Visitor teaches children how to watch TV

Press, 18 July 1979, Page 7

Visitor teaches children how to watch TV

Parents and teachers should teach children how to watch television, sgid an Australian authority on children and the mass media, the Rev. K. Canavan, in Christchurch. Brother Canavan, of the Roman Catholic ■ Mhrfet order, is in New Zealand for two weeks showing parents and teachers how to make children more discerning and appreciative viewers. He has written classroom texts which are in Wide use in Australia, and are used also in the United States, Britain, and Singapore. Children tended to sit and absorb indiscriminately the box’s sounds and images unless they were taught to be discerning. Brother Canavan said. This influenced what they “saw” on television. Between the ages of five and 10 children could learn to distinguish fact from fantasy, and fact from opinion. Classroom studies could take subjects treated by the news media and use them

: for debate, discussion, essays, and drama, he said. Newspaper articles could be used in English comprehension. Pupils could discuss why different stations or newspapers gave different prior- ; ities to news. Current affairs : commentaries could be’ ' examined in social studies ; classes. : Parents could limit childl ren’s viewing to two hours a day, so that children learned i to rate programmes, Brother • Canavan said. They could I ask children to construct . different endings to programmes, to keep a diary of I programmes viewed so they : could be discussed occasioni ally. i One way to cope with un- • wholesome content was to I teach children to appreciate • quality television. Programme selectors would : have to adjust to meet i changed preferences, Brother ■ Canavan said. Parents were the model. I Where they reacted to what ! w'as viewed, children became i more critical, too.