Edward M. Kennedy: “when E.B. White first saw television in 1938, he said he hoped it would be ``a saving radiance in the sky.'' By…”

“when E.B. White first saw television in 1938, he said he hoped it would be ``a saving radiance in the sky.'' By including $10 million for the Ready To Learn Act in the fiscal year 1995 budget, President Clinton has taken an important step toward achieving that dream. The Ready To Learn Act, passed by Congress in 1992, mobilizes the power of television to deal with one of our most pervasive national problems: children entering school who are not ready to learn. The crisis is staggering. According to a study by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 35 percent of the country's children do not enter school ready to learn. The Ready To Learn Act addresses this problem by promoting the development of educational TV programming to prepare children for the classroom. It also offers training workbooks for teachers and parents, and uses telecommunications technology to bring such programming to isolated or disadvantaged communities throughout the country. Last month, I visited one of the leading PBS affiliates in the country, WGBH in Boston. Head Start counsellors from 11 cities across the country had come for training on how to use educational TV programming to improve children's academic readiness. Numerous educational programs, such as ``Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego,'' have been developed at WGBH to serve children's educational needs. The Ready To Learn Act will build on such progress, and play a significant role in school reform.”