Quote:
Originally posted by Kurt V
All tv is not evil. My daughter is almost 4 now. I spend an hour or so every night with reading, drawing, etc., but an hour is about all a 4 year old has patience for. She then takes her bath and I let her watch this goofy show called "Full House" which while on our level is quite silly, there is always a lesson in it. At the end of the show we always talk about the lesson learned.
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Kurt: I think it is fantastic that you spend time with your daughter every night!
Unfortunately, too many parents let TV babysit their kids. And they don't pay attention to what their kids are watching. (My wife's students watch just about everything out there: Sopranos, CSI: to name a couple) Have you seen what's on the air before 10pm on the networks? (BTW: how many kids these days get to bed before 10pm anyway?) If TV has such a great influence on children, how can you blame the educational system for NOT teaching them the right things, when they are watching TV at HOME and not in school?
Now onto another subject (pun intended) near and dear to our lives: THE INTERNET. I believe that even surfing 'safe' places on the 'net lowers a child's potential for learning. Why? While there are great websites out there (discovery.com comes to mind), most of the kids aren't surfing these educational sites, unless there's a school project to be written! I have to believe that most of the time they are "IM-ing" their friends and speaking that "internet-slang" (How R U? LOL 4EVR! ...etc). Sure, they know how to read works like "CLICK HERE" and "BACK" and they know how to make a smilie out of a : and a ) , but they aren't learning much more than that! (And dont' even mention inappropriate websites!)
Whatever happened to:
-READING A BOOK just for the fun of it?! I grew up on Hardy Boys novels. There were no special effects, maybe a picture or two. But reading these books allowed my mind to develop creativity and imagination.
-Playing outside? I used to play outside with my friends until it got dark. Nowadays, nobody wants to swing on a swingset or play catch: they'd rather be on the 'net wasting time.
-Interacting with friends in REAL LIFE? There was no instant messenger when I was a kid. E-mail? Heck, there weren't even computers at homes!
How the heck did we survive without these in our homes?!? Question is: how will we survive WITH them today?
-Spending time with your family together - talking about what happened during the day?
No, I don't think the education system is to blame for the lack of intellect in our society today. Sure, they are to blame for some of it, but not all....
But I digress... (Sorry for the long post)
-Z-man.