ARLETA : Teacher Wins Honor for Use of Cable in Class

In Taffy Patton’s classroom, the television is as important a teaching tool as books or lectures.

When Patton taught comparative religion, her 32-student sixth-grade class at Arleta’s Vena Avenue Elementary School grasped the concepts behind Islam and Confucianism more easily after watching three hours of cable programming.

Patton recently earned an award for her work combining traditional book learning with television to teach the world’s religions. She is one of eight teachers across the country to win a $1,500 grant and video equipment for the innovative use of cable programming in the classroom.

“Cable makes a classroom a more visually exciting place to be,” said Patton, who has taught at Vena for 15 years. “Students relate more quickly to a presentation on television than they do a book.”

Patton, who has used educational programming in the classroom for nearly five years, will pick up her 1993 A&E; Teacher Grant Competition award in Washington, D.C., on May 24. Last year, she won an honorable mention.

She credits her class for the award.

After plowing through religion lessons built around several cable programs, the students produced their own documentary, “Common Bonds: The World’s Great Religions.” The seven-minute presentation includes footage of prayers at the Islamic Center of Northridge and a bat mitzvah. It will be broadcast on the public-access channel of United Artists Cable on June 2.

“I’m proud of the kids. My 32 students earned it just as much as I did,” Patton said.