T.V., or Not T.V. ? That Is The Question.

Television in the classroom, part one. 


The long standing debate about the merits and curse of using television in schools has been of personal interest for decades. My background and my professional focus, prior to teaching, was communications and media. It was my major in college during the '70's. My interest in this field lead to numerous radio station jobs as a D.J. for jazz, rock and easy-listening music, and there was a period of time I enjoyed hosting a radio talk show focused on Women's Rights. I also was employed as a news reporter, for both radio and television, where I was allowed to 'pull' my news reports*. I especially relished my years on a small independent t.v. network as a talk-of-the-town host. The small staff and limited funding pushed me to try camera work, editing, sound mixing, production and marketing.  I was given free range to book my choice of talent for every show, and the format / message was mine to determine. All this experience gave me deep respect for the power of media.


When I started working in education I wanted to bring my media background into the classroom. While still enrolled in coursework for my teaching certification, I began working as a classified aide in a rural school. The campus had just received a grant for technology, and the principal was inspired to develop an on site television station. I became the school's media director. We had t.v. monitors installed in every class that linked to the main hub of cameras, desks, computers and editing technology purchased. What a blast it was to begin a project and get to see it take hold! The staff was accepting and the students were thrilled to have the morning announcements televised each day, starring classmates and guest speakers. Field trips, science fairs, assemblies and special presentations were taped and archived. Spelling bees were held in the studio and televised to the classrooms, which kept the nerves of the participants less jangled and allowed the viewers free range to cheer and 'assist' without shushing. Every student had their time on camera, as staff became accustomed to incorporating media into their lessons. One memorable film was a 2nd grade class production of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" (Laura Joffe Numeroff), starring several students and the class pet rat! Every family was encouraged to bring in a blank VHS tape, and it was then my job to produce a record of every student's filmed history as a kind of Video Year Book. It was a big commitment, and a daunting learning curve for all of us, but it paid off. Thanks to the vision from a forward thinking principal, the school was recognized state wide as innovative and successful for the media work we accomplished, and I was able to blend my long time love of media with my new inspiration to work with children in education.

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*This was back in the day when news information was sent to stations via teletype to a staff announcer, who would “rip and read” reports offered by the news service Associated Press.