Television is a fact of modern life. No amount of wishing will make it go away. And it probably shouldn’t go away! TV is a great communication tool - it provides us a window to other lands, to other people, to the whole world. It beams news and sporting events right into our houses; we can see and hear Presidents and other newsmakers speaking right to us. TV also provides a wealth of entertainment and education that we can’t get anywhere else.

Yes, television can be useful. But we all know about the effects of its abuse. As teachers, we see how TV interferes with homework. we suspect there are children who have attention spans considerably shortened by watching TV. We have listened to children retell the nightmares caused by the violent programming they viewed the night before.

There are ways to minimize TV’s negative effects while enjoying and benefiting from its use. That’s what No TV Week is about. No TV Week is a way to heighten our students’ awareness of how they use TV and, at the same time, to help them begin to learn to use it responsibly.