Total Eclipse of the Brain

The glaring light of the television screen has finally grown bright enough to eclipse the more mundane things in life, such as books, knowledge, and learning.  Personally, I can understand the allure of the dazzling images and sounds provided by the silver screen.  I was the only first grader at my school who couldn’t read.  Not that it mattered much to me; I was mostly concerned with important things like my career as a ballerina and whether Muffy would ever start being nice on my favorite T.V. show, Arthur.  Unaware of the detrimental side effects of educational television, I was perfectly content with receiving my entire education from Between the Lions, a show I tried to watch everyday.  My parents, however, couldn’t seem to let it go.  They understood that my education, imagination, and future were dependent upon me avoiding the havoc television can wreak on young minds.
 On my sixth birthday, I excitedly tore away at the wrapping paper on my first present.  To my horror, the present I unwrapped was a book!  It wasn’t even a picture book but a gigantic chapter book entitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
 This was almost as bad as getting clothes for my birthday.  To make things worse, the next night my mom sat me down and insisted we read the book together.  I listened to her read, stubbornly pretending I couldn’t care less about the book, but I gave myself away by screaming “No don’t stop!”  when she finished the first chapter.  For the next few months I used every ounce of persuasion and emotional blackmail I could muster to convince anyone and everyone to read to me.  When they couldn’t keep up with my five hours of reading a day, I picked up a book and discovered that the words finally made sense to me.  In those few months, my reading comprehension went from nonexistent to an eighth grade level.  The amount of television I watched dropped basically to zero.  In the battle between books and TV, my heart was firmly on the side of books.
 As I got older, I started reading anything I could get my hands on.  I never understood the kids who would complain when a teacher assigned something to read. One day not that long ago,  I cam across an article called “Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” by reporter Francine Prose.  In it, Prose argues that children do not become readers because of the “quality” of the books they read in their high school and middle school English classes.  She points the finger at teachers for guiding students too much when discussing books and blames them for student’s lack of interest in books (91).  However, perhaps a relationship with literature is meant to be developed much earlier in life.  Sherman Alexie, the well known author of The Lone Ranger shares a story similar to my own.  He began his lifelong love of books with a superman comic at the age of three.  Because he watched his father read stacks and stacks of books, he wished to learn to read himself.  He then used the information he learned from books to vault himself into educational glory, becoming one of the few Native Americans in his tribe to graduate college (110-111).  Not all children are as fortunate as Mr. Alexie and myself.  I am sure some of you do not have the time or inclination to spend the hours reading to your children that mine did.  Maybe you are unaware of the joyous wonders books will bring.  It wouldn’t be surprising if you didn’t know the problems that can arise from television in which stations will advocate their use of “educational programs” frequently.  Unfortunately, even educational programs can be more harmful than beneficial to your children.
 The average child devotes more than 11 hours to the small screen every week (Stern).  This is time that could be spent learning, exercising, or playing- things that require thought and develop personality. An article written by Andrew Stern titled  “T.V. is Bad for Children’s Education, Studies Say,” mentions a study published Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.  The study shows that children who spend more than nine hours a week watching TV have lower averages on standardized tests.  The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents not to allow children under the age of two to watch any television, including educational programs, because there is no conclusive evidence that the programs help children of that age at all.  In fact, a study done at the University of Washington suggested that poor cognitive development is linked to television watching of children under three and children aged sic to seven also.  The fast pace at which images and sounds are shown on television shows overpower the central nervous system.  This means that children who watch a lot of television may develop attention deficit disorder and have trouble paying attention in school.  The same study showed that even children between the ages of three to five receive little benefit from educational television.  It shows that children who watch these educational programs receive little to no benefit with reading comprehension and mathematics (Stern).  After considering this information, some questions must be asked.  What is the point of Mickey Mouse teaching children to add coins on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse?  Why are so many parents spending money on Your Baby Can Read! a program the creator, Robert Titzer, suggests parents begin playing for their youngsters at the age of three months?  Could it be that companies are taking advantage parents who want their children to receive a good education?
 When parents plop their young ones in front of the television, they are comforted by the fact that their child is learning Chinese with Kai-lan or Spanish with Dora.  Maybe they are learning the three special steps to tying their shoes with Special Agent Oso.  Perhaps they are figuring out how to share with Calliou.  All of these shows emphasize the fact that they are educational programs (they list all of the possible educational benefits before playing the program), however, the amount of knowledge acquired from them is questionable at best.  Watching TV doesn’t require children to go through many though process.  In fact, television can numb the minds of young ones and make it more difficult for them to concentrate.  Think of it this way: When your child reads about a castle, they are forced to use their imagination to picture what it looks like.  When they look at a castle on the television, they do not.  On the other hand, books can teach anyone on practically any subject.  There are interactive Baby Einstein books that teach shapes and colors.  At the library, one can find books that teach Spanish, math, and science.  Books can show your children that you will love them forever and explain that there will always be room on mama’s lap.  There are also books that prepare children for new siblings, for potty training, for kindergarten and for giving up their blankies.  These books can teach everything that educational programs claim to, and they can do it without the adverse effects that televisions bring.  Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about free thinking students who want to learn in essay “Education.”  He said that if you give students the tools to learn, such as language and books, they will be able to learn on their own (103).  While the picture he paints is quite enticing, it seems improbable that such a situation could exist in today’s society.  Children become accustomed to television shows where there is little room for their won interpretations.  Unfortunately, these children miss out on an opportunity to become their own person.
 For me, the choice between books and television is clear.  I am sure that the day I received that Harry Potter book I was convinced that I would hate has brought me tremendous opportunities in my education, while saving me from the dangers of watching too much TV.  The irony of educational television becomes obvious when one takes a look at the facts of the subject.  Any possible benefits children may receive are far outweighed by the consequences that are brought by frequent television watching.  If one can see past the sophistry that surrounds this topic, they will find the education of children is harmed by watching television, including educational programs.  These shows discourage imagination, hinder the education of young children, and teach nothing that cannot be taught better with a book.  Read to your children and open a new world of creativity and imagination to them.