ON THE TOWN:Can your class go a week without TV?

“There is nothing wrong with beating a dead horse. It’s good exercise, and the horse certainly doesn’t mind.”

I wish I knew who said that. I made a good attempt at Googling it but came up empty. “Google” and its various conjugations, by the way, replaced the word “search” as the verb for looking up information on the Internet, according to one language source.

Every Dec. 15 for the past eight years, our kids, now 14 and 16, have received $100 in “TV money,” a reward they get for not watching TV.

This year, they each watched a little TV. Some of it was a few plays of a USC game or part of an Angels game, some of it was a news event and some of it was part — perhaps even all — of a sitcom.

We didn’t really care, because most of the time they asked permission (“Dad, does this count against my TV money?”), and even when they did not, the total TV watching did not add up to very much at all.

Our choice was to skip the spiff because they watched, or reduce the amount to let them know there was a price to pay. Either way, the message had to be that there were consequences to their actions.

We chose to nick them a little and gave them each $80.

The bigger picture is now our comfort with the example we have set. When we gave them the money last month, we told them that we were very happy with the way they have been so responsible about watching TV and that we weren’t going to do any more serious monitoring of their viewing.

I am convinced that the main reason this 11-year experiment has worked out so well is because of the example my wife and I have set.

Setting that example counts not only for watching or not watching television but for almost everything kids learn. Most kids don’t even realize they are learning these good or bad behaviors, they just start acting one way or another.

One interesting TV-related development is the availability of TV shows on DVD. For our kids, this is OK, depending on the show. It’s OK because many of the objections we’ve had about television stem not from the content of the programs but from the garbage in the commercials. The DVD sets don’t have commercials.

Last month, I received as a gift a complete set of the series “The Addams Family,” which ran about 40 years ago.

Back then, the show ran once a week. The writing was crisp and clever, and even with this weird family, one could sense a lot of love.

I was concerned that watching several shows in a row would reduce the impact of the writing and the format, but it has not. The show is very good.

I’m bringing all this up to put a bug in your ear once again about “TV Turnoff Week,” which this year is April 23-29.

By now, you should have read or heard all the benefits of turning off the TV; how kids read more, play outside more, don’t put on as much weight, get better grades, get along better at home and all that.

And I’ve written before that to increase the chances of any academic improvement in the schools on the Westside of Costa Mesa, parents and kids should be getting this message. Turning off the TV will help them, and it doesn’t cost one cent.

A few years ago, the school board did a really good thing and passed a resolution endorsing TV Turnoff Week. That year, I spoke at an elementary school about the benefits of turning off the tube. I’m still willing to do that for any interested school.

But this year, I’d like to up the ante. This year, I want to sponsor a classroom. If you are a Newport-Mesa parent or teacher who believes that your entire class can make it one week without watching TV, I will donate $250 for you to do whatever you want — have a party, take a field trip, buy some equipment, or whatever you decide.

Your kids will have to keep a seven-day diary of what they did instead of watching TV, but that’s the only requirement.

This offer is good for one classroom, which will be chosen at random. If you are interested, e-mail me at [email protected] with your contact information, class grade and size and school, and I will put your name in a hat. The winning class will be drawn by my son, a Newport-Mesa student.

Even if you don’t participate, please consider turning off the TV just for the week. You’ll be amazed at what you will discover.