Television is the primary entertainment and information medium in every household. It is the fruit of modern technology. Most of all, it educates. It is an effective way of teaching young audience about variety of topics.
Today, most classrooms have television sets. Teachers use it as medium of instruction. It is one of the best audio-visual aids. Pupils learn more easily when they actually see it from TV.
It is observed that children who often watch television tend to perform better in schools than those who don’t. Showing that TV is a best tool in child’s brain development.
Indeed, TV greatly affects our lives especially our children. It lessens time for parent-child talk. For some parents, in order to skip the baby-sitting time, they let their children watch TV shows which would catch their attention, making them sit-still, not knowing that this would harm their children. It also lessens the child-to-child interaction and the access to playmates is also being cut-off. It serves as a companion that stimulates verbal or language development for the young audience.
Children who are fond of watching TV are more exposed to the danger of negative influences such as violence, sex, and others if left unsupervised while watching. This is where parental guidance should takes place. This should be strictly followed by parents. The right supervision is needed in order for our children to watch the right shows. We should not let the children absorb dangerous information from what they are watching. It has great influence on the ideas, habits and values that will be formed in his impressionable young mind.
(TV: An Excellent Tool For Learning)
If used properly, TV is an excellent tool for learning. It should be used by our children with proper guidance. Parents and other concerned citizens must be aware that children will benefit and learn from what they are watching.
TV can bring the magic of visualization to young minds. In teaching Mathematics…counting numbers, identifying objects, comparing shapes and sizes, interpreting data from graphs, identifying colors and others can be easily understood. Real objects, different land forms, different kinds of animals and plants, illustrations on how volcano erupt, how different life cycles take place and understanding many things about the universe and others, which are not available in the surroundings can be brought to life through TV when teaching Science. In teaching English, language development like speaking, listening and writing is greatly affected by what the children heard and saw from TV.
Truly, TV has the ability to provide engaging and effective learning to its audience.
By: Josielyne F. Pragacha | Teacher III | Pantingan Elementary School | Pantingan, Pilar, Bataan
