OXNARD : KCET Officials See Class React to Show
About 35 sixth-graders escaped for 15 minutes into a 700-year-old English castle Wednesday, and public television workers got a chance to see firsthand how their programming affects young viewers.
The students at Christa McAuliffe School in Oxnard saw an educational film on castles from an instructional videotape series sponsored by public television station KCET in Los Angeles. And while the children watched, the television staff watched them.
“What’s important about a lesson like this is we can’t take students to a castle,” said Michael Houser, a former teacher who coordinates educational media for the Oxnard School District. “This is one advantage of television: It’s not as good as being there, but it’s the next best thing.”
The students, teacher Kathie Brown and KCET staff members saw the first of a four-part series that is designed for use in grades five through 10. In the videotape, David Macaulay, author of the book “Castle,” and English actress Sarah Bullen use the 700-year-old castle as a backdrop to discuss the famine, war and disease faced by peasants in the Middle Ages.
“We have just come out for the first time to really see how KCET is affecting schools, teachers and students,” said Bonnie Oliver, director of special projects and educational enterprises at KCET.
The children watched intently and giggled at some of the scenes.
“The people were funny . . . the way they dressed, I thought they were weird,” 12-year-old Kristine Womack said.
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