Advertisement Ana Skemp notices subtle but telling differences among her 17 first-graders during storytime.
The first-grade teacher at Three Rivers Waldorf school in La Crosse said TV watchers tend to fidget more, can’t sit still as long and are less able to focus on images the story introduces.
Non-TV watchers, she said, listen with “a sense of delight.” They sit still. Their imagination runs wild at the images presented.
Last week, the school sponsored “Screen Free Jubilee” with a series of events to encourage first-graders and their families to shun all screened media, including televisions, computers, cell phones and video games.
It’s part of national TV Turnoff Week, which receives support from more than 70 national organizations including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association, and President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
At the school, there are no computers or televisions in classrooms, but organizers sought to extend the commitment to the home.
“We’re telling parents, start with one week of abstinence, and maybe they’ll realize ‘that’s not so bad,’” said Rhonda Rabbitt, an education professor at University of Wisconsin La-Crosse whose husband, Jon, teaches at the school.
Their family, which includes four grade-school-aged children, went TV-free five years ago.
“Since then, they’ve gotten along better and been more self-directed in their play,” Rabbitt said.
Killian Harnish, a first-grader, said he watches more television during winter.
“There’s nothing to do so I watch PBS specials a lot,” he said. “On Saturdays I watch cartoons.”
The rest of the year, he said, he spends most of his time outside, playing in a fort designed like a pirate ship.
Ricky Cutler, another first-grader, said he almost never watches TV, even during the winter.
“You should be outside in the winter,” he said. He goes sledding and has snowball fights with friends, he said.
Dan Simmons can be reached at (608) 791-8217 or dsimmons@lacrossetribune.com.
