Educators often complain that television has destroyed children’s study habits and turned reading from a past-time into a chore. And to hear them tell it, with that daily assault from 100 channels of cable television, it’s no wonder that the results on BJAT and PSE are sagging. And sure enough, the staid environs of a classroom just can’t compete with the magnetism of the moving image, the snap and crackle of television.
But what if all that was turned on its head? What if television – instead of being an enemy of academic industry – became an ally, one more teaching tool? Sounds like some far off fantasy, but it’s a very real possibility with a set of shows that have been produced by the Belize District Principals Association.
It’s an idea that’s been in development since 2005 and after a year of compilation, they’ve put together three pilots for shows that can change the way students are taught. Those pilots were presented to sponsors and potential sponsors last night – and here’s what they look like.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
The sparkling introduction may look like something from the National Geographic Channel, but “People Places and Faces” is a television show produced right here in Belize. And the stars are all Belizean students – and while they travel to exotic places – they aren’t on a vacation; they’re learning, and teaching how to write creatively about those places.
[Clip of Show]
“Challenge Belize” is much the same. It’s a jeopardy style game show – except all the contestants are students, the questions are
all about Belize, and the host, well, she’s Belize’s most popular news anchor…
[Video Clip of Show]
And the same for Math Race Mania, a show that’s something like the great race from us television, except these students are looking for answers to a math riddle, and they are being led by this man, who wouldn’t give them the answers for a song. And though the shows look like fun, you might be surprised to know that they’re developed and produced by school principals, not people you’d normally associate with lively television programming.
And that’s because the shows are meant to break the monotony of the classroom, and deliver lessons through the instrument that young people seem to love most: television. And while the shows make learning entertaining, each follows the curriculum to a “T.”
It’s a novel approach and a home grown reaction to sagging PSE scores, where the principals saw that they had to do something. Delarai Sanchez is the President of the Principal’s Association. She says she realized early in her teaching career that there was something about television that piqued children’s attention.
Delarai Sanchez, President – Principal’s Association
“I think it has something to do with my experience as a teacher. I
would notice that children in the classroom would get bored after a while by hearing one monotones voice over and over. And then one day I was given a camera as a mother’s day gift and I thought it would be a nice idea to video children in the classroom and then have the teachers show it. So in this way they would be hearing different voices and they would be motivated to listen. And so I videod a couple of them and we use it in the classroom and the children really loved it.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Why? What is it that makes it attractive to kids?
Delarai Sanchez,
“I think its seeing themselves in action, that’s the first thing and being a part, being involved.”
And they hope this show will involve all Belize’s students. These shows will be used in the classroom, and distributed to television and cable stations across the country for free – so that when kids go home in the afternoon to crash in front of that television, they’ll be doing more than just watching cartoons or music videos; they’ll be learning, while being entertained and seeing their age mates on television in settings they can relate to.
Delarai Sanchez,
“When children are involved in what they are doing, they will stay on track and it will make a difference in their lives.”
But as slickly finished as they look the 36 shows that the teachers have set as their target are not all ready for broadcast. These first shows called pilots are finished, and now the principal’s are using these to ask for the community’s support.
Delarai Sanchez,
“I just want to ask the businesses to please support us because we are going all the way with this and it is for Belize, for the country of Belize.”
And the assistance they are soliciting is for the 36 shows, 12 of each that they hope to launch in September at the start of the new school year. The principals are determined not to make a piecemeal launch, and are trying to gather sponsorship so that they can have all the shows ready for the launching. Production work was done by NICH’s video team and produced by the Belize Education Children’s Network, a not for profit organization founded by the principals.
