Chinook Montessori students take up challenge to turn away from television
Published Friday, April 25, 2008
About 50 kids in two classes at Chinook Montessori Charter School are trying to tune out TV this week as part of Turn Off Your TV Week.
Parent volunteer Corrine Leistikow said about two-thirds of the students went cold turkey, while others are limiting their exposure to the electronic screen.
About half of the unplugged students say it’s been easy so far, while the half say they’ve had withdrawal symptoms.
Some students are doing more schoolwork, reading, playing music or playing outdoors instead of watching the tube.
One student said she sometimes has had to cover her eyes because other members of her family are still watching TV.
A couple of kids say that being unable to play with their PlayStations is the biggest drawback.
The classes involved in the project are taught by Joanna Schaeffer and Tracy Lease, with students in grades four through eight.
The students signed pledge cards and are competing for fame, though not of the televised variety.
Those who last the entire week will be eligible for a grand prize drawing.
In a concession to modernity, the kids are allowed to use cell phones and iPods, though just to make phone calls and listen to music. The kids are allowed to use computers for school work.
Statistics say the average child spends more time watching TV in a year — 1,000 hours — than attending class.
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READ ABOUT IT: The new “Fantastic 4” comic features a story that has something to do with an out-of-control robot that wreaks havoc on Eielson Air Force Base.
After doing its evil thing at Eielson, the robot goes to Fort Greely and uses teleportation to go deep inside and deactivate nuclear weapons. It’s a real cliffhanger.
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SIGN UP: Would-be camp counselors and child care providers can get CPR and first aid training from Just For Kids. The class will be May 17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 725 26th Ave. The cost is $70 and you can call 490-6722 to register.
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RAFFLE: Hutchison High School is raffling off a limited edition Dave Mirra BMX Bike valued at $570 Saturday at the Bentley Mall. The proceeds from the raffle will help fund the Junior Prom. This bike is one of 100 made.
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PROM WEEKEND: Most of the high school proms are this weekend. West Valley’s is at Pioneer Park, while Lathrop’s is at the Westmark and North Pole’s is at the Princess. The Eielson prom is next week.
The school dress codes apply. For some time now, Lathrop has been warning students: “Girls — no cleavage may be showing, and the dress cannot be too short. If your dress does not meet dress code, you will be issued a T-shirt or sweat pants and will have to wear that if you want to attend the dance.”
“Boys, you must be dressed in formal wear — no jeans, tennis shoes, etc.”
My guess is that anyone given a T-shirt and sweatpants will not want to dance the night away.
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EXTREMES: Attorney Barry Jackson notes that while Anchorage and the rest of Southcentral Alaska have the lowest natural gas prices in the United States, other residents of the state are paying the highest cost for home heating fuel in country, putting Alaska at both extremes.
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CEMETERY: The owners of the Birch Hill Cemetery, who took it over from the city, need to deal with some serious road erosion problems on the hill. There are gaping ditches in some spots that show the need for gravel, grading and better drainage. I talked to the owners about the problem and they say they’ll get to work on it next week.
They said one of the problems is that during the winter people cut the locks and opened gates that should have remained closed.
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HEALY COAL: The GVEA board is considering an arbitrated agreement on access to the Healy Clean Coal plant owned by the state. In its long history, the $300-million-plus plant has generated a great deal more heat than light.
The agreement doesn’t deal with the unknown millions it would take to get the plant into operation or resolve questions about reliability.
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TRAIL TALES: Mushers Aily Zirkle, Ken Anderson and Jeff Conn are to be featured at “Tales From the Trail,” a charity banquet and silent auction set for tonight at the Princess Hotel. Admission is $35, with tickets available at Cold Spot Feeds and the Pleasant Valley Store in Two Rivers.
The social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Proceeds are to help children with disabilities. Call 378-3358 for more information.
Community Discussion
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I wonder whether the students at Chinook were offered a list of suggestions for things to do instead of watch television. Too many people think of giving up TV as GIVING UP something, and expect that a day without it will be spent staring at the wall. Better instead if they can think of the more interesting, gratifying things they'll get to do instead.
--Paul Adasiak
http://fairbankspedestrian.wordpress.com...
Different subject, same topic
Isn't it curious that newspapers around the state are rallying their support for Turn off Your TV week when they know their main competition for advertising dollars is the TV industry. Isn't it also curious that Turn Off Your TV week coincides with the first week of television sweeps. They could have picked any other week, but isn't it nice that it falls on a week that is used to determine viewership for TV programming. The less people they can get to watch TV, the less the ratings, ... the less advertisers will want to place in TV. Guess who is there to offer ad placements? Oh, I don't know, ...the newspapers. The News-Miner's support is a ploy.
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