‘Books better than television’—author

Press, 2 April 1985, Page 14

‘Books better than television’ —author

Television is regarded as an ogre in children’s lives by an American author who has researched its effects. Jim Trelease describes television as a “drug which cripples the minds of children.” He is convinced that television-watching reduces the achievement levels of school pupils. Jim Trelease is the author of “The Read Aloud Handbook” which promotes the benefits of introducing books to children and reading to them. The book explains how and why reading aloud opens up the imaginations of children, improves their language skills and gives them new worlds of entertainment and independence. At the same time it is a socially enjoyable experience. In direct contrast, television is an anti-social activity. The chopping up of pro-

grammes into segments to fit around commercial breaks fosters a short attention span, unlike reading which encourages long spells of attention. Children learn by asking questions. But when they are sitting in front of a television set they can get no answers. These are some of the observations about “the box” made by Jim Trelease in the chapter on television. He quotes many different surveys which point to a negative effect of television on children. One survey was conducted among 500,000 11 and 17-year-old pupils in California. This showed the more time children spent watching television, the lower the achievement level in reading, writing and mathematics. The less time spent in front of the television screen, the higher the

achievement level in these fields. These statistics emerged regardless of the child’s intelligence quotient, social background or study practices. Being able to read is a basic skill needed to function effectively in society. That skill can be taught the hard way — as a schoolroom chore. The easy way is in the lap of a parent or grandparent, or in the class of a teacher enthusiastic in reading aloud. An adult sharing a book with a child encourages him or her to stay with it long enough to get to the end. Jim Trelease believes the reason that so many children have difficulty with , reading is because they are taught how to read instead of being encouraged to want to read. Being read to by an adult gives this encouragement. The Read Aloud Hand-

book lists books which are guaranteed to inspire the imagination when read aloud to youngsters. It discusses what makes a good choice for reading aloud, and advises how to build up a good home library. Eventually the desire to find out what happens will be strong enough for the child to read to the end by him or herself. At that stage, the child’s horizons are limited only by the books available in the local library. At under ?10 the paperback book is a good investment, likely to be well used if the author’s message reaches a receptive audience. And if his methods are to be followed, the advice on how to strengthen paperbacked books could be useful on the reference volume itself.

—Vicky Lucas