Television As Teacher Neil Postman Analysis
Qualls
Professor Phillips
WRIT 101
September 3, 2013
Television as Teacher Television is the main source of entertainment in America and across the world. Television is how we get our information about such things as: weather, breaking news, politics, and even just the latest celebrity gossip. Adults and children alike, watch TV to relax and learn about the world around them; but how much of that information is being retained is the question Neil Postman longs to answer. Based upon his essay “Television as Teacher” not much, Postman believes as stated “-reasoned analysis is increasingly supplanted by shallow images, thereby hindering the ways we learn about the world” (421). Postman goes on to describe his belief that television dilutes …show more content…
Postman’s main purpose for writing this essay is to let parents and teachers know that although shows like: Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Reading Rainbow, The Magic School Bus, etc. are intriguing and intend to teach morals and book smarts, your little one may not be absorbing the information as expected. Although Big Bird may be keeping the attention of children with tips on reading and being a better friends “-we now know that Sesame Street undermines what the traditional idea of schooling represents” (Postman, 422). Sesame Street gives fun, interactive lessons with bright, colorful themes, it gives interactive examples and even gives little memory tricks like songs and chants. While these things seem harmless to the learning environment, it gives children the false expectation that school will be much like Sesame Street or The Magic School Bus. Postman’s incentive in writing is to expose the “…negative effects of popular culture” (qtd. in Postman). Postman wants a new curriculum that “foster(s) more independent, critical thinking” (421) which just isn’t happening when education is thoroughly intertwined with
Professor Phillips
WRIT 101
September 3, 2013
Television as Teacher Television is the main source of entertainment in America and across the world. Television is how we get our information about such things as: weather, breaking news, politics, and even just the latest celebrity gossip. Adults and children alike, watch TV to relax and learn about the world around them; but how much of that information is being retained is the question Neil Postman longs to answer. Based upon his essay “Television as Teacher” not much, Postman believes as stated “-reasoned analysis is increasingly supplanted by shallow images, thereby hindering the ways we learn about the world” (421). Postman goes on to describe his belief that television dilutes …show more content…
Postman’s main purpose for writing this essay is to let parents and teachers know that although shows like: Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Reading Rainbow, The Magic School Bus, etc. are intriguing and intend to teach morals and book smarts, your little one may not be absorbing the information as expected. Although Big Bird may be keeping the attention of children with tips on reading and being a better friends “-we now know that Sesame Street undermines what the traditional idea of schooling represents” (Postman, 422). Sesame Street gives fun, interactive lessons with bright, colorful themes, it gives interactive examples and even gives little memory tricks like songs and chants. While these things seem harmless to the learning environment, it gives children the false expectation that school will be much like Sesame Street or The Magic School Bus. Postman’s incentive in writing is to expose the “…negative effects of popular culture” (qtd. in Postman). Postman wants a new curriculum that “foster(s) more independent, critical thinking” (421) which just isn’t happening when education is thoroughly intertwined with