The Idiot Box

The Unnecessary Use of Television
By Lovinia P. Galano One of the cause of the problems that cripples the walls of the academe has always been existent. It was, for the longest time, coherent of its untold goal to spoil the mind of the young towards a different perspective. Yes, it may sometimes do us good but the scratches of bad influence never leaves. I am talking about the entertainment industry to which our pupils are exposed. Evidently, the young is more interested in the entertainment the television could offer than the ones human interaction could. Sadly, it's been happening for years and we are just too preoccupied to notice. It is no new of a story that we hear our pupils talk about the previous night's update on their favorite TV series early in the morning. Girls giggling over the cheesy scenes and boys reenacting the fictitious. It is nice to see them do so but heart-wrecking to see failing scores and undone assignments. The entertainment that the television, referred to as the idiot box by one of my colleagues, offers have made them stagnant and, for a lack of better words, irresponsible. Another thing which I want to point out is the character alterations that we can see from our pupils. Some TV shows which portray beauty as the showcase of jewelry, elegant clothes and make up which in some ways change pupils' perspective. Mostly, from the simple girls that they were, they turned to fancy the same when they should be thinking of how to improve the status quo. It saddens me to observe pupils looking out of the window lingering on the thought of how the night's show would turn out. It is painful for a teacher to see declining performance because of addiction to watching TV not to mention the violence that it entails. Perhaps if we ask pupils of the time they spend watching TV and studying at home, the former would prove more prioritized than the latter. It is true that values are told in some TV shows. Also, informative ones are shown like newscasts and educational shows. But the question is: are pupils interested enough to watch shows like these? The answer is a big, resounding NO. In fact, when pupils are asked to watch the news and report on class the day after, only a few would fulfill the task. I believe that it is the task of both parents and teachers to teach the young responsible use of the television. Regulating the hours they spend watching is a wise step. Also, informing them of how to maximize the potentials of the television as a tool to reinforce learning would help. We must not allow the sensuality of the shows to leave our children's innocence into ruins. We must play as censors to which the young could depend on. Most importantly, we must not let our children be turned into ignorant people by the array of shows which lack appropriate elements to teach values, decisiveness, excellence and service to the people – the essentials of success.