Kids Voice Top Ten Concerns About Education to Linda Ellerbee and Nick News

Kids Voice Top Ten Concerns About Education to Linda Ellerbee and Nick News

Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: 10 Things I Hate About School Airs April 24, 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon

NEW YORK, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Everyone is talking about education these days. But is anyone listening to what the kids have to say? Award- winning journalist Linda Ellerbee is. She reports that those with the most at stake have a lot of issues and a lot of ideas, in the upcoming episode of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: 10 Things I Hate About School, airing on Nickelodeon Sunday Apr. 24, 8:30pm (ET/PT).

"Improving education in America is always a topic of interest," said Ellerbee. "Rather than asking politicians or educational experts' opinions on the subject, we went straight to those directly impacted by the education process -- the kids."

From standardized testing and a lack of learning materials, to cyberspace bullying, homework, and school lunches, students talk honestly and passionately with Ellerbee about improvements they would like to see made in today's schools. Surveys conducted for the episode also reveal things like popularity matter to kids; the pressure to be "cool" can affect kids' schoolwork. Some kids also said school dress codes affect their learning environments and individuality. Once Nick News got an overall sense of these issues, the ten most common concerns were posted on http://www.nick.com/ where kids ranked them in order of importance.

Kids aren't just talking about the issues, but are also taking action. In Baltimore, Maryland, students organized a strike to protest the lack of supplies and computers in their under-funded school. Fifteen-year-old Bill has organized a campaign against standardized tests in Washington State. And Ellerbee plans to help as well by sending a copy of this Nick News episode to the head of the Department of Education and the Governor of every state, and to the White House.

Nick News, which is in its 14th year -- the longest-running kids' news show in television history -- has built its reputation on the respectful and direct way it speaks to kids about the important issues of the day. The program has covered the tough topics, including the Sept. 11 attacks, the Columbine tragedy, divorce, bullying, learning disorders, all the presidential elections since 1992, the Balkan war, the Iraq War, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and AIDS. In 1992, Ellerbee's special, "A Conversation with Magic," which featured Magic Johnson, set the standard for talking with kids about AIDS. In 1994, the entire series, Nick News, won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 1998, "What Are You Staring At?" a program about kids with physical disabilities, won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 2002, "Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan," won the Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. In 2004, two Nick News Specials, "The Courage to Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS" and "There's No Place Like Home," a special about homeless kids in America, were both nominated for the Outstanding Children's Programming Emmy. In fact, Nick News has received more than 20 Emmy nominations. Nick News, produced by Lucky Duck Productions, is also the recipient of two Peabody Awards, including a personal one given to Ellerbee for her coverage of the President Clinton investigation; a Columbia duPont Award; and more than a dozen Parents' Choice Awards.

Nickelodeon, currently in its 26th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, magazines and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in 88 million households and has been the number- one-rated basic cable network for more than nine consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

Source: Nickelodeon

CONTACT: Joanna Roses of Nickelodeon, +1-212-846-7326

Web site: http://www.nick.com/

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