When my three year old sits down at the TV to watch 'Curious George', 'Super Why!' or any other show that is part of PBS's fantastic lineup of PBS Kids programming, I can tell he is mentally engaged. He enjoys the programming, and absorbs the messages of learn, read, discover, create, and explore. I really don't think that he cares if Curious George is Republican or Democrat. To be honest, I don't think he cares that George is a monkey!
Should we let the private sector fill in the gaps left behind in a world of de-funded PBS? I honestly shudder to think of it. While Disney and Nickelodeon do a fantastic job of creating great kids programming, they still have to pay for it... through advertising... to my three year old.
Sure, PBS has product lines that go along with their programming, but do they interrupt the programming to shove the product line in my kid's face? No. They leave it to the parent to find the products if they wish. How can they afford to do this? Through federal (and private) funding.
So cutting PBS's funding will certainly impact the children's programming, and hurt kids. They will spend more time watching advertising between shows, and less time learning what they can from the quality programming that PBS Kids has to offer.
My son has learned a lot from Curious George, is interested in reading because of the influences like 'Between the Lions' & 'Super Why!', has a better understanding of the English language because of 'Word Girl' and 'Martha Speaks', and understands some of the basic tools of science because of 'Sid the Science Kid'. If you throw in the fact that he can can not only say 'ankylosaurus' and 'giganotosaurus', but can tell the difference between them because of 'Dinosaur Train', then you can't deny that the impact of PBS Kids on early childhood development is invaluable.
Consider this, in 2010, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting received congressional funding of $422 Million. Of that, $281 Million went to PBS: $210 Million divided among all the local stations (like WGBH) nationally, and $71 Million directly to PBS. Out of that $281 Million came a lot of great programming, and a huge investment in our future as a country (our kids). Now consider that we currently have earmarked enough money to spend $12 Billion per MONTH to fund the war in Iraq. That's about $412 Million per day!
Let's take a step back and show a little common sense here for a change. We need this programming here in the USA to give kids a head start on academics and learning. So what would you rather have? A full YEAR of PBS Kids programming (as well as all the other programming on PBS) that affects millions of American kids daily, or another DAY of War in Iraq? That's what it boils down to - learning vs. warring.
Either way, you should voice your opinion to the people who represent you in Washington in writing or on the phone. Here's the contact info for representatives of Massachusetts and the North Shore, you're just a couple of clicks away from being heard:
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Senate
- John Kerry: http://kerry.senate.gov/
- Scott Brown: http://scottbrown.senate.gov
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Congress (North Shore Residents are represented by Tierny or Tsongas)
- John Tierney, Massachusetts, 6th
- Niki Tsongas, Massachusetts, 5th
- Michael Capuano , Massachusetts, 8th
- Barney Frank, Massachusetts, 4th
- William Keating, Massachusetts, 10th
- Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts, 9th
- James McGovern, Massachusetts, 3rd
- Ed Markey, Massachusetts, 7th
- Richard E. Neal, Massachusetts, 2nd
- John Olver, Massachusetts, 1st
