To the editor:

Have you ever heard a person say television is so awful? I believe that television can be educational under the right circumstances. Television is bad if you come home from school or work and sit on your couch, chair, floor, etc., and mindlessly watch TV for hours and hours. But if you do everything you need to such as clean up, homework and everything else, television can be a great way to relax and possibly learn something new.

Television can be educational if you watch shows like the news, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and much more. Sometimes a student’s homework can be to watch a TV show. In many countries, television is a major influence on life and the only source of outside information.

Television can be awful if you just sit there and watch TV for several hours. TV can be hazardous to your health, especially your eyes if you sit so close to the television that if you were to stick out your tongue it would touch the TV screen. TV can have negative influences on your behavior and language use if you watch many violent shows.

Television gives its viewers a glimpse of real-life tragedy like victims of war, natural disaster, and poverty. It also shows great triumph such as when man first walked on the moon. TV can teach people how to cook, build, take care of your pet and much more. Television teaches you many important lessons in life. Don’t just assume that television is bad just because the majority of American children watch a lot of television. Think before you judge.

Asta Thrastardottir,

Quail Run School, Lawrence