Teachers Strike Prompts Changes on TV

KLCS Channel 58, the TV station owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District, altered its broadcast schedule in response to the teachers strike Monday to include more instructional programs that do not require an adult educator’s presence.

The strike also shut down two 52-part educational series that KLCS is producing--”Driver Education” and “Educational and Career Planning”--because six certificated staff members were called into classrooms to fill in for striking teachers, said Sabrina Fair Thomas, manager of program scheduling.

KLCS’ staff-produced live show “Homework Hotline” (weekdays from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.), which uses teachers on the air to answer questions called in by students, will be replaced during the walkout by reruns of previous segments.

Elsewhere in its schedule of instructional programs for elementary and secondary schools, KLCS was replacing some teacher-dependent shows with PBS series such as “Newton’s Apple,” “Wonderworks” and “Reading Rainbow.”

“This is relevant programming; it’s not designed to baby-sit students,” Thomas said. “These particular programs were selected because of their instructional value. They allow kids to learn something without direct supervision.”

Thomas said the temporary programming schedule is most beneficial to secondary students whose complex lesson plans are more difficult for interim teachers to plan.

“We’re like a backup,” Thomas said. “Normal instruction will still go on. But in case a person doesn’t know how to teach science, they can turn on ‘Newton’s Apple’ and the class will still learn something.”