 |
| The original "PlayStation"! |
It's almost "No Time for TV Week" at Ashaway School! All of the details about how the program works can be found by
clicking on the links below. Each student will receive a copy at
school but you are welcome to print another copy if you need it:
I'm going over the guidelines with every class this week. After explaining
how the form works and what they need to do to earn a prize, I spend
some time answering questions. Most of the questions, as always,
start with the words
"What if...?" For example:
"What if our teacher shows a video during class, or we need to look up a book on the computer?"
(That's okay; it says on the form that screen time spent on required schoolwork won't count.)
"What if my brother isn't doing it and turns on the TV?"
(We brainstorm together what some options might be: going to another
room, inviting your brother to do a different activity with you, or even
trying to convince your brother -- or better yet, the whole family! --
to participate with you!)
"What if someone has the TV on and I'm walking by the room and I see it?"
(Yep, I get this one over and over, every single year. The answer is basically "keep walking!")
Then there are all the questions that begin with
"What about...?" These used to be easier to answer. For example:
"What about watching a DVD? What about watching a video on YouTube?"
(Well, since you'd need a screen to watch it, that would count as "screen time"!)
"What about playing a game on an iPad?"
(That would also be "screen time"!)
"What about watching an educational TV show?"
(Nice try. I do know that some TV programs can be educational, but there are
plenty of other options for learning something new!)
"What about Wii Fit?"
(That would also be "screen time". As one of the PE teachers put it, "There's a big
difference between swinging your arms around in front of a television
and going to a park to play tennis!")
What it all comes down to, I explain, is that No Time for TV Week is all about
choices.
It's about taking one single week to really think about how much time
we spend in front of a screen. I stress that my message isn't that TV,
video games, and computers are inherently
bad. It's just that
too much isn't good for you. I always use the candy analogy: a piece
now and then won't hurt you, but eating it all the time in place of
better choices isn't healthy! That's why Ashaway adopted a program for
"No TV Week" in which kids earn points for engaging in a variety of
activities that will exercise the mind and body!
 |
| "Look, Ma! No commercials!" |
And that brings us to the more recent "What abouts" that I've been hearing. Things like:
"What about reading a book on my Kindle?"
"What about listening to music on my iPod?"
"What about using a Playaway to hear a story? That has a screen..."
Once upon a time, I would've responded without giving it much thought;
like the "educational television", I'd point out that there are plenty
of other options to choose from. But lately I've been thinking a lot
harder about it. In many households today, the way folks listen to
music is on devices with screens. I removed the dozens of audio
cassettes in the library several years ago because they simply didn't
circulate anymore. Kids went from being excited about taking them home
to complaining that they didn't have the equipment to play them on.
Recently I started asking my students if they have an iPad or e-reader,
and I was shocked by the number of hands that went up. And now I'm hearing multiple students tell me about the book they
downloaded to read at home.
So where does that leave us with the questions above? Personally, I'd
say that all three would count toward earning points. After all, both
reading and listening to music are listed under "exercise the mind", and
I always tell students that having a book read to them is a wonderful
way to spend some time. It's unlikely the child is going to pull up
music on an iPod and then stare at the screen as the seconds count off.
Same goes for the Playaway. (Maybe they close their eyes and listen,
build a new creation with Legos, or perhaps even clean their rooms!
Yeah, I know...but you can tell them that it does help chore time go
faster. I can't imagine doing housework without a Podcast to listen
to.)
Ultimately, when it comes to all the "What ifs" and "What abouts" I tell
the students to ask the adult who will be signing the form at the end
of the week. I leave it up to the parents and guardians to make the
final call on what "counts" and what doesn't. After all, I would've
earned quite a few checks for the time I've spent writing this blog
entry,
if it's okay that I typed it on the computer instead of on paper! (And yes, the television was off!)
Just for fun, try playing No Time for TV Bingo!
Click on the links below to print!
May 20th to the 26th was "No Time for TV Week" at Ashaway School! (Although I realize we really should start calling it "Screen-Free Week". A lot has changed since I started doing this program twenty years ago!) 
This year, just for fun, I encouraged the students to exercise their creativity by decorating a potato to look like an alien, or anything else space related! (This
extends our Reading Week theme "A Universe of Stories" while also urging students not to
be “couch potatoes”!)
