Now, a partnership involving the state Department of Public Instruction, LimiTV and the PTA has brought a videotape presentation on the effects of TV on education to all elementary and middle schools in North Carolina. PTA presidents in all schools have been urged by the state's PTA president to show the video this spring. At a cost of less than 2 cents per student for a potential audience exceeding 900,000 parents, this project satisfies the cost concerns expressed by the public. We have, unfortunately, witnessed several tragic acts of violence by schoolchildren in recent years, and less dramatic hostile actions occur frequently on school campuses. Governor Hunt's recent Task Force on School Safety and Youth Violence and the Center for the Prevention of School Violence testify to the significance of these problems.
Grades drop sharply if students watch more than two hours of TV per day.
It's little wonder that test scores are depressed. The brain development that produces thinking, speaking and reading skills can be compromised by hours of TV watching. In North Carolina, the Smart Start program addresses this issue, among others. The American Academy of Pediatrics urged parents last fall not to let children under age 2 watch any television. For the same child development reason, LimiTV urges no TV for children under age 4.