TV - does if affect a child's ability to learn?

I'm concerned about my nephew. He spends most of his day watching tv,
and now he's failed kindergarten. Has tv affected his ability to
learn?

nospam...

Wow, I didn't know it was possible to fail kindergarten...did he
stab a teacher or something?!

Captain Infinity...

No, it's affected his ability to fingerpaint and take naps.

wdstarr...

Unless he's in one of those godawful boot-camp kindergartens...

Anim8rFSK...

I'll chip in to stick Troy in there . . .

July 26, 2006
On Education
In Kindergarten Playtime, a New Meaning for 'Play'
By CLARA HEMPHILL

The word "kindergarten" means "children's garden," and for
years has conjured up an image of children playing with
blocks, splashing at water tables, dressing up in costumes or
playing house. Now, with an increased emphasis on academic
achievement even in the earliest grades, playtime in
kindergarten is giving way to worksheets, math drills and
fill-in-the-bubble standardized tests.

Nowhere are the demands greater than at Achievement First East
New York Charter School in Brooklyn, which holds classes
through this month. On a recent Friday morning, 20
kindergartners in uniforms of yellow shirts and blue jumpers
or shorts, many yawning and rubbing their eyes, filed into the
classroom of Keisha Rattray and Luis Gonzalez. Some sat in
plastic chairs lined up before the teachers for phonics and
grammar drills, while others sat at computer screens,
listening through headphones to similar exercises.

The classroom has no blocks, dress-up corners or play
kitchens. There is no time for show and tell, naps or recess.
There is homework every night. For much of the day, the
children are asked to sit quietly with their hands folded as
their teachers drill them in phonics, punctuation and
arithmetic.

"At the beginning of the year, they're dropping like flies,
falling asleep by 12 o'clock," said Mrs. Rattray, 27. "We say,
'Wake up, you are in big school now.' "

[ * rest of article (approx. 85 lines) deleted * ]

**
Captain Infinity

Anim8rFSK...

more likely it just means he's been hanging around his uncle too much,
and it retarded his maturity.

QUOTE WIKIPEDIA: "the Swedish government imposed a total ban on
advertising to children under twelve in 1991 (see advertising). In the
U.S., the National Institute on Media and the Family (not a government
agency) points out that U.S. children watch an average of 25 hours of
television per week and features studies showing it interferes with the
educational and maturational process.

"A longitudinal study in New Zealand involving 1000 people (from
childhood to 26 years of age) demonstrated that 'television viewing in
childhood and adolescence is associated with poor educational
achievement by 26 years of age'. In other words, the more the child
watched television, the less likely he or she was to finish school and
enroll in a university."

RichA...

Without of course taking into account any other variables that could be
at work. Grant-grasping rubbish of the highest order.

:-)

________
2- | _____] 2258: "Signs and Portents"
time | | ___ 2259: "The Coming of Shadows"
Sci-Fi |__|[_ \ 2260: "Point of No Return"
Achievement B A _B Y\ L\ O N 2261: "No Surrender, No Retreat"
Awards ( \__/ | 2262: "Wheel of Fire"
Winner \______/
A TV NOVEL (available on dvd)