It shouldn't come as a surprise that the National
Education Associationís denounced "Channel One". Chris Whittle, founder
of the program, promised two minutes of advertisements, and 10 minutes
of news. According to a University of Michigan study which Whittle
himself paid for, Channel One actually delivered 3.5 minutes of news,
2 of ads, and 6.5 minutes of music, movies, and fashion.
At 12 minutes per day, 180 days per year, do taxpayers
really want, and can teachers really afford to give up 36 hours of classroom
time? Shouldn't watching the news be an integral part of homework,
as opposed to schoolwork? Isn't watching the news going to be part
of the 5 hours the average child already spends in front of the tube?
And how about keeping privately sponsored advertisements in private schools?
While we're at it, obesity is on the increase,
as is resultant diabetes. Can we please have some courageous school
board members lobby to have the soda machines removed! I don't care
HOW much revenue it generates!