## effect of television on learning

  
  
*There is a widespread disagreement about the effect of television on learning. Does tv encourage or discourage learning? Or does it do both of these things under different circumstances? State your opinion on this question in an essay.*  
  
Certainly, television has become an inevitable part of our life. However, whether it encourages or discourages learning depends on how an individual uses it. I strongly believe that television does both under varying circumstances.  
  
To begin with, kindergarten teachers notice that students are able to spell more words in the recent years. In an attempt to find out the reasons behind this, they came to know that television shows like Little Einstein, WordWorld, Super Why?, Between the lions and few more teach them the relation between letters and its sounds which in turn, has helped the children to develop great interest in learning to spell more complex words for their age. Television shows has helped children in developing lifelong curiosity about learning the world around them. Sid the Science kid, Magic school bus, Cat in the Hat comes back, Curious George are few shows fostering curiosity in early education which serves as a strong foundation.  
  
In addition, History channel, explains few events in a much more creative way which enables the students to appreciate the subject. Learning the history behind any country or an event makes the students to become better citizens too. And, Discovery channel, paves as a great source of learning all about nature, animals and many more interesting facts. Just by watching news, we can get to know what's trending in the world. Television, is one of the medium imparting learning.  
  
On the other hand, it is hard to accept the fact that, television is also one of the greatest distracting element for the children. After a long day at school, kids find television as a source of just pure entertainment and start watching shows that are not age appropriate. With both the parents working full time, most of the children end up staying all alone at home after school. Until an adult arrives they are left with watching television and end up making not so good choices. Experts say that, any television even with slightest violence, has to be completely banned for children. Because, all the violence, has showed to have greater impact in their behavior. The language used in some shows like Sponge Bob Square pants, are so horrible that, the children who watch such shows might think that's the cool way to talk...  
  
Now, comes the question: is television actually helping or not helping in learning? It depends on few factors: the person who is holding the remote, who is watching with the children, how long are they watching etc.  
  
The person holding the remote has full control on what's being watched. Adults in the house, can model how to make best choices. If parents sit and watch television with their children, they will be exposed to age appropriate shows which stimulates creativity and curiosity. Also making use of the available parental controls, television can be made both educative and enjoyable. Failure to do so, make television not an active learning tool. Active learning takes place with minimal watching. It's not quantity but the quality of the content being watched stimulates knowledge.  
  
To summarize, television is a box with innumerous information. With one click on the remote, endless learning opportunities can open up or that one click can lead to disastrous exposures too. Let's make that one click count and enjoy the journey of lifelong learning!