MiND & Learning

We all learn a lot from television. We know a lot about the latest cars, shampoos, detergents, American Idol contestants, and about Oprah Winfrey’s favorite causes. According to Nielsen Media Research, the average American watches more than 4.5 hours of TV every day—only sleep and work occupy more of our time.

Of course, what we learn is a concern. With MiND, the community controls what the community learns. This is a profound departure from traditional television—possible because MiND is independent.

In truth, we’re not certain what this whole “learning” idea is all about. Nor should we be. As a community, we’ll figure that out together.

Here’s what we think we know so far: in our world, learning is…

Diverse:

• When it comes to presenting people, ideas, and places, TV does a lousy job with diversity. MiND can do better. (You can help.)
• We want to see old and young people on MiND; we want to see people with different heritages; we want to understand different cultures, to understand the challenges that individuals face and overcome (whether they’re physical, economic, mental, emotional, or otherwise). We believe diversity is an essential part of a successful community.

Open-Minded:

• If you see something that seems biased, it probably is biased. Don’t just complain about it. Create a MiND program that explains the other point of view. Community isn’t about everyone sharing the same beliefs—it’s about everyone sharing their ideas.

Inspiring:

• There is so much to see and so much to learn; why is so little of it on TV?

Challenging:

• We want provocative programs, we want ideas that challenge the way that we think about the world.

Engaging:

• If it’s boring, nobody’s going to watch and nobody’s going to care. We try hard not to present boring TV.

Unstructured:

• MiND has no curriculum or point of view. Our curriculum and our perspective change with each 5-minute program. Many ideas will overlap; some will conflict or challenge one another. We think that’s a good thing.

Global in Scope:

• What happens outside the US is as relevant as what happens here.

Imperfect:

• There is ALWAYS a different point of view, always more to the story, always some sort of storyteller’s bias. MiND programs may be current and accurate, but change is a constant. We tolerate a certain amount of imperfection. Those who don’t are probably kidding themselves.

Difficult to Define:

• Does art provide learning? How about storytelling? How about abstract or experimental uses of video or television? MiND is an adventure. We’re all going to define learning together, as a community.

Next: Kindergarten