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Add to FavoritesWhen we look at human history, one of the things that we notice prevalent in most societies, was the tradition of oral transmission. People used to tell stories of great heroes of the past or even stories about their recent history. The lack of modern day entertainment was a factor behind the older members of different social groups having to keep their young entertained.
Barry Sanders argues in his brilliant book A is for Ox, that modern technology-the television in particular-is slowing down the rate at which our children's minds are developing. Children listening to stories and also just generally listening to the elders speak, used to be an integral part of a child's experience while in the initial stages of development. This has sadly been replaced by what we know as the TV. Children are immensely occupied in watching the content; and according to Sanders, one of the reasons why a child shows lesser cognitive development while watching TV as opposed listening to stories, is because it (the TV) does the imagining for the child. While story telling used to force the child to exercise their minds in order to understand the story via self-generated images; the TV has people who have done that for the child, resulting in the child not triggering brain activity to the extent children from previous generations were.
This is not a non-testable theory that will remain a mystery because we cannot enter the past. Oral cultures are still around today, and my parents happen to be from South Asia. There are parts of South Asia that the technological boom has not reached yet, and their lifestyle is very much like the ideal Barry Sanders outlines in A is for Ox. I visited there a few times, and one of the things that I was always struck by when I went there, was the incredibly superior wit of the youth. There is an ocean of difference between the way they behave, speak and even dumbfound adults on occasions with well thought out remarks. I am talking about nine to twelve year olds, and I can honestly say that I cannot even begin to imagine a nine or twelve year old in our societies thinking like them. They may have an inferior lifestyle in terms of comfort-according to some-but that situation forces them to grow up quick. Ask people who have been there and I am very confident that they will have something similar to say. This effect could possibly be caused by the fact that they live in an oral culture, sheltered away from the negative influences of television.
Is this having an effect on our society overall? Of course. The intellectual capabilities of our children have declined so much, our leaders are having to water down the education systems in order to keep the pass rates high. In June 2008, the BBC published an article which argued that mathematics exams in Britain have generally become considerably easier; and a separate article earlier in the year which argued the A-Level maths has also been made easy. And according to the Mail, it is no different for science exams. Which is the same thing the Times is saying. I am sure that if anyone chooses to investigate further, they will find a lot more evidence indicating towards a dumbed down education system. I only did my A-Levels two years ago, and so I should be backing the system in my attempt to prove that I am a smart person who ended up with good grades even though the exams were difficult. If I am honest to myself however, I know that in a previous generation, I would probably have done very badly. Things are becoming easier, so it begs the question: why? Why make the system easier to penetrate if students are able to cope with it anyway. It appears as though this is all a reaction to the fact that young people now, are not academically as capable as they once were. If you agree, then again: why? Barry Sanders would have you think that it is because the television has had an indelible impact. This means that on the long run, professionals in our countries will be less able, less trustworthy-not in terms of their integrity, but their skill-and ultimately less beneficial.
'A is for Ox: The Collapse of Literacy and the Rise of Violence in an Electronic Age', is the full title of Sanders' book. It is quite obvious that he does deal with the violent content TV exposes children to and attempts to link it to the increase in violence that we see. I thought I should take a different take on the topic because I assumed that others were more likely to talk about violence etc. Television has a violent influence on children and it also hinders the child's intellectual potential. All of these topics are well discussed in this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject of child development or the influences of television.
So in conclusion, It is vital that parents at least limit the amount of TV exposure their child receives if not prevent them from watching it at all-a huge task considering the social demands of the TV. Taking such measures will provide the child with a greater chance of overcoming highly demanding obstacles when it does matter.
Learn more about this author, Mothiur Rahman.
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No
There is never going to be a totally safe and mistake free environment to raise a child. If you let your child play outside, they will eventually get hurt. If you let your child go to school, they will hear and see things you as a parent may not agree with. And if you let your children watch television, there is a very good chance that they will watch a show deemed inappropriate or a show wtih no educational value whatsoever.
I agree that television has changed dramatically over the years. Gone are the days of Richie and the Fonz, Andy Griffith, and The Cosbys. These are the days of taking it as far as the censors will let us with shows like Jack-Ass, South Park, and most of MTV's reality shows. However, if you are thinking of raising your children without television, you may as well keep them in the house and home school them too.
The influences in this world today both good and bad, come in all forms. What most people forget though, is that education comes in all forms as well. If your child comes home from school one day and tells you he learned about George Washington or Dr. Martin Luther King or how to write an essay, would this not make you proud? A couple of weeks later that same child comes home and mutters a certain swear word he learned from one of his classmates, are you going to keep that child home from school until they reach full adulthood? Of course your not. You will explain that the use of that word is inappropriate and punish the child so they remember not to use that word again. In other words, you educate them.
There is not a day that goes by that a parent does not worry when they're children go outside to play. It's not one thing in particular that they worry about. Depending on the ages of the children, it could be almost anything. From scraping they're knee to getting in a fight, or even worse scenarios of getting hit by a car or being shot. Realistically, anythings possible. Knowing these dangers no matter how big or small, we must educate our children about these dangers before and all the while that they are growing up. You can't just keep your children home.
I was watching Jeopardy with my fiance and her thirteen-year old son the other night and was answering the questions out loud as I am sure most people do, and my fiances son asked "how do I know so much". I told him that there was three places that I learned most of what I know. They were school, life , and television. He repeated " school, life, and television"? I proceeded to explain to him the obvious things that school taught me history, math, science, english etc... and that this was my base for what I learned in life and from television. I then continued to explain that in life through working different jobs and everyday experiences, I "learned something new everyday, and you will too". He then asked " How did television make you smarter"?
I have to be honest, it was the easiest question I have ever answered. It started with Saturday night trips to the deserts, plains, and forests of Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom to my recent trips to the Bering Sea and The Worlds Deadliest Catch. Growing up watching movies & shows that gave me a better understanding of history both good and bad like Midway, Jesus of Nazareth, and Roots. I couldn't possibly leave out Bert, Ernie, Big Bird, Mr. Rogers, and Kaptain Kangaroo, could I ? I didn't even know what a Quince was until I saw the foul mouthed movie White Men Can't Jump. Education comes in all forms. And yet today there are so many educational channels and shows that come as close to letting you experience almost anytihng that you can imagine. The benefits are too long to list.
In the end, the good from television by far out weighs the bad. If a child can learn anything from television besides the educational value, is that in life you have choices. And with the shows and channels they have a choice from today, it is a heads up that I didn't have when I was a kid. They can see the outcome of running in a gang on the The Learning Channel. They can learn more than most Veterinarians on Animal Planet. Or make a more informed decision on joining the Armed Forces by keeping up on current events broadcasted on television. Our children today are allready to sheltered from the bumps and bruises that I endured when I was growing up, in the end it builds character. In case you"re interested a Quince is a small spineless tree with edible fruits native to Asia and The Meditarranean.
Learn more about this author, Thomas Mackert.
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