James Barber
English 111
10/15/12
PBS It all started with this statement: “I’m sorry, Jim. I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I’m going to stop other things. I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I actually like you, too. But I’m not going to — I’m not going to keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it.” These are the words of 2012 Republican Presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney. Through long and short term affects of children’s education, tax spending by the government, and differences on class, I will show why these words should not have been spoken. There are two main ways that show how PBS affects a child: long term and short term. In a study, about 250 children were followed for three years, some from age 2 to 5, others from age 4 to 7. In that period, each child was assessed four times in the researchers' offices and four times in the child's home. Each assessment session lasted two hours and included the child's parents. Between visits, the parents were interviewed by telephone every two months, and kept a diary of the child's activities. Okay, but what were the findings (long term and short term) of THIS study? How does it relate to your thesis statement?…in red. “Over the course of a year, 91 percent of all U.S. television households tune in to their local PBS station. In fact, our service is watched by 81 percent of all children between the ages of 2-8. Each day, the American public receives an enduring and daily return on investment that is heard, seen, read and experienced in public media broadcasts, apps, podcasts and online — all for the cost of about $1.35 per person per year.” Says who? Please place who said this here. In the 25 years since "Sesame Street" was created, assorted studies have shown that the show helps preschool children learn about numbers and the alphabet, and thus helps prepare them for school. A new study, being released today, takes that conclusion two steps further. It found that preschoolers in low-income areas around Kansas City who had watched educational television programming, including "Sesame Street," not only were better prepared for school but actually performed better on verbal and math tests as late as age 7 than would have been expected otherwise. I will have more information and sources to add to this paragraph before the final due date. The way that the government spends money on taxes is a direct effect. “Governor Romney does not understand the value the American people place on public broadcasting and
