Atholton High School senior Wossen Ayele still remembers a week in the third grade when television was off-limits.
He even knows what show he missed.
“It was [an] episode of ?The Simpsons,? ” said Ayele, who is the student member of the Howard County Board of Education.
Ayele is one of many Howard students who hasaccepted a challenge from state lawmakers to go a week without television as part of National Television Turnoff Week from April 23 to 29.
Howard?s delegation from District 9 and 9A has encouraged students to go one week without television for years. The districts include Northern and Western Howard County.
The reward: an ice cream social.
“It?s one thing to encourage them to spend more time reading and with their families rather than in front of the television,” said Republican Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-District 9. “We figure anything we can do to encourage kids to spend time with their families and not watch TV is good.”
In one year, children will spend more time in front of the television than in school, Del. Warren Miller, R-District 9A said.
Ayele?s TV-free week nearly 10 years ago seems to have set a precedent for his high school life. During weekdays, squeezing in time in front of the tube is difficult, Ayele said.
“I don?t think it?s such a huge challenge,” he said. “Going without watching TV for a week would be completely ordinary.”
BY THE NUMBERS
» On average, a child in the United States will spend more time in front of the television each year ? 1,023 hours ? than in school ? 900 hours.
» The average U.S. household owns 2.73 televisions.
» The average U.S. home has the television on for more than eight hours a day, an hour more than 10 years ago.
» The average American watches four hours and 35 minutes of television a day.
Source: The TV Turnoff Network, tvturnoff.org
