Do you agree or disagree that television programming aimed at children has a greater impact on their development than parental guidance? (a media studies class)
☆Let’s Think
1.
Give examples of children’s
shows. Did you use to watch them? How do you think they have affected you?
2.
Do children spend time with
their parents longer than they do in front of their TV set?
3.
What do parents teach to their
young children?
☆Hints for Points
TV programming
1.
A report shows that today’s
children lean thousands of brand names instead of the names of flowers,
insects, and animals. Today’s adults do not have time to teach those names in their
natural environment. Instead, they let their children spend time in front of a
screen.
2.
TV personalities and characters
can be more attractive than parents.
3.
Children’s shows choose themes
familiar to children that match their developmental stages, while adults around
children do not always take optimal actions for their development.
Parental guidance
1.
Parents’ cultural background
such as language, customs, and religion that children acquire by living with
them have profound impact on the development of children.
2.
Children learn from people who
love them most, who are usually their parents.
3.
Children spend much more time
with their parents than they do in front of a TV set, and this naturally make
them learn more from their parents.
4.
Children can tell the
difference between the reality and the 2-demnetional world they see I on TV
screens. They do not think much of what TV tells them in the first place unless
they are enchanted by a charismatic star or an extremely popular show.
☆Sample Answer for Ideas and
Expressions
【Supporting Details】First of all, time spent together with
television is often longer than anything else for today’s children. Parents are
too busy to attend children’s learning. They are also preoccupied with their
own interests. Thus, they often put their young children in front of a TV set
or a tablet showing children’s programming. Moreover, those programs tailored
to young children are high in quality and engaging as Rachel points out. They
are designed to keep children’s attention with various attractive devices. Last
but not least, adults leave the role of a mentor to educational programs, since
they know educational programs conform to the standard of the new generation,
while they themselves are conservative or ignorant. Wanting their offspring to
adapt to the trend of their times, they give way to television programming in
their children’s education. Not my parents, you might say. But how many of us
were directly taught, for instance, how to read by parents? The learning environment
of moder humans has television at its core.
【Counterargument-treatment】Although interaction with other humans is crucial
in the mental development of children, the lack of interaction in learning with
TV programming might not be so big. Humans instinctively try to interact with
what they are focused on, and children’s programming is designed for children
to be involved. For example, characters in the programs often talk to the
audience and take time for the audience to react. I know a person who used to go
get a cup of chocolate and drink it in front of the TV set of his family when
the lady of his favorite show for children say it was the time for chocolate.
【Conclusion】Children are affected by television just as adults do. Therefore, TV
programming for children has a greater impact on their development than their
parents do today, although parents are potentially more influential to their
children’s development than television. (352 words)
DRAFT
