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Steve Armstrong
Wilmette, Illinois
Cable Company: Comcast

I started watching C-SPAN in 1982 on a satellite dish in the mountains of Montana. I was a beginning high school teacher with classes in U.S. history and American government.

There were few ready resources for a teacher in rural Montana. Whatever resources I found, I had to scrape and cajole to secure. Then I discovered C-SPAN, and my life changed forever!

I began taping C-SPAN segments to enliven classroom discussions about government in action. We watched morning speeches, congressional hearings, debates, presidential speeches, even the annual turkey pardons!

These opportunities had not existed before for a high school teacher in a largely rural state. By bringing the national government into my remote Montana classroom, C-SPAN created so much spark among students that I began to think of creative ways to use the new resources suddenly at my disposal.

That is when I came up with what I called the "C-SPAN date." I explained to students that a C-SPAN date occurs when a student brings a date home, allegedly to watch a movie but ends up watching C-SPAN! Students immediately had adventures to tell about their C-SPAN dates, scenes when the boyfriend was thinking of something more romantic but the evening turned to watching Congress or an interest group.

Not only on C-SPAN dates but also as family gatherings, my students have become C-SPAN junkies, in large part a because I am a C-SPAN junkie and modeled the behavior from my first exposure, an event that changed forever the way I teach.


ONLINE PRESS KIT >>

Contest Winners
Read the essays of the 25 contest winners.

Press Releases
Sep. 28, 2005 -- Winners Named in C-SPAN Viewer Essay Contest Marking 25 Years of Viewer Calls

Sep. 14, 2005 -- C-SPAN Marks 25 Years Of Viewer Calls-Ins With LIVE, 25-Hour Call-In Program On Oct. 7

Aug. 17, 2005 -- C-SPAN Marks 25 Years Of Viewer Calls-Ins With LIVE, 25-Hour Call-In Program On Oct. 7

News Articles
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) - Oct. 10, 2005
Talkers Magazine - Cover Story Oct. 2005
Jewish World Review - Columnist David Brooks, Nov. 1999

History of Call-Ins on Radio and Television
A timeline of call-in programs

Evolution of Call-Ins on C-SPAN
A timeline of call-in programs at C-SPAN

More about C-SPAN's 25 Years of Viewer Call-Ins
Background information on C-SPAN call-in programs

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