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Back to Subjects - Social Issues

television

television Television Literacy: Can Education Be Accomplished Through TV Problems with kids and television have existed since the invention of this media instrument. For example, parents are concerned with the number of hours children spend in front of the television, as well as the amount of violence represented in different programs. Most important, parents are speculating as to what educational value TV actually has. People have always wondered about effects television could have on individuals. By the late 1980 s, an increasingly deregulated broadcasting industry had achieved some powerful victories over education. Shows with a greater amount of controversial subject matter started to air. Censorship was decreased a great deal. On average, children between the ages of six and twelve are watching 20 to 28 hours of television a week, which almost equals the 35-40 hours kids spend in school. Some claim, however, that TV has begun to dominate more than just time. Television projects the characteristics of the cultural environment surrounding it. People like David Marc believe television "leaves behind a body of dreams that is, to a large extent, the culture we live in," and he concludes that television, not education, is the "most effective purveyor of language, image, and narrative in American culture." (1) However, others continue to stress the "ultimate effect" television has on education. It is recognized by Leon Botstein that "the simplification and standardization of language" controls the extent of expression and thought. Because of this, "eloquence and even originality, from the perspective of the classroom" have become insignificant. (3) It is the opinion of the Center for Educational Priorities that by the 1990 s, television had teamed with popular culture to downplay education. Examples of this can be seen in shows like Beavis and Butthead. It is claimed that anti-intellectualism has reached a frightening level as teachers have begun to confront a television culture of slander and aspersion. Television s apparent attachment to "everything dumb" sparked a complaint from Newsweek that "Stupidity, served with knowing intelligence, is now TV s answer to real smarts," implying that sarcasm is the real indication of brilliance (3) Esquire s Jamie Malanowski agrees by concluding, "So this is what we ve come to: smart people then matched quotes from Shakespeare; smart people now match Many people may find it hard to imagine a world without television. The conservatives who despise and ridicule TV concentrate on "cultural literacy" while overlooking actual literacy, which means they are only focusing on the popular ideas that are stupid instead of focusing on the intelligent ideas that are popular. The problem of student illiteracy is a constant problem with a long history, not necessarily a crisis. However, critics of TV are ignoring real problems that are more appropriately labeled, "crises," than such conservative anxieties like political correctness, radical professors, and the inability of students to quote Shakespeare. Media critics are also concerned with free speech issues, but they will deny academic freedom to scholars who disagree with them. They ridicule humanistic investigation into music, video, and film, denouncing media studies and the academic freedom necessary to conduct such studies. If students cannot depend on the freedom to explore media like movies and television, how can they be exposed to everything technology today has to offer? Taking away these resources, as some critics have suggested, may prove to be just another form of censorship. Children will have their ideas decided for them. The goal of skeptics who consider television a threat to education should be to utilize television and think of it instead as a path to a more enhanced form of learning. If kids are so amazed and influenced by television, why not educate them while they are watching? The potential and promise of the television medium for instructing at all levels was recognized by educators early in the television age. (Zigerell 2) Excitement about the potential of television for education was further propelled by the passion of a new breed of specialists called educational technologists who began to appear in numbers in schools and on college campuses in the late 1950 s and 1960 s. (3) Statements like this excerpt from a 1962 study, "the advent of television...has given Americans unparalleled opportunities to advance in the ability to record and communicate ideas," displays the excited feelings television and the communications media inspired in some teachers. (3) Planners at organizations like UNESCO were quick to realize the potential of television in attacking the urgent educational problems of the world s developing countries. (Zigerell 5) They believed television fulfilled several important needs, including: the need to improve instruction in the classroom, the need to teach those who will themselves be educators of the young and old, the need to disseminate literacy and the skills necessary for living in an urban technological society, the need to provide continuing education for adults, and the need to provide extensions of the school and college. (6) Most of these needs are of primary interest to anyone concerned with continuing education. In this regard, it is easy to see the potential benefits of media literacy. In the words of J. A. Anderson, "Media literacy is the skillful collection, interpretation, testing, and application of information--regardless of the medium of presentation--for some purposeful action." (3) It is generally agreed that people learn best if they take an active role in their own learning. (Adams and Hamm 10) Ultimately, the decision as to what each person pays attention to or ignores is up to that person individually. TV networks obviously control what people watch to a certain point, but beyond this, the choice is personal. Speculative thought and imaginative active play are a vital part of the growth process of a child. (10) Recent research has shown that, contrary to conservative belief, children must do active work in order to watch TV, make sense of its substance and make use of its meaning. (11) Examining activities include judging and designating merit, determining what is valued, and deciding what positive and negative interpretations should be delegated to the material. In this way, children are active members in assessing television s meaning. (11) However, with the good must always come the bad. Through an emphasis on show business ethics, fictional treatment of subject matter, and magical effects, television is likely to distort a person s vision of reality. (Adams and Hamm 11) Heavy TV watchers have a perception of the world that is more like what they view on the tube than what the world is actually like. (11) Data have also suggested that children who view television more often are likely to be less imaginative and that children already subjected to imaginative activities are less attracted to TV. (11) But in spite of these negative aspects, heavy viewing does not automatically stunt personal growth or encourage poor academic achievement. (11) Television literacy objectives enable the student to understand the grammar and syntax of television, as it is expressed in different program forms, analyze the appeals of television advertising, and compare similar presentations or those with similar purposes in different media. (Anderson 11) These objectives help students identify values in language, characterization, conflict resolution, and sound/visual images, as well as elements in constructive presentations affiliated with the ideas of plot, storyline, theme, characterizations, motivation, program formats, and production values. (11) Television literacy helps children utilize tactics for the management of viewing length and program choices. It also describes the technical processes of television. (12) The objective should not be to deprive children of television. Whether one likes it or not, TV has become an important device in the United States, as well as in the rest of the world. Children should not be kept away from this form of media. Instead, children should be taught interesting, quality subject matter with television as an aid. Images in a child s mind can become so much more vivid when he or she can compare them to images they behold on television. The argument that television lacks originality and promotes stupidity suffers because television can offer insight and a sense of wonder through intelligent and imaginative programming. Since there are people of this generation who do not enjoy Hamlet, it is safe to say that not every citizen living during the late 1500 s to early 1600 s was an avid fan. If Shakespeare is said to be revered now, who is to say whether Seinfeld will be revered at the level of Shakespeare in years to come? Bibliography:

Word Count: 1415