Children and Television Eng.11 Holly Pappas

Questions on Children and Television:

What do we need to know about children and TV?

A great deal is known about children and television,because there have been thousands of studies TV affects kids sleep,weight,behavior and more. Its well worth reviewing what the researchers have learned.

How Does Television affect our Children?

The average American child will see 200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders on TV by the age of 18. A study conducted by the University of Michigan over a 15 year period resulted in a finding that the link between childhood TV-violence viewing and aggressive and violent behavior persists into adulthood.

Does TV affect childrens Brain Developement?

The American Academay of Pediatrics finds that,with televisions programs and even cable channels,designed and marketed specifically for babies,weather kids under two years of age should be wathching becomes an important question. While we are learning more all the time about early brain development,we do not yet have a clear idea how telvision may affect it. Some studies link early TV reviewing with a later attention problems such as ADHD. One study found that TV viewing before age three slightly hurt several measures of later cognitive development,but that between ages of three and five it slightly helped reading scores.

What can Parent Do?

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,media education can help kids become less susceptible to the bad effects of wathching violent TV. Some studies shown that kids who received media education had less violent behavior after watching violent TV. Some studies show that kids who received media education had less violent behavior after watching violent programs. A good key is to teach your kids media savvy. And to keep an eye on what they are wathching. If the television show gets violent it is good to discuss it with your child to be sure they know the difference between reality and make believe.

V-Chip is another useful tool in proventing children from wathcing violent TV. The V-Chip is a generic term used for television receivers allowing the blocking of programs based on there ratings category. It is intended for use by parents to manage their children's television viewing. Most 13inch and larger televisions manufactured for the United States market since 1999 and all units as of January 2000are required to have the V-Chip Technology. Many devices similar to the V-Chip have been produced.

Can TV scare or traumatize kids?

Symptons of being frighten or upset by tv stories can include Bad Dreams, anxious feeling,being afraid of the being alone,withdrawing from friends and missing school.Fears caused by TV can cause sleep problems in children. TV programs with Scary-looking things like grotesque monsters especially frighten children aged two to seven. Telling them the images are not real does not help because kids under age 8 can't tell the difference between fantasy and relity. Children aged 8-12 years who viewed violence are often frightened that they may be victim of violence or natural disaster.









Works Cited

Children and Television: Eng.11 Holly Pappas


Web page: www.med.umich.edu/yourchild topics./tv.htm

Web Page: www.childshospital.org/newsroom

Web Page: James.Newton@Childrens.harvard.edu

Web Page: FCC V-Chip information (http://www.fcc.gov/vchip/)

Web Page: Retrived from "http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-chip"

What to Do After High School

During my senior year the thought of what to do after high school always

entered my mind. With the guidence office going over the options of colleges and

some other careers. It gave me some ideas of just what I could do. I new that it

would be hard to go to college due to the fact that my family did not have much

money. What I really wanted to do was to enlist in the army. But that

option was out untill I turned 18 years old. Because my father for sure did not

want me to enlist in the military because of the fact he feared for my life and

survival.

First I needed to find a way to earn money. For three major reasons, one to

purchase a vehicle second for college and last to be able to save some for

retirement. I started looking for work during my senior year and found a position

with Burger Chef restaurant. Although the pay was low and was not much of an

income I did manage to save most of my pay to put a down payment on a car. It took

couple of pay checks and I finally now I could purchase my own automobile.



At the age of 16,I purchased my very first car. Oh how very happy and excited

I was. After few months I came to realize that I should be earning higher

wages,being I was a high school graduate. I decided to look for new job. So right

after high school in June of 1972 I found new job at Foster Metals. It was jewelry

factory in Attleboro,Ma. They plated jewelry with yellow gold and rodium. I worked

in the plating room itself. I would take racks with jewelry strung on them with

copper wire and place it in a series of tanks.First in the degreaser tank,to remove

any grease left from stamping machines. Second dip the racks into the Nickel

planting soloution tank, then into plain water tank, then into a yellow gold or the

rodium tank,then into water. I then hung the jewelry racks on a large rods over

the top of a sawdust box for drying. I then would take an air hose and blow off the

water on the jewerly. From there the deracking person would come and take the

racks full of jewelry to there section for deracking and packing. The position of a

a plating factory worker sure did not make me feel I was going anywhere in life. I

held this position for about a year. My wages were higher at Foster Metals,than

they were at Burger Chef but not great. I decided to return to job hunting and it

led me to a position with Foxboro Company.


My postion with them was on an assemble line. We built an item called a Chart

Drive. The instrument was used to control and measure the movements of fluids in

very large tanks. Such as oil refinery's have and use to store oil in. My job was

to install the electric motor in a base plate and attach a plastic cover on the

front of the unit and make adjustments to the needle. I then place the unit on a

lazy susan made of wood and the next employee would add another pieace to it and

complete the unit.

I was doing very well in this position for about two years. I still had in

back of my mind how much I did not like being a factory worker and how I thought

that I would be happier in the military,I wanted to see the world.

One afternoon I received an ad in the mail for an Airline school. I called them

and set up an interview. A representative came to my home, my dad and I went over

the course and I felt it would be great thing to do. So I completed the

correspondence part of the course and also the resident training. But

unfortunately upon the arrival at the school. I along with all the rest of the

students was notified we would be the last graduating class. That the world is

suffering some oil crisis and the Airlines are now laying off. I completed the

course and went home. Despite the oil crisis I kept applying for jobs in airline

field without any luck.


One Friday as I was driving home from work I noticed a military recruiters

office. I decided I had enough of waiting and searching for work. So

I decided to stop in and see what they had to offer. My intention was to speak to

an Army recruiter but he was no where to be found. I notice the door open to the

Air Force recruiters office and I went on in. He showed me some films, went over

some benefits of joining and I knew I was enlisted for 6 years. I was to leave on

Valentines Day. And hence I did just that. The next 6 years of my Life was very

exciting. My Air Force life brought me new experiences and adventures in many

places I never been.



In August of 1979 my son was born and I became a proud father. Two years

passed by and my enlistment was near its closing. I had a choice to reenlist or be

discharged. The personnal office said that their is a great possibility my next

assignment would be a remote tour to Korea. Korea being in a state of kaos and

located in what is know as a combat zone is off limits to civilian personnal. In

which my family would not be able to accompany me on my assignment.



This did not make me very happy, I decided it be best finish my enlistment and

be discharge from the military. On February 13th 1975 my enlistment was up and my

family and I returned to Massachusetts.



After some carefull thought I decided to return to school and learn a trade. I

choose to attend Rhode Island Trade Shop School in Providence, Rhode Island. I

completed there course in Auto Mechanics.


When I graduated from the school in November 1981 I worked as auto mechanic for

many years. The money I spent on tools seamed to out way the wages I earn as an

auto mechanic. So one more time I choose to work in a different field. I did


enjoyed working outdoors and decided to go into landscaping. I worked in the

landscaping field for about 10 years. It was very rewarding and satisfying to me.



On one rainy evening in August 2007 after being involved in accident I suffered

some injury to my spine. (crushed vertibre). No longer could I work as a landscaper

without causeing more damage to my spine. Time to decide once again what are my

choices for work. After alot of serious long thinking over several months. I

choose to return to school and learn a new career as a radiologist. What had

spark my interest in this field was when I was having MRI's and x-rays done while

recovering from my accident. I was very interested in the technoloby behind all

the instruments and machine used to take pictures of the human body.


Now I have return to school to learn a new and challenging career in medical

field as a radiologist.

Response to article Out of the Kitchen,onto the Couch

In First section Michael Pollen expresses that Julia Childs tv show helped to improve
on american home cooking. By expanding our boundaries of home cooking in USA. She added some french and europian recipe's. She gave to american housewifes courage to actally try to prepare a gormet meal even from a foriegn country. He demostrates how important to a woman in the house The Tv show on cooking actually was. It could teach her new methods of cooking at same time she is taking a break wathching TV.

He shows by example of the movie julie & julia that even in modern times woman can learn from watching tv. And can create something to aid in her work, and manage to keep a household operating. Cooking and working at the same time.

He demonstrates that the Popularity of cooking shows had increase dramatically. The Food Network now seen by over 100 millions americans. He demostrates the decline of good home cooking by the talking about the rise in fast food,home-meal replacements and decline and fall of everyday cooking. Hence Onto the Couch. .

Although more woman today are in the working world. In which it leaves alot of the cooking to food companies. We spend far less time in preparation of our meals than ever before. Americans are spending more time watching cooking shows than doing the cooking themselves. They say they just dont have time for cooking.

The author shows how that todays cooking shows are more likely to show the fast food products and show how to cook in mere minutes, as to when Julia Child's era it was more of pleasure to cook a gormet meal and it was not cooked in a rush. But almost everything prepared from scratch. The ingredients all in raw form, As today they are in premade packages.
The author did actally do some research from a reliable source, Phone interview with
a veteran food-marketing researcher Harry Balzar. He works for NPD Group, collect data from 2000 food diareies to track American eating habits. Americans can call almost anything cooking outside of microwaveing a pizza.
For Me cooking a meal consist of time spent on it. Is the judge of weather we call it a meal or not. Or Call it cooking. I prepare a meal once a day for dinner. Takes 20-30 minutes usually. If i just heat up something in the microwave i do not call it cooking either. More of just heating something up. Yes it is eating but not cooking.

Yes i agree that fast food has taken us out of the kitchen. It has at least cut the time we spend on preparing food for a meal more than in half. What the author did not mention is the fact of supermarkets also created a way to get food quickly.
We did not have to go to the garden to pick it, or grow it in the first place. Yes i agree to a certain extent cooking shows have succeeded in bringing us out of the kitchen. But i feel it is mostly do to fast food industry itself. Also i with the author that the american woman working has cause alot of the time spent in the kitchen to decline. And in order to keep up with demand the food industries took somewhat advantage of the situation and made it possible for people to work, and yet have time to prepare a meal. One than can be nutrious. Such as the author mentions frozen peanut butter and Jelly Sandwich.

In the authors challenge that we learn or dont learn from the Cooking network, Do to its fast,fast way of perparing things is only somewhat true.. For some have an audience right at the show's filming and they get to sample what was prepared or bring home some of the food cooked. Or get the recipe live. Direct from a Chef.

I can agree with Michael Pollan that cooking shows in our time are more about buying not making. He shows its who is cooking not whats being cooked. George Forman grill,
make a good ,greaseless burger, is not showing cooking, but actually selling a product. Rachel Ray to me, does not do much cooking but more like our modern housewife's. Suppose to be cooking but is doing everything but. Always chatter, chatter with guest.

I do agree that one of the reasons why we watch cooking on tv is do to the fact, that we miss cooking. Tasting the food as we prepare it. The sight of big smiles as we bring it to the table. Smelling oh so very good. We dont seam to have the time any longer to do all the preps so we may imprevise. Actual cooking does bring a heart felt emotion to our very souls. This i agree with what the author has said.
That cooking can strike an emotional cord.

Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch

From the New York Times : author Michael Pollan. An Article entitled Out of the Kitchen and Onto the Couch.

First mentioned is the fact of a television show that his mom had learned many recipes from. And tried them out on her family. The show intitled The French Chef , where Julia Child was the host. Showed housewifes and tv viewers how to cook some gormet and not so gormet meals. Housewifes could watch a show and not have to read a cook book. And Julia showed how much fun it could be to Cook. Adding a flare to the idea of cooking. The show being heartfelt made it more realistic.

A Movie had come out about Julia Childs life, in the movie a section tells a story of a writer living in Queens, who decides to do a story on Julia Childs cooking methods and the actual cooking. By writing about and cooking some 524 recipes in 365 days. It turns out to be a great article to write about and fun to do. Shows how a working girl can cook and work all at the same time.

The article blends itself into the Food Network show on television. In which some 100 million American homes and most night commands more viewers than any of the cable news channels.

Its tells of the competion between Top Chefs on telvision and how people have to know or will challenge each other to guess who will win the cooking contest. They might even try a recipe or two and challenge each other. But one thing is certain , we find ourselves watching more cooking shows and we have the convenience of Fast Foods , home-meal replacements , to name a few ,than have replaced our desire to cook at home or to follow the recipe we just seen on a TV cooking show.

Today's society, in which many woman of the household have to work, do to the economy has caused woman to find it easier to let the food industry create ways to make our work in the kitchen far easier, faster and almost to the point of not having to cook at all. We have new technology that it easier for the woman to give up long hours in the kitchen. More time for watching there favorite shows or being out in the working world.

The author speaks more about the Julia Child show and how it was alot more fun to watch her than some of the more modern cooking shows , which show only instant things. He tells of how Julia added a sprit of her own to cooking and gave to housewifes courage to actually do or try some new recipes. Cooking to Julia was gratifying, and she even broke a sweat when embarrsed by dropping something. The author compares her roll on a cooking show with others , who barely do any work at all. One book published The Feminine Mystique, showed that cooking can be a drudgery. Unlike that fun in the kitchen with Julia Child. Toss it up let it land, if you miss it . Oh well you can always make a new one or wash it and keep on cooking.

In todays society we have redifined cooking from scratch. Everything in premade packages, instant form mixes. We hardly have to lift a finger to get the meal we like to have in little as 3 minutes. Harry Balzer explained "people call things cooking" today that would cause our grandmothers to roll over in there grave.

In our fast paste world in which we live people are out to save time and money. The author states that 58 % of the people still cook evening meals, but the number is steadily dropping.

Some of the cooking shows turn into a mans world at night. Even stealing the sports watchers.

The food networks such as Iron Chef of America tend to keep the male population interested in watching televsion cooking shows. They love the competion created by these shows.

Buying not making is what cooking shows are mostly about in present day time.

Cooking shows are now causing men to be more interested in who is doing the cooking then what is being cooked. The cooking show has helped transform cooking into something you watch instead of something you do. TV dinner advertisements keep us in front of the tv wishing and wanting to go cook something but we dont want to get off the couch. So say during a commercial be great time to have a swanson tv dinner handy to pop in microwave. And we can get right back to what we where watching and it will also fill us up.

The end of cooking, is shown by the fact that us americans spend more time working than any other country in the world. So that leaves us less time for cooking and relaxing after a meal. Our industrial revaloution has though kept up with the times. Cooking shows to help us maintain the ideas of good cooking and fast food products so we can at least take some time to eat and enjoy what we are eating. Do to the fact it was so easy to prepare. We learned that cooking can be pleasureable but does not pay the rent. So its ok to eat mass produce products, its just a part of the modern world in which we live.


The Cooking Animal: In this section the author demonstrates, that Men still have a cave man animal instink about them. Cooking has come out of the kitchen and onto an outdoor grill. Something in us likes to remind us our our distant origin. In modern times cooked food takes alot less time to chew and digest than as with our ancestor. The cooked food was better for our health. Men love to cook on the grill and claim they are the great chef. Food cooked right before your eyes. Cooked food gives us more time to spend on other things beside gathering food and having to chew it for hours on end.
Cooking also gave us the practice of eating together at a certain time. Backyard babecue weekends. Creating socialism, such as we do now a days as we gather as service stations to grab a quick bite to eat. Pop whatever fast food we find in a microwave and eat on the run.

The fact that food is so easily prepared has caused us to eat more often. Its so convenient to just eat something already prepared. We do it more often than perhaps we notice. According to some statitics the number of meals americans eat in one day has climbed to eating a half of meal more per day than in 1977. Yes it for sure has taken its course in causing some Americans to become obeast.The Journal of the American Dietetic association found that poor woman who routinely cooked were more likely toeat a more healthful diet than well to do woman who did not.

So cooking does matter, very much so. When co-operations do the cooking, our health can be effected in an adverse way if we are not carefull. They tend to add sugar,fat and salt which our bodies get hard wired to crave. They use these ingredients because they are inexpensive for them to purchase. And can cause us to be addditive to simply by the chemical makeup in our bodies.

Will it be possible to reverse this effect of the large food companies, and return to good old home cooked meals. Only if we all come to realize just how much the food industry has turned our life's into an all most human machine. Just oil it or feed it fuel and it will work. People are generally cheap and Lazy so it will be hard to reboot our system of fast food back to basics. One way is some of the grocery stores have delivery service. (PeaPod) You shop online and food is deliverd. Though not totally a method that we have to prepare the food, or grow or cook it. But at least its not cooked out of the home.

Who will teach the next generation to cook. They will be living in a world of a whole new style of food and cooking. Instant world will be what they live in. Programing cpts to create food will be the next generation. I personally do not see us returning to hunting for our food. Or long hours in the kitchen. Americans have grown use to fast,convenient, simple ways to cook. Yes now and then we try to follow some gormet cook on televisions receipe. But we rather have had someone else do it and we just pop it in a microwave or oven to heat and eat.

The author ends with just cook it yourself no matter what it is. But I do not see that happening anytime soon.

ethnography on Tia Chi

Tai Chi



One Saturday morning I went to visit a Tia Chi Class , this is a form of martial arts in

moving meditation and excersise. The class that I observed ran for an hour and a half. Tia Chi

has been known to improve mental as well as physical health. For those of you who have

heard of Yoga, it is some what similar to that. Tia Chi was created some 3000 years ago by the

Sholin monks for daily living practices.



This particular Tia Chi class was held in a remodeled warehouse type building. As I entered

the building the sign said the Tia Chi class was on the second floor. I went up to the second floor
,
opened this large steel door and found my self in a very large room about 50 feet long by 25

feet wide. The floor of the room was completely carpeted and there were some pillars that

where use to support the building they were carpeted up several feet from the

bottom. This could prevent any injuries should a student come in contact.

However the room being as large as it was allowed plenty of space for the students to perform

their excersises efficiently.



As I glanced around the room I noticed that along the walls were many displays

of weapons. Broad swords display in pairs, being they are used that way during the

lesson. Tia Chi swords with custom made handles that had insciptions on them where

used during the forms with elegance and grace. There was weapon with a very long handle and

long curved blade which was called a horse cutter. This weapon was used in war time to stop

charging horses. There was also several other kinds of weapons such as chains, spears,

staffs and tiger hooks. Some of which I observed the students used to perform their lessons.

While I was observing the class I noticed a soothing aroma of chinese tea brewing.

During intermission time it seemed to me that this tea helped enlighten the students to maintain

the atomoshere and tranquility of the sessions.

Now its time for the lessons to begin. I notice the instrutor stood out in front of the room

and call the students to formation. All the students line up in four rows about six feet from

one another to allow room to perform. Like soldiers lined up to march I thought. All with black

loose fitting uniforms on and a cloth belt. The instructor then turns on some chinese music. He

turns and faces the students. And begins the warm up lessons.

In a loud voice he gives the instructions as well as performs them. Step by step the students

perform the movements. All with unity and percission . The gracefullness of ballet dances.

Forward and back too and fro , jump ,kick bend. And then turn and do it all over again. Now its

time for a break. So they rest for 10 minutes or so. Now its time for the second set of the

lesson. This time the students have picked up weapons to work with during there practice.

Some had swords, some with a staff , few with chains. How dangerous I was thinking.

But not a one of them made contact with the another. The lessons are someone repertishous.

I noticed that the instructor now was moving about the students to assist them in performing

the moves correctly. Two of the students had move to the side of the main floor to work on

there one to one defensive moves. Back and forth they kick and jabed at each other. Ducking

rapidly stepping forward and back.



Tia Chi is a martial art of defense not offense. There are several versions of Tia Chi. One of

which I observed was Tia Chi Chuan. An ancient form that has the theory of four ounces of

strength against a ton of force. Repelling the opponnet without resorting to force against force.

After the 3rd sequence of the forms the students took a rest from their intense workout.

In about ten minutes the instructor called the students to form up once again. The instructor

then paid respect to the students, as they to him by closing with a bow to each other. I then

had a chance to talk with the instructor, and he invited me to return and learn more.

personal essay experience

My experience in USAF. I travel to San Antonio ,Texas for Basic Training. Fast six weeks of vigorous physical and mental training. Then onto text school for ,training a specific career field.
Mine being in Air Cargo and Passenger Specialist. I was sent to Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls Texas. My school was a six week long course. Which involved hands on and class room instruction. The hands on was very exciting to me. We learned to operate some heavy machinery ,like front end loaders with forks attached. 10,000 pound forklifts, and 25,000 and 40,000 pound Aircraft loaders. the aircraft loaders have very small operator compartments. In here there are the controls that make it raise up to twelve feet, till forward and back by raising and lowering them separate and it has the ability to roll left and right to line up with the aircraft.
The cargo was for this equipment was first put onto aluminum pallets. cover with nets to secure them to the pallets . the air craft loaders themselves have a deck with rollers attach and an interlocking system to secure the pallets . During the six years i served
, in the USAF I used the skills I learned very often. I enjoyed my enlistment very much.
Now with veterans benefits i am attending school.