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Monday, July 11, 2005
Campaign sought vs. TV addiction
TWO Cebu City councilors asked the Department of Education (DepEd) to help ensure the physical and mental well-being of public school students, as the City Government continues to improve the education system in the city.
In a proposed resolution, Councilor Edgardo Labella urged DepEd to start a campaign against excessive television watching, saying it hampers the mental and social advancement of children.
Councilor Arsenio Pacaña, in another resolution, also asked the department to advocate programs that promote the physical and mental development of preschool and grade one pupils.
Problems affecting the physical development of children like malnutrition, lack of sleep and short-term hunger are some of the factors blamed for the high dropout rate in public schools, he said.
Pacaña, who also owns a university, added that nutrition for pre-elementary and first grade students is crucial since they belong to the age group that is still developing mentally, physically and emotionally.
“Once they drop out from school, they are more likely to suffer from low levels of literacy later on,” he said.
The councilor called for a campaign to promote supplemental feeding programs, the regular medical and dental check-up of students and the establishment of a pre-school in every barangay—programs launched by the different government line agencies.
Considering the extent of the problem, Pacaña said a comprehensive public information campaign is needed to generate public support and ensure the success of the programs.
Labella also called on DepEd to issue an advisory regarding the harmful effects of excessive TV viewing “so the mental and social development of the growing schoolchildren of the city will not be imperiled by their early addiction to TV.”
Excessive watching of TV, he said, not only results in anti-social behavior but also impedes the mental and social advancement of young children, as proven by various social and psychological studies.
He cited studies that established that young viewers, especially schoolchildren, experience less mental stimulation during TV watching than while they are reading. LCR
(July 11, 2005 issue)
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