Homework Hotline in Broward County, Florida is a call-in cable live TV show, with nine people staffing two phone banks, where students can get help with their homework. The programme is run by Instructional Television Centre and is produced by the public schools for the county's 160,000 pupils. Real teachers are the stars, helping kids with maths and other subjects.
Students' voices are heard on air, but only first names are used. Up to 20,000 callers have tried to get through in a week. They also give away prizes, often donated by local retailers, through game-show-like segments called 'Challenge Quest' and 'Brainteasers.' The show's host is Mindy Frumkes, a popular DJ. One of the four school teachers who share on-air duties says that 'it's a great programme. Although you are working with one child, you are actually teaching hundreds.'