The power of the media on the students at Bethel is mind boggling. This was made apparent through a survey in which students in grades 3 - 5 were asked how many hours a week they spent watching television. We should not have been surprised by the outcome, but the numbers proved too much even for our imaginations. We found that the average amount of television watched by Bethel students was between 18 and 24 hours a week. (Seven students watch more than 25 hours of television a week.)
On average fifth-grade students at Bethel watch television three hours a day. However, these same students reported spending on average only one-hour-a-night on their homework assignments. Consequently, we decided to survey the students in grades kindergarten through fifth. We asked them how many televisions their family owned and where they were located in their homes. Astonishingly, we discovered that most students have more than one television in their house and a large percentage have a television in their bedroom. It is no wonder why advertisement companies have had such a successful campaign. By targeting this age group, they have seized the imaginations of these young minds.
The following chart was made compiling
the data from a survey given to kindergarten through fifth grade students
during the month of September at Bethel Elementary School.
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Favorite Type of Candy |
|
Eddy Otter Laboratory |
Beef? |
Professor 2 Seconds |
Wild" Banner" Life" Boys Soundtrack Dog's Out?" |
Musketeer |
After evaluating this data, we concluded that students at Bethel are highly influenced by media products. This is apparent by noticing the following pattern: children buy the products related to the shows that they watch, as well as watch the shows advertised by the products that their peers are sporting.
Click on the following movie titles in order to watch the movies the students at Bethel are watching.
http://qt.stream.aol.com/qt/moviefone/2000/g/gonein60sec.mov
