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DEL.ICIO.USTelevision and Test Scores
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Does watching too much TV hurt your kid in school?
A couple of University of Chicago researchers were surprised to find no negative effect on test scores when they looked at kids in the 1960s who had television and compared them to kids who did not. Television seemed to benefit kids who came from homes where parents didn’t speak English as a first language or whose parents were not well educated.
What that told me is television provided kids with vocabulary and information they might not have otherwise encountered. The study challenges the widely held notion that television is a corruptive force on a child’s brain.
I asked a couple of local experts what they thought about kids and television.
Caitlin Dooley, assistant professor at Georgia State, said it’s important that parents help make television interactive for their children. Parents should talk to their kids about the story and get kids to explain what they’re watching. There are good programs out there, said Dooley, a literacy expert. She likes Blues Clues and of course Sesame Street. She said it’s okay to allow children to indulge in the fantasy world offered by television and the computer, but you want to bring them back to real-world social interactions.
Clare Hobart, pre-first teacher at The Westminster Schools, said she loves television. “I do think you can learn from it,” she said. Her students often tell her things they learn watching Animal Planet and other educational programs. Her biggest concern is the bad language children pick up from cartoons, TV shows aimed at adults and movies. “So many parents say, ‘We don’t let our kids watch television,’ but they run to get the latest movie.”
Connie Lacy, a DeKalb County mother of three boys, let her oldest son, now grown, watch lot of television. Later, when Lacy was raising her two younger children, she made an effort to engage them in things other than television. She says her younger kids have done better in school than her oldest. “I feel like I let him down,” she says of her eldest.
Her younger sons, ages 15 and 12, like to make videos, write stories, record themselves on tape and perform on a stage she built in the basement. Her local library once admonished her for having more than 50 books checked out. Her kids watch TV so rarely that they are out of the loop when it comes to pop culture references, she said. But she wouldn’t change it. “In the long run, I feel like my kids are active and happy.”
I have friends who feel guilty if they park their kids in front of the TV for even thirty minutes so they can have some grown-up talk. On the opposite extreme, some kids are sitting glassy-eyed in front of the tube for hours on end.
How much TV do you let your child watch, and do you worry about the effects of television on their schooling?
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By oldteacher
March 1, 2006 08:08 AM | Link to this
I think that parental control is the key. I am still startled when one of my kids comes in talking about watching South Park or a similar show. I made sure the first time one of them mentioned it, I watched it to see what it was about. I guess it is ok for adults, but I sure don’t think middle schooler should be watching it. Also, many of my students have tv’s in their rooms and when they come to school sleepy, they have told me that they were watching a program at 2 or 3 am. Again, parental control is the key. IMHO
By Vicki
March 1, 2006 09:08 AM | Link to this
I totally agree with you, Oldschool, but then I usually do. Parental control is the key. I do not think that a child should have a TV in his/her room. The parent has no idea what or when the child watches, then again, maybe that’s why the TV is in their room to begin with.
I think a bigger problem is the GameBoy, Play Station, X-Box, etc. This turns most kids brains into mush and they end up having the attention span of a dust bunny. My children are only allowed to play these types of games with time limits over the summer and during the winter break. They have realized the their attention span gets shorter when they play computerized games. I played games with them to prove this point.
By abc
March 1, 2006 09:44 AM | Link to this
TV is for idiots, with content dumbed down to the absolute lowest denominator. Some things on History Channel, TLC, Discovery are interesting and IMAX movies on HD channels can be breathtaking, but what else is worthwhile in any way? There are better outlets for news. Even an hour a day on average is too much TV.
The popularity of reality shows should be an alarming indication of American culture sliding down the slippery slope.
By Tiff
March 1, 2006 09:50 AM | Link to this
My son is 12. He is only allowed to watch Animal Plant, Discovery Channel, History Channel, and a few family friendly comedy shows. He doesn’t watch that anymore during the weekday. When he was watching TV, he was failing….C’s and D’s….and it happened in one nine week period! He started lying about his grades when I could always count on him to tell me the truth in the past. This 9 weeks, he came home with all A’s and B’s. I also took away his video games. I used to say it’s not what the kids watch but more so how much they watch, but now I don’t know because he was only allowed to watch for 1 hr TV and 30 minutes for games… All I know is that taking it away completely worked for my child.
By jim dumond
March 1, 2006 09:54 AM | Link to this
Just a few facts.
Child does: Boy Scouting (attained the rank of Eagle at 14 yrs. old.)
Tests in the 97%
Maintains a solid High “B” average
Participates in wrestling
participates in Key Club
Mentors 1st graders after he is released from HS, 3 days a week.
AND averages about 3-4 hrs. daily in front of the tube either watching toons or playing video games.
Gimme a break here folks. Some kids can do well in school and still enjoy being a kid.
By Tiff
March 1, 2006 10:13 AM | Link to this
I agree Jim, that’s why I made my comment about my child watching those “good shows or channels” and he still was failing. You have churches openly casting out homosexuality in the church, but you have shows on TV promoting it! Our children are so confused and adults ae scrambling to point the finger.
By Tiff
March 1, 2006 10:21 AM | Link to this
Bad test scores goes beyond watching too much television.
By meme
March 1, 2006 10:23 AM | Link to this
Jim, your comments are appreciated. Your child is probably older than the 7th graders I teach and so the situation is a little different. However, if he could watch that much tv and still achieve the things he has achieved, more power to him.
By jim dumond
March 1, 2006 10:43 AM | Link to this
Ah, Tiff,
We too set some standards early on. Not that we really needed to since his favorite channel was the history channel but he does spend a good amount of time viewing cartoons.
Meme, he’s been doing the same routine for the past 10-12 years
By Tiff
March 1, 2006 11:45 AM | Link to this
Meme, I KNOW children who do, and they are doing very well in school…..not hearsay from bragging parents, but I have actually seen the progress reports. Also, several of those kids are in advanced classses! It should carry constraints…..good - Discovery Channel….bad - FOX or whatever (I don’t watch much TV).
By Nel
March 1, 2006 12:12 PM | Link to this
It’s all about what your child can handle and how much latitude you give them. My family gave me all kinds of stuff when my eldest was small about watching too much tv. Always tested in the 97th-99th percentile, has an enormous vocabulary, videogame freak, was reading at 3, etc, etc. As a 7th grader, took the SAT through the Duke TIP program…now everyone is saying how smart the she is. Youngest child a boy, tv junkie and fast becoming videogame junkie trying to keep up with sister. Since he was a preschooler people complimented me on how well he spoke, he’s a straight “A” student who loves math above all, blah, blah, blah. They learned way more from tv than they were harmed by it started with the Sesame Street up to today’s cartoon age, barring adult swim of course which is off limits (at least not while I’m up and would notice). It’s all about the child’s abilities, and also how you as a parent interact with your kids. I often watch what they watch and they have always shared with me what they saw which gave/gives me an opportunity to critique or laugh as necessary.
By Teacher2
March 1, 2006 12:12 PM | Link to this
My 2 year old watches Dora the Explorer every afternoon. He now knows several Spanish words and their English equivalents, he can count to 10, and he knows most of his ABCs. He loves interacting with her on screen and giggles every time he gets the correct answer. There are definitely benefits to TV watching, although it’s a lot more difficult to find quality programming these days.
By jim dumond
March 1, 2006 12:16 PM | Link to this
No Brag just fact. Believe it or not Tiff, matters not to me.
By Nel
March 1, 2006 12:17 PM | Link to this
Jim, to your point, my now 8 year-old told me the other day when I tried to nix limit his videogame time, “Mom, it helps my hand-eye coordination”. If the school work suffers then it’s gone, but if the work’s done and I’ve checked it, and he’s done his fulfilled his required reading time, then have at it!
By Leia
March 1, 2006 12:21 PM | Link to this
Nel - I agree with you. It’s all about what your individual child can handle. My children watch tons of television. But, they are reading a book, or doing something else at the same time. I’m the same way. I need that “noise” in the background. I often use the “bad” television shows as examples of poor behavior or how not to react to situations. If my children were not successful in school, did not get A’s and B’s, were rude, disrespectful kids - I might curtail the amount of television that they watch. But, for now - it’s working for all of us.
By jim dumond
March 1, 2006 12:25 PM | Link to this
I find it rather amusing that people that complain about a child not assuming responsibility for learning whats being taught at school are some of the very same people that refuse to hold the child responsible for activities at home.
By Nel
March 1, 2006 12:35 PM | Link to this
Leia, people need to realize that there are no absolutes. My daughter told me that she needs music playing while she does homework, my husband was against it, but I find she works far better and more efficiently when there’s “background” and her grades have not suffered. If she’s on the computer (located where we can readily observe what’s on the screen), there’s music coming through the speakers or the tv’s on in the background…works for her so I don’t complain. Different strokes!
By Tiff
March 1, 2006 12:40 PM | Link to this
“Bragging” parents to me are those who lie about their children making good grades when they actually don’t……Brag on please for those who have kids actually doing what they are supposed to do because it’s not easy……..I do!
By meme
March 1, 2006 01:01 PM | Link to this
Jim, I have read enough from you on this blog to know that you are not just bragging. I too know kids who watch a lot of tv and still get good grades. It is not necessarily the amount but the quality. As I said before parental control is the key.
By Leia
March 1, 2006 01:03 PM | Link to this
Tiff - My daughters really do get all A’s and an occasional B, but, if it makes you feel better - they bat 6th and 7th on their softball team!
By meme
March 1, 2006 01:06 PM | Link to this
Nel, when I teach study skills at the beginning of the year I tell them that different people study differently. I always studied lying face down on the bed with the tv on. I didn’t watch it, but I liked the noise.
By Jeff
March 1, 2006 01:12 PM | Link to this
On of the younger generation of adult posters here…
I’ve been a video game addict and HUGE procrastinator all my life. At 23 still watch some cartoons (Power Rangers), a lot of Fox/ WB etc (Prison Break, One Tree Hill, CSI. Numb3rs, among others), and anything on Discovery/ History channels that sound interesting.
Ladies and gents, I came out of HS with a 3.75 and college with a 3.39. Of course, I have known others to share my habits with grades both much higher and much lower. DEFINTELY comes down to individual. At the same time, my parents always made sure my focus was on getting my job done - and for the vast majority of my life, school was my job, even when I had part time jobs.
If a kid has his head on straight and keeps the focus where it belongs, no amount of time on video games/ TV is going to change that. If, however, TV/ video games take his focus off school, it needs to be limited.
By Nikole
March 1, 2006 01:43 PM | Link to this
Jeff’s comment was pretty much all of what I was going to say.
By Tiff
March 1, 2006 01:49 PM | Link to this
Read again Leia….. “Brag on please for those who have kids actually doing what they are supposed to do because it’s not easy……..I do!” Doesn’t sound like a negative statement to me…..I’m ready for the negativism from my comments though…..
By Leia
March 1, 2006 02:04 PM | Link to this
Tiff - I’m sorry! I read your comment incorrectly! But, my kids are bad softball players!
By MMM
March 1, 2006 02:18 PM | Link to this
TV isn’t evil. Sometimes the amount or the particular show isn’t helpful for a particular child. Not everthing Adults do is “productive” either. But we as parents must be aware of what that TV time replaces. Children, especially young ones, learn so much from other activities so the question is alway relative to the alternative.
If left uncontrolled, my kids will never turn the TV off once it is on—and they will be amazingly grumpy after I turn it off. Usually this means that I don’t let them turn it on and they read, play, go outside,do crafts, or goof off. When they are sick, it’s movie or book time—their choice.
I do think that the decline in reading for pleasure over the last 30 years can be blamed on how much TV viewing has increased. If you want your kids to read when they are young, there should be space in their lives for it. For adults that is their choice, but for kids—the parent has a responsibility to monitor and maintain balance or the child will simply never get comfortable reading because it is a skill that require practice beyond the time alloted in school.
All things in moderation and appropriate to their season.
By Nel
March 1, 2006 02:42 PM | Link to this
MMM, to your reading comment. My 8 year-old has a reading log from school that I have to sign and return every week…he MAKES SURE that I do so. We went to see The Chronicles of Narnia and he loved it so much that he purchased the first 3 books at his school book fair and is reading them…with no pushing from me. I try to relate to my experiences growing up when it was only one way to do things..whatever your parents dictated, which resulted in my putting up a mental block that to this day, I can’t remember how to play an instrument I spent hours practicing to play as a child. You have to know your kids and their study habits to make it all work for you.
By V for Vendetta
March 1, 2006 03:49 PM | Link to this
Wow, yet another way to blame something else for the failing of parenting in this country. TV is not at fault. The same is true of video games, movies, the internet, etc. It is all about PARENTING. Why is this so freaking hard to see? If you raise your child to be free-thinking, intelligent, and responsible, while at the same time keeping an eye on what they watch (but NOT being over-protective), then they will turn out just fine.
When are people going to take some RESPONSIBILITY in this country!!!!!?????
Stop blaming it on technology, stop blaming it on the school, stop blaming it on the teachers, etc. Look at what you are doing at home. I had a TV in my room, I had video games in my room, I had a DVD player and a VCR in my room. I also maintained a 90% cum. average, played competitive sports in high school AND college, and grew up to be a teacher.
Man, that damn TV really ruined my life.
By jim dumond
March 1, 2006 04:38 PM | Link to this
WOW, yet another way for V to blame parents for all the ills in this country.
By MMM
March 1, 2006 04:43 PM | Link to this
Nel. I know what you mean about getting a mental block—I don’t spell today because I hated the way my Mom pushed it and drilled when I was young.
As to the rest, I’m not sure if you disagreed or agreed with me on the TV/Reading comment. My 8 year old loves to read and I sometimes feel the need to encourage her to do other things or she will miss everthing else and be cranky at the end of the day (the way my 6 year old is with vidio games and TV). It isn’t a matter of withhold something because it is evil, it is gently helping each child balance what they do so that when they grow older they will balance them selves instead of being dependent on only one source for entertainment.
I choose to believe that my example of reading with them and reading for my own enjoyment help them to take pleasure in it as well. And going to the Chronicals of Narnia move over xmas made my 8 year old decide she wanted to read the books also.
By SET
March 1, 2006 05:01 PM | Link to this
I’ve seen children’s rooms with no reading material but with toys and a TV. Then the PSAT/SAT scores came out. No surprise, they crash and burn on the verbal.
Teens need lots of reading. Writing would help also.
By Nel
March 1, 2006 05:07 PM | Link to this
MMM, I don’t disagree with you on the reading at all. My school was at the end of my street so once I crossed the street from my house, my nose was in my book until I got to the school gates…I knew every bump on the pavement. I believe that typically, when kids have parents who are readers, then try to emulate them which is a great way to get them stared on a love for the written word. I was also the kid who was up until 4am with the flashlight under the covers because the book was that good, and I still got the school for 9am. My son is not as proficient a reader as his sister was at the same age but he’s working his way through The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe and asking for help when he doesn’t understand a word, plus he plays his videogames and does his homework. What more can we ask for.
By V for Vendetta
March 2, 2006 08:05 AM | Link to this
Oh c’mon Jim.
I know accountability is a BIG thing with you, and most of the time I agree. Teachers and the education system in general should be held accountable. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about TV!!!!!
Saying that TV, video games, movies, etc. can mess up your life or your grades is ridiculous. It’s no different than all those people who said “well those boys at Columbine shot up the school because they listened to Marilyn Manson and played violent video games”. Um, WRONG. It’s because they were building BOMBS and shooting GUNS in the woods and the parents HAD NO IDEA. Pathetic.
Jim, I agree with your views on accountability, but we have a big problem with blaming everyone but ourselves in this country and that’s gotta stop. TV made my grades go down, video games made me violent, movies taught me bad words, McDonalds made me fat. The list goes on.
By Dan
March 2, 2006 09:46 AM | Link to this
I am pretty sure TV itself is not the problem. It is anything that distracts them from doing their school work TV just happens to be one of the main distractions. If the tv time is monitored it would be no different than any other play time and could be benefical if they watch the history channel for instance (although that should not replace study time).
By Jim in Marietta
March 2, 2006 10:51 AM | Link to this
Television is drivel. I’ve seen enough of it to know. The last show I watched regularly was Moonlighting back in the early 1980’s. My kids do watch TV in moderation and they see that I don’t watch it except for the occasional movie or Discovery Channel type show. Hopefully they will reach their own understanding of what a waste of time TV is, aside from the lame content. Does it hurt their grades? I refuse to let it.
By DB
March 2, 2006 01:23 PM | Link to this
Hmm… The amount of TV-watching has changed a lot since 1960’s, and so has the quality of programming(both good and bad). And although I was not alive then, couldn’t the fact of owning a TV in the 60’s be related to income and therefore connected to success in schools(independent from TV) whereas those that didn’t own one could have been more poor and less likely to achieve? Also, did it study kids that “had a TV” at home or kids that watched TV. This article mentions nothing about how much TV was watched.
Conclusion: Like most studies in education, this study may be very unreliable, or even completely worthless. We should be more concerned with studies that connect TV-watching to ADD or behavioral disorders anyway.
By Patti Ghezzi
March 2, 2006 01:35 PM | Link to this
Hi DB, the authors told me the average time kids spent watching TV then was 3 hours. Today it’s 3.5 hours. The most popular show for kids was “I Love Lucy” then and in 1995 was “The Simpsons.”
Televisions quickly found their way into the American lifestyle, even in poor homes, they told me. I think they said 80 percent of homes had them by the late 1960s. The way they were able to discern who had television and who didn’t was that certain cities got television sooner than others. By the time kids in various cities were in high school, those in some cities had had television for five years while others were still waiting. Their demographic data came from the Coleman Report, which tracked test scores and demographics as required by the civil rights law.
I don’t know think major decisions should be made based on one study, but I do think the study has at least limited value. If it gets published, I’ll post a link.