Violence Rating System Required for TV Programs While society recognizes the harmful effects of general television on children, parents and other child advocacy groups do not believe that there is an adequate classification system. The consequences of ineffective assessment systems are that children's personalities are negatively affected. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has passed legislation to address this problem, but the children's advocacy community is still dissatisfied. This community includes the National PTA, the American Psychological Association, the Center for Educational Priorities, and other children's advocacy groups. Current discussions include the government and FCC's disdain for parental feedback on current rating systems, the effectiveness of the violent chip as an easy fix, and the current movie-based rating system. Educational shows like Sesame Street significantly increase overall school readiness skills, but the average American child is exposed to 25 hours of television each week, and parents demand a system that they believe accurately rates all television shows. As part of this legislative process for the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law 104-104, statistical research was conducted on the effects of television. For example, in 1972, the Surgeon General reported that evidence shows a link between television violence and aggressive behavior (APA 1998). The American Psychological Association goes on to say that these legislators are not responsive enough to the feedback provided by parent groups. They argue that the government is not proactive in enforcing or defining the phrase “educational and informative” (CEP 1997). This leads to the entertainment industry making profits by continuing to increase harmful content...... half of the article ......~burniske/utopia98/student/causal/smith/www.pta.org accessed October 11, 1998. Center for Educational Priorities "Telecommunications Act of 1996" available online. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~burniske/utopia98/student/causal/smith/www.cep.org accessed October 15, 1998. Center for Media Education "Children's Television Act Toolkit" available online. tap.epn.org/cme accessed October 28, 1998. Children Now Organization "Summary of Key Differences Between V-Chip Rating Systems" available online http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~burniske/utopia98/student/causal /smith/www.childrennow.org accessed October 26, 1998. Jeremy Craig. Children Now Organization “Understanding the Evaluation System.” Available online. (c)1997,1998. http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~burniske/utopia98/student/causal/smith/www.childrennow.org/current_action_alert.html> accessed October 11,1998.