Mark> Three.

Two.

One.

(rocket blasting off) ♪ ♪ Steve> We, some people just come home from school, and they just turn on the television and sit and watch and just put it on a channel, and they don't much care what's on.

They just watch for the sake of just watching television.

Well, that's not really what we do when we turn on the television set we have a specific program in mind, and then after that program, we don't watch again unless there's another specific program.

Jayne> Where does the television stay in your home?

In the living room or in the kitchen?

Mine's in the den.

Now, maybe your family has several television sets in different places around the house.

Well, at Mike and Steve Miller's apartment here in New York City.

You'll find their television set here, behind this curtain, sitting in front of the window.

And it's usually turned off.

Now, Mike and Steve and their parents, Marie Winn and Allan Miller, are really no different than a lot of other New York families, except for one thing.

Several years ago, when the boys were younger, Allan and Marie kicked TV out of the house.

And now, even though they do have this small black and white television set, they hardly watch TV at all.

To tell you the truth, they're so busy doing other things they don't seem to miss it.

Marie> Yeah, it is sort of funny that we should be special because we don't watch television.

And in a way, I think, I mean, there's something special and very peculiar to me about a life where you spend six hours a day watching a box.

I feel our life... let me just finish.

You know, our kind of life is the sort of natural one.

Jayne> Well, it is unusual to find kids that don't watch TV.

Whose idea was it?

Marie> Well, I'll answer that question.

That decision was made when the kids were too little to be making decisions.

So Allan and I really came to an agreement about that.

It became very clear to us that really, it wasn't the kids who wanted to watch television at that age when they were two and a half or three.

But it was us who were very tempted to use television to give us free time.

Jayne> Okay, so your parents said no TV.

How do you feel about it now?

Steve> Well, I think at one point it was forced on us.

I mean, they would tell us you can't watch, but now we're left alone a lot, and it's pretty much our own decision.

We just... don't watch.

Allan> When we stopped watching television, it wasn't such a problem for us because we were very active and involved in lots of different things, and we felt that we wanted the children to be free also, to develop the things that they might be interested in and not be dominated by this constant watching of television.

Are prehistoric words alright?

I've used the same word three times already.

Jayne> It's hard to figure out exactly how not watching television has affected the Millers.

One thing is for sure, they do have a lot more time to spend with each other, to talk and to enjoy a little friendly competition over Boggle.

One of their favorite word games.

Steve> Ok, I'll read mine.

Allan> And then we cross out the ones that we have of yours, right?

And you only get the words you get that nobody else has gotten.

<Mhm> Alright go.

Steve> Weep.

Allan> Got it.

<Yep> Steve> Peak.

Allan> Got it.

Jayne> Ever since Steve and Mike can remember, letters and words have been an important part of their family life.

So has listening to each other's ideas.

And that's another reason why the TV isn't on most of the time in this house.

Marie> No good.

Steve> Mike I said... Mike> No you didn't.

Steve> Yes I did.

Marie> Some of the reason our family is the way they are about television, is because I was working on a book for a number of years and then finished it, and it was published last year.

And it was a book about television called "The Plug In Drug."

And, this was a book that, didn't talk about what, kinds of programs there are and whether one kind of program is good or bad.

But it talked about, television watching itself and its effects on kid's lives.

Mike> There's a kid in school who I told about what your book said and how television is a drug.

And he told me, "yeah, I know it's a drug, and I sure am addicted to it.

And I watch a whole lot, and I use it, I definitely use it like a drug, but it beats using anything else.

Any of the other sorts of drugs that, that a lot of kids use these days."

Marie> I think that this is a very common situation in America, and it's one that worries me a lot.

The fact that they're developing a relationship with a machine, just at a time when they might be developing a relationship with people.

Mike> This is a real exercise in what these puzzles are like because you don't know... which is which, exactly.

And does somebody have a pencil I might borrow?

<Yeah> I'm a little unprepared.

Jayne> Mike Miller has a very special relationship to the people in this room.

He's their teacher.

He's teaching a course in crossword puzzles at the New School in New York City.

And he's teaching adults.

Almost everyone in the class is three times older than Mike.

But age doesn't make a difference.

Every week, the class meets to learn as much as Mike can teach them about words, word puzzles, and word games.

Mike> Quiet.

Exclamation point... What's most difficult is, is, telling them that they're wrong.

It's a little hard for me to correct them without sounding like some, you know, some cocky young kid who just is bossing them around.

And so I have to be kind of tactful about correcting them.

Never forget that the aim of these clues is to mislead you.

So... what is seemingly the last thing that would come into your mind is often what turns out to be right.

Student> Michael stands up very well with a bunch of grown ups, I think.

And we've all teased him because there are sorts of clues, you know, that are we all say, "he's much too young to know the answers."

But he's never been annoyed with us for saying these things.

Student 2> And we've enjoyed having him as a teacher, and I hope he's enjoyed having us as students.

Student 3> And he handles us beautifully.

And I think we handle him pretty well, too.

(group talking with each other) Mike> What the class is really given me an idea of is, what it's like being, being a teacher.

I've been in so many classes myself, I never really realized that it's kind of hard to keep a class going for longer than a few minutes.

If it doesn't come to you in a little while, skip it and, and go on.

Allan> There are hundreds and billions of families who spend many, many hours watching television, but there's not just one or two in the world who don't.

Mike> That's true.

Marie> But Allan, it's tempting.

It's tempting, maybe less for you.

It's tempting for me sometime.

I know when, it's tempting for the kids sometime, to just flake out and watch television.

Steve> Some nights we just watch for hours on end.

Every now and then.

Allan> I've noticed.

(laughter) Is that, is that when we're not home, is that what you're talking about?

Steve> Sometimes.

Marie> All right, what programs did you actually watch this week?

Steve> There was a sports game.

Mike> Yeah, we watched the Knicks.

Steve> And there was one, there was one series that was on last Tuesday Mike> About the dog?

Marie> About a dog.

Steve> So we watched that.

Mike> Yeah, we watch, nothing, as mom said, really regularly.

We watch this one show, this comedy show, Saturday Night Live .

Steve> Well, I guess we do watch a lot less television than most of our friends.

And I guess that does make us abnormal, like some people say.

But in this case, you know, people usually associate the word abnormal with bad.

But in this case, I guess abnormal isn't bad.

It's just not what most people do.

Mike> ...You going running?

Steve> Yeah.

Going jogging.

You want me to get you anything... Mike> Sure, pick me up a paper and I'll do the puzzle.

Steve> Okay.

Bye, bye.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ believe in... ♪ ♪ Marie> I think a lot of people think that I'm more of a fanatic than I am about television.

And that it has to be abolished and eliminated and so on.

I'm really not an enemy of the television medium because I, don't talk about the quality of programs.

I'm really talking about the control of television, how difficult it is to limit yourself, let's say, to those programs you really want to watch and how difficult it is to, do something active.

To want to... take chances and to, create something and do something when the television set is available to you to sit back and just watch.

Jayne> Not everyone would agree with The Millers about television.

For example, here in Irvine, California, people are discovering some very good things about TV, through the way it's being used in the schools.

Now, in most classrooms where TV is used, kids watch it just like they do at home, except the teacher chooses the programs.

But in the Irvine schools, kids are using two-way cable television to broadcast their own courses to kids in other schools they've never even met.

It's an exciting communication system, that proves television can offer good opportunities, if we can control it.

♪ Melodee> There are cable outlets all over the schools.

It takes two wires, one for RF signal and one for electricity.

RF signal is combined audio and video.

Through that RF signal going in the underground cable, all the schools in the town are able to pick you up and see you on their TV sets.

Kids find out it's not so easy to teach a class.

You have to plan ahead and find out what it is you want to tell everybody, and you have to plan the lesson to include everybody who wants to participate.

They're not really formal courses with grades and credit, but they are a lot of fun, and it's a way to plan your own lesson and be the teacher or learn something new from somebody else.

(music abruptly ends) Mark> Hi Esther, how are you?

Esther> Okay, Mark.

How are you?

Mark> I'm fine.

Is everything set up?

Esther> Just about.

Do you have any special shots for me to shoot today?

Mark> Yes.

I'm going to need some shots of this engine and how to put it in here.

Some detailed shots, some close ups.

Esther> Okay, but we better hurry.

We only have three minutes until we're on the air.

Mark> A teacher approached me and asked me.

"Hey, you know, we have this great video system.

Would you like to use it?"

And I said, "Sure.

You know, why not?"

So I started teaching rocketry.

At first, I didn't get a big response, but the schools began to come in one by one.

And now I have up to six schools at each show.

Hi I am Mark Weinmann and welcome to the Rocketry Show .

Who's on T8?

Dave> Hi, this is College Park, and I'm Dave Newdell.

Mark> Hi I'm Mark Weinmann.

Dave> Hi.

Are there any other schools?

Okay, let's go to the interrupter.

(TV static) Benji> Hi, this is Benji Walker, Deerfield.

Mark> Hi, I'm Mark Weinmann.

Benji> Hi.

Mark> Okay.

Who else is there with you?

Here we have Martin Long.

Martin> Hi.

Mark> Hi.

Benji> Andy Shore.

Andy> Hi.

Melodee> The two TV sets used on each system are tuned to channel 24 on one side and channel 25 on the other.

And that way, everybody sees both sides of the conversation.

Mark> Today, I'm going to be talking about the model rocket engines.

Okay, and they're inserted in the back of this rocket right down in there.

And I'm gonna be talking about a little bit, about them in general and, how to fix them for the launch.

The system has several advantages, some of which are you get a technical knowledge of what goes on between, receiving and transmitting signals.

You get to meet people from different parts of the city, parts that you would never go to.

And you exchange ideas through the system.

Just a little wire with, right in the middle that, they're coated with, flammable material that sends up the rocket, ignites the rocket engine.

They go into the nozzle part of the rocket as far as you can push it in, and then bend the wire leads out.

And then you get a little piece of parachute wadding.

And you wad it up into a little ball and you stick it in the nozzle, and push it in so it holds in the wires.

But don't push it into far.

Okay.

We have an interrupter.

Let's go to the interrupter.

<Okay> (TV static) Greg> This is Greg, at Deerfield.

I wanted to know if you put the igniter in before you put the, engine in or after.

Mark> Usually it's easy to put it in before you put it in the rocket.

Greg> Okay.

Thank you.

Mark> Okay.

As I was saying, you just put in a little piece of wadding in there.

Sometimes it's hard to stay.

You can put a piece of tape over it or something, and it'll hold it in.

And then, it goes into the rocket itself.

So like that.

Right here, we have an engine lock on it holds the engine in place while it's in flight.

Okay, you put in the engine and you have your rocket in.

Now you have to put in your parachute wadding, keep the parachute from melting.

Melodee> In a lot of ways we like it because it's not just sitting there watching somebody in a box talking at you.

They can see you and you have the chance to talk back.

Student> How much does it cost for the general rocket, the rocket and the engine and the parachute and all that stuff put together?

Mark> Okay.

The rockets range from anywhere from 75 cents on up to 20, 30 dollars.

The engines comes in, come in packs of three, and they cost anywhere from a $1.50 on up.

Igniters come in packs of six and they're 75 cents.

And the parachute wadding costs 75 cents for 2 to 300 sheets.

And it's very much like tissue paper.

Student> Okay.

Thank you.

Mark> That's the end of today's Rocketry Show .

Be sure to be at Harvard Park next week for our rocket launch, and check the video schedule for any changes.

>> Okay, thank you.

Bye.

Mark> Bye.

Hi Dave how are you?

Dave> Pretty good.

You?

Mark> I'm fine.

How you like my rocketry series so far?

Dave> Really neat.

Mark> It looks like a good day to launch.

<Yeah> Looks like we got some friends out here, too.

<Yeah> Student> Hey, Hi Mark.

Hi David.

Mark> How are you guys doing?

Student> Fine thanks.

Mark> Why don't you guys introduce yourself.

Jeff> I'm Jeff.

Mark> My favorite part of the course is actually meeting the kids for the first time at the launch, in person.

Because they're friends that you've made over the video system over the last six weeks.

And also, you can see what they've learned from your course.

So you have the satisfaction of knowing that you taught them.

To me, this is really the most rewarding part of the video system.

Then you get your two leads.

You hook them to each wire of the igniter, and then you want to hook up your battery.

And then you're ready to launch.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

(rocket blasting off) ♪ >> Ooo.

Wow.

Whoa!

Melodee> I guess the neatest thing about the system is that kids get a chance to meet other kids who live across town.

They find they have things in common, and they have things to teach each other.

Overall, that's probably the thing that makes the system the most fun for us.

It's, it's a people system and we really like it.

♪ ♪ (slow piano music) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (expressive piano music) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (tickling piano key sounds) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (up tempo piano music) Narrator> If you could visit any country, where would you go?

Student> Have to say, France.

Because, that country, just interest me.

I got, I'm taking French in school now, and ...it's one country that really, you know, catches my eye.

Jayne> Well, it's hard to believe, but Studio See really is in Paris.

See, there's the Eiffel Tower right over there.

It's in the middle of winter here, and it's as cold as it would be in most parts of the United States.

It's even snowing a little today.

We're here to find out what's going on at an exciting new museum called the Pompidou Centre.

It looks so different from most of the other buildings around it, that a lot of people who live here in Paris weren't even sure they liked it a whole lot when it first opened.

But now 20,000 people come here every day.

The Pompidou Centre is in an old part of Paris called La Salle, where the old market of Paris used to be.

And they sold things there like meat, fish, vegetables, all outside.

The centre itself looks more like a factory than it really does an art museum.

All of the heating and air conditioning vents and even the plumbing pipes are on the outside, so that the people and the art will have more room on the inside.

Each kind of pipe is painted a different color.

So if you come to Paris, you can't miss the Pompidou Centre.

It's Wednesday here in Paris today, and a lot of the kids are out of school.

It's sort of like Saturday is in the United States, but this place is so much fun that a lot of kids even come here on their day off.

There's always a lot of activity going on down there in the plaza.

In fact, why don't we just go down and take a look?

♪ ♪ ♪ (shouting in French) ♪ ♪ (singing in French) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Jayne> While we were in Paris, we asked kids who had lived in both places how life in France compares with life in the United States.

Student> Well, it depends if, if you're if you've lived here all your life or if you've lived in the states, because if you've seen both, then, I think I like the American way of life better.

Student 2> The kids in the States have a better life.

I mean, it's easier for them because at 16 you can have your car.

I mean, you don't hang around school all day.

Student 3> French people have a tendency to to follow traditions, and the kids are kept at home or it's really not the same.

And I appreciated living in the States because it was, people were much nicer and there was a lot of hospitality, and it was nice for me over there.

Student 4> I think for French kids, it's not as cool as Americans and they don't have as much liberty.

Like in the States, you can go out of school at 3:30, and then you can do whatever you want for the rest of the afternoon.

I guess that's, because people in France is not as organized as the people in the States.

Student 5> I'd prefer to be in America.

Neighbor> Where are you going so fast?

Neighbor 2> (signing) Neighbor> You are sending some ideas to Studio See?

You mean Studio See wants our ideas?

Neighbor 2> Yeah, Studio See wants ideas from... everybody.

Neighbor> I got some ideas I think they'd like a lot, but where can I send them?

Neighbor 2> (signing) Neighbor> Studio See, South Carolina ETV, Columbia, South Carolina 2-9-2-5-0.

Hey, wait a minute.

I've got some poems I'd like to send too.

Let me go get'em.

And don't let the mailman leave before I get back.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (laughter) Announcer> Major funding for this program is provided by this television station and other public television stations.

Additional funding was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.