I did not even know.
I guess there are two sides to watching television. If parents were able to monitor what their children watch maybe that would work.
At 3:58 AM,
Pamela said…
The Electric Company was such a big thing for me when I was young. As I saw the post with the icon of the Electric Company, I immediately starting to sing the theme song! I wish that there were more programs like this on television. I think that most of the programming today is inappropriate for children. I do think that there are many good programs to take advantage of but they do not outweigh the abundance of others. This is the reason I do not purchase cable. I want to control what my children watch and since I cannot be there all day for them and they have a window of opportunity to watch television after their homework is done, I choose the programming for them, or they choose something from the video store or library that they are interested in watching and show it to me first. I have been criticized for being too strict with programming and television, however, I am not the parent that complains that the cable was out and the kids were driving them crazy. Right now, I am looking at my two children one laying on the couch and the other on the carpet, both reading the books that they bought over the weekend as they have completed their assignments already and it is raining outside. They have not turned the television on yet and have not asked to do so because they are occupied. So, parents, give it a try. Get your kids into other forms of entertainment other than the television. You'll be glad you did!
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