Most of the kids from the 90s grew up knowing Batibot, Sesame Street, Sineskwela, Math–tinik, Hiraya Manawari, Bayani, and the likes. These different shows focus not only the enjoyment of the children, but on diverse topics that are useful in a child’s schooling. Time schedules of these shows coincide with the dismissal of classes and before the time for news; hence, parents and their children have the option to watch the shows together while the former can watch the news afterwards.
Those educational shows served as an encouragement for kids to learn and explore more beyond what the four walls of the classroom can offer. In Sineskwela, students may discover their passion in experimentation and investigating their environment. Math may seem terrifying to most people, but with Math-tinik, we embrace the learnings in Math in a fun way. Knowing and understanding our History and our Values had been more encouraging through Bayani and Hiraya Manawari.
Nowadays, most of our television shows involve heavy drama, comedy and other genres that prove to be useless for the brain development of children. Most cartoons, if not filtered by the parents, involve comedy that are empty of morals/ principles. Parents and guardians are always on their watch to make sure that their children are watching “safe” tv programs.
It’s a relief that some shows still impart values to the children, like Wansapanataym and Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang. Other cable providers also include channels that cater to children, like TV Plus; it has the channel Yey! that showcases different shows that are child-friendly. There are also other channels that airs the old episodes of Bayani and Hiraya Manawari.
In this era where there are lots of distraction in the learnings of our children, it would help if there will be more television shows that can give a boost in their eagerness to study. Tickling a child’s imagination may not work very well with books (as most students find books boring), but with the help of interactive and educational tv programs, their curiosity will be ignited and they themselves will have the enthusiasm to learn more.
By: Elaine V. Cuadra Teacher I | Bataan National High School |Balanga, Bataan
