Joseph Fuerst

I remember a class I took in college called "Psychology of Consciousness".
We discussed brain waves- alpha waves, beta waves....and one other Greek
letter I can't think of just now. Studies showed that during meditation,
your brain comes to produce alpha waves - a state of deep relaxation and
high awareness. Studies of people watching television showed them going
into a wave zone (beta? - I'll have to look this up); this state clearly
was one of reduced awareness to surroundings. (Ever tried to ask something
of a person watching TV in this state? They appear to ignore you.) At any
rate, this state of consciousness, with its low level of awareness, seems
decidedly unhealthy to stay in for prolonged periods. OTOH, reading and
computer time also at times seem to 'take over ' to the neglect of other
physical, environmental needs.

In regard to video games.....I wonder if studies have been done. Maybe the
interaction makes a difference in brain functioning -?-

. I guess for me the questions boil down to.....how do we teach our
children/orselves discipline to care for themselves physically,
emotionally, etc? OR....how to we promote their growth and encourage them
to find a balance? The media producers and advertisers are majorly
invested in us/our children spending as much time in front of their
adverstisements as possible. Do we simply allow our children to be fed
this stuff?


In a message dated 11/9/01 4:38:46 AM, Ziggy.hindson@... writes:

<< The fallacy of using a label such as "deschooling" is that some children
who
have never been to school nor have they ever been in an environment that was
controlling will still sit like mindless little bloob in front of the tube.
>>

Not any child I have ever met or known.

You cannot tell by looking at someone what they are thinking, and they ARE
thinking. They're either thinking of what they're looking at and hearing,
or
they're thinking of something else and using "I'm watching a show" as a
privacy screen so they can think.

I don't know any "mindless little bloobs."

Perhaps those who have children who are mindless little bloobs should have
their own list, because I don't like the phrase or the lack of respect
behind
it, and I think it's a strawman created for the purposes of this discussion.

Sandra


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