I wrote a blog post a few years back showing a bit of work my daughter did while watching TV. It was simply writing the finished copy of a story she rewrote and yu can almost see the moment she began to watch TV while doing it.

http://daybydayhsing.blogspot.com/2008/08/why-they-shouldnt-do-their-work-in.html

No, kids should not be doing their homework (or homeschooling work in our case) while watching TV.

I remember working on my computer at work, where I was situated almost in the centre of a large office pool.  Especially when people were conversing around me, my thoughts would dissolve over and over again.  I was mostly putting my data on spreadsheets, writing reports, memos—not trying to learn anything new.  When I found it hard to concentrate, I can remember thinking that children could not possibly learn something new and/or concentrate in these noisey, child-centered learning environments.  Never mind TV, these kinds of classrooms lend poorly to learning:  there another reason our children are not learning in school.

hmmm Should read, ‘they’re another reason’, etc.