Schools Need to Improvise During Fiscally Tough Times

I disagree with Bill Honig and the various school officials throughout California who oppose the use of Channel 1 in the public school system (“Who Controls TV,” Oct. 13). Considering the dire straits their system’s budgets have been in, they should welcome any additional teaching tools.

Two or three minutes of commercials is a small price to pay to bring necessary supplemental current information to our students. Many teachers I have spoken with admit that textbooks cannot keep up with the fast-changing events of today’s world. Newspapers are certainly an alternative. But they are full of advertising, also.

And let’s give the students a little credit. It’s not as if television commercials are a new phenomenon. Sadly, however, current news and information are. Even at the college level, many students do not know who their state legislators are, or what new laws will be affecting them. I wouldn’t mind seeing a more mature version of Channel 1 being fed into the California State University and University of California campuses.

And for that matter, the campuses are already flooded with advertising at sporting events, in the cafeterias, and in the school newspapers. Affording students the opportunity to become informed and elicit thought and debate is a necessary staple in our society.

Newspapers and periodicals, supplemented with quality television news, are required to have this happen. Unfortunately, young people don’t always practice these habits at home. Allow them to practice them at school.

ERIC R. ALVEREZ, Anaheim