Watching television, especially the informative ones has been recognized as an effective method of learning because audio visual information can attract students’ attention and engage their interests.Although many TV programs have educational values, While I acknowledge some educational benefits, I largely disagree with encouraging more screen time.
Watching too much television has a negative impact on children’s academic progress and other activities that are beneficial to their development. Children can get distracted easily, especially when they watch TV without adult supervision. These young learners may not be able to concentrate on actual learning tasks anymore, and that may eventually lead to their poor exam performance. It is also difficult for those children to participate in interactive activities which strengthen their brain development like singing, reading or communicating with others.
Another problem is that having too much screen time can be harmful to their social development. If they spend hours sitting in front of the TV without communicating with adults or playing games with other children, they may become isolated and unwilling to express their feelings or listen to others’ viewpoints. Without enough communication skills, they are less likely to learn from others ideas and methodologies from their teachers or classmates. Therefore, it is harder for such students to acquire knowledge and achieve academic success.
On the other hand, I believe that watching TV may sometimes help students to have better academic performance. Educational TV series can visualize the information on textbooks, which can make the learning process interesting and easier for students to understand. For example, mathematical models that teachers show on TV can make boring formulas easier to understand, those colorful shapes and beautiful patterns can be engaging for young learners. That said, even in a school setting, passive video watching is no substitute for interactive teaching and discussion.
To summarize, parents and teachers should impose restrictions on children’s screen time rather than promote this activity. Even though sometimes television can be an effective educational tool, addiction to it can have a damaging impact on children’s grades.