My father noticed
the amount of time we were watching TV (early 1960s) and decided he
would put a stop to it. His "deal" with us was that we could
watch TV one hour for every hour we read (not counting homework). If
we had read ahead of time what the show was based on we could get double
TV time. If we read the "Three Musketeers" before watching
it, we got to watch TV for twice the time it took to read it. I don't
believe my father realized just how brilliant his plan was at the time,
but even to us kids it the shallowness of a TV adaptation vs. the richness
of literature became very clear to us. While we still watched some TV
we became more and more critical about what we watched. Watching was
still a family pastime as well, so there were often discussions about
the shows and the content/messages involved.
Some of the outcomes
for our family were that none of my siblings finished high school; we
all left straight for college. I was the oldest at 16 and my youngest
brother started college at 14 or 15. And while I own a TV, I have no
reception or cable, using it only for the occasional video date with
my wife or to study dance films. I now have a very rich and full life
working as a business coach, playing music in a folk band, and teaching
dance with my wife at folk festivals around the country and enjoying
our backyard garden.
Breaking the addictive
cycle of TV is the single most impactful action my
father took in promoting my self-development.
Laine
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