A window on the world
Long ago, people didn’t get much news. They never even knew what
happened a few miles away—unless someone who had been there told them.
That was the only way to get news—someone had to tell you. And,
usually, when you got the news it was very old.
Today, millions of people watch news as it happens —on television.
People everywhere in the world watch television for news and for fun.
But in many places schools also use television—to teach.
On the islands of American Samoa, in the South Pacific, TV is a very
real part of education. Schools in Samoa are often grass huts. But there
is a TV set in every school. The children are taught many of their
subjects over TV. In fact, the TV system on the islands was set up for
the children!
At night, though, there are news programs for the grown-ups. Then,
Samoan families, like millions of other families, sit around to watch
TV. They may live in grass huts on an island in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean, but they know what is happening in the world.
Television is the newest way of spreading news and teaching things—of
communicating. It’s like a window that looks out upon the whole world.
And it’s helping to change the world.
