CAMPUS/AREA UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, June 21, 1995
3A
Edmee Rodriguez / KANSAN
Aletha Huston and John Wright, professors of human development and psychology and communication studies, have found that children who watch "Sesame Street" are more ready for school than those who watch non-educational programs.
'Sesame Street' may be path to potential
By Meng Yew Tee
Kansan staff writer
Children who spend their sunny days sweeping the clouds away on "Sesame Street" may have an academic edge
A study recently released by two KU professors found that preschoolers from lower-income families who watched educational programming, such as "Sesame Street," were more ready for school than children who didn't
school than children who didn't watch educational shows.
These "Sesame-Street" watching children also performed better on reading, math and vocabulary tests.
In the long run, non-educational children's programs like "Bugs Bunny" or Disney cartoons, such as "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid," can negatively affect children's developing academic skills, school readiness and adjustment capabilities, the study revealed.
The 4-year study was completed by John C. Wright and Aletha C.
Huston, both professors of human development and co-directors of the University's center for research on influences of television on children. The study was financed by a $1.4-million unrestricted grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
"For the first time, we are able to say, based on a scientifically sophisticated study, that the same kids viewing different parts of the medium of television have benefits for some kinds of viewing and deficits for others." Wright said.
For example, the study found that children who watch 25 minutes of educational programs a day scored five points higher on a standardized achievement test. However, if the same children watched commercial or non-educational programs for 25 minutes a day, they lost about five points on the same tests.
The study also found that those children who watched educational programs spent more time reading
About the study...
More than 250 preschoolers and their families were followed closely during a three-year period. They were assessed four times in their homes and four times at the research office. Unannounced telephone interviews also were made.
or being read to. They also spent less time on such activities as watching adult-television programs or playing video games.
"We were able to do something that has never been done before," Wright said. "We were able to study over time the effects of prior viewing on subsequent test scores."
The opposite was found for preschoolers who had watched non-educational and made-foradult television programs.
- On average, children watched up to 8 hours of non-educational cartoons and 16 hours of adult-or general-audience programs a week. Those hours declined when they started kindergarten.
The length and depth of this study is unprecedented, Wright said. It should quickly become a factor in arguments about the effects of television, particularly on children.
METHOD
Subjects were selected from low-income families, Statistical controls were applied to parental education, family income, preschool attendance, the child's first language, home environment and the child's initial level of language skill at the beginning of the study.
"We can use television to help children develop, or we can use it to sell them things," Huston said. "Unfortunately, most of the television in this country has been used primarily for sales and making profit off children.
- Children from ages 2 to 4 watched less than 2 hours of educational programs a week. By age 6 to 7, the hours declined to about 1 a week.
    "Sesame Street" made up almost 80 percent of that viewing.
"But our study shows that if you do have the programming that is well designed, children can learn and benefit from it."
The bottom line to parents is this: Careful selection of the programs children watch is essential. As the husband-wife team of Wright and Huston said, television is like a library: it depends on what you pick up to read.
One of the study's most important conclusions is that television
- 6 year olds and 7 year olds who viewed children's educational programs were more likely to show better reading skills and school-adjustment capabilities.
OTHER KEY FINDINGS
Study of children's shows may help save public TV
By Meng Yew Tee
Kenneth staff writer
Kansan staff writer
A newly released study by two KU professors on the effects of educational television viewing on children could mean another important battle won for public broadcasting stations.
John C. Wright, professor of human development and one of the study's researchers, said that the results favored PBS since most quality educational children's programs were aired on public broadcasting. PBS is trying to prevent funding cuts by the federal government. For this reason, Wright said the study's publicity was important.
The results have been featured on NBC's "Today Show," ABC's "World News Tonight" and in the New York Times.
It also caught the attention of the White House. Wright and Aletha C. Huston, professor of human development and the study's other researcher, met Vice President Al Gore, the first lady and Washington policy-makers last year while working on the project.
"The publicity is going to help us make sure that the people of the United States, acting through the government, continue to fund public broadcasting," Wright said. "It is pretty clear that the Congress will be very ill advised to stop funding it."
Huston added, "It seems quite clear to me if we don't keep some public funding going for children's television, we are not going to have quality television for children."
Warm months are busy ones for financial aid
Office receives more than 700 calls in a day
By Tara Trenary
Kenyon staff writer
Kansan staff writer
At 8 a.m., two students wait outside the Office of Student Financial Aid at 50 Strong Hall. Inside, the switchboard already is lit with phone calls.
While many students and faculty take a break during the spring and summer, the busy season blooms at the financial aid office.
"We stay consistently busy from mid-March to the end of Seentem.
ber," said Diane Del Buono, director of financial aid.
The purpose of the financial aid office is to make a college education an accessible option for everyone by providing funds to those who qualify, Del Buono said.
The warm
When students leave Lawrence for the summer, the number of walk-ins at the office decrease. That's when phones carry the load.
The warm months are busy ones at the office for many reasons. It accepts fee payments from students during the last few weeks of the spring semester and bills are mailed in July.
The office increased its number of phone lines and the phone capacity. Also, the staff uses headsets to answer calls, which helps cut the waiting time for the caller; Del Buono said.
The Student Senate provides funds for the financial aid office to hire student advisers. The advisers are trained to work with students and their problems.
"Where our volume really changes is on the phones," said Del Buono, "because now many of the families must communicate by phone."
During the summer, many of these student advisers increase their work hours from part-time to fulltime.
Since it moved from a much smaller space in Strong Hall last year, the office has been better equipped to handle the heavy workloads.
The financial aid office receives 700-900 phone calls a day.
phone calls, they had plenty of extra work.
Student adviser Martina Dodson said that the front desk was not as busy during the summer, but that between the paperwork and the
Temporary staff is hired to perform basic office work, said Del Buono. Training sessions and staff meetings are conducted to help the staff better deal with anxious or angry customers and to discuss concerns of staff members. Even with the
Even with the extra effort
made to improve financial aid office efficiency, students and their families still may feel the effects of the work overload.
"I think, because it is busy, that very few people get through on the phone without some kind of wait," Del Buono said.
She said that as summer progresses, callers get frustrated and many times get angry.
However, the office may never be able to adequately staff so that no one has a delay, Del Buono said.
Student adviser Jessica Robinson said callers should be patient.
"We try to answer calls as quickly as possible." Robinson said.
The Associated Press
DEA agents say drug busts on the rise
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Methamphetamine apparently is replacing cocaine as the drug of choice for some middle-class users, and Independence has become a production center for the easy-to-make drug.
"A DEA agent told me we've busted more meth labs in the last six months than the state of Missouri and Kansas combined," said city police Lt. Jerry Heard. "The city of Independence is the hub for meth, so we've got a big mess."
In 13 raids since February, detectives have found meth — also known as crank — at each lab or clandestine drug house.
"We're involved in more labs this year than last year. And a number of those have been in Independence," said Gary Worden, agent in charge of the DEA district office in Kansas City.
"It's the middle-class people's drug, occasionally upper class," Heard said. "This is more the street-level people. Outlaw biker gangs are still involved, but it's branched out. It pretty much runs the whole gamut."
Meth is a mix of ephedrine — a naturally occurring drug used to treat asthma and stuffy noses — with other chemicals available in white gas, rubbing alcohol, pool-cleaning supplies or drain cleaners. It can be snorted, smoked or injected.