As I fixed my bowl of cereal this morning, I listened to NPR keeping me informed about the world, the nation, and the weather. I enjoy listening to NPR because I feel so much more aware of current events & the world around me. I plan to encourage our children to listen with me, and it will hopefully be as much a part of our mornings as brushing our teeth and getting ready for school.
Today, I was given grievous news. Not grievous in the An Important Person Just Died kind of way, but grievous in that An Important Piece of Childhood Is Being Cancelled. Click here to link to the article. Reading Rainbow will air its last show today. It's lost its funding because the Almighty Government decided (under the previous administration) that the focus in Educational Television should be on teaching phonics and spelling and the skills required for learning to read. Reading Rainbow doesn't speak to that. Reading Rainbow, and LeVar Burton, speak to the LOVE of reading and so, for that reason, Reading Rainbow - an iconic children's show - has lost its couple-hundred-thousand dollars a year funding and is going off the air.
It's a sad time for anyone who grew up hearing the Oh So Recognizable Theme Song ("Butterfly in the Sky! I Can Fly Twice As High! Take A Look! It's In A Book! Reading Rainbow!!"). Even I, who grew up without a television, knew the theme song. I've seen the show a million times. I've played the videos for my Kindergarteners & First Graders. Its simple three part plan (Book, Adventure, Kid-to-Kid Recommendations) inspired countless children to Take A Look!
As an educator, a Reading Teacher, someone who is working on her Masters in Reading Education, I am deeply troubled by the demise of LeVar's show. Ask me why & I'll tell you. I'll tell you anyway. The children of our society are being tested to death. Schools are held to standards that are set not by educators, but by politicians who left school after college (or graduate school) and never looked back. If a school doesn't meet the annual progress standards as set by the politicians in Washington, the school loses Federal Funding. This same principle is being applied to public television. The Almighty Thinkers in Washington decided that the focus in education television should be on phonics and basic reading skills. If a children's show doesn't accomplish the PreStated Goals, the funds are yanked and the show dies. So where does that leave literature and the love of reading? "Who Cares?!" says Washington. "Skill 'em, Drill 'em & Kill 'em!" they shout! And so, when presented with what remains of a choice, our children are left to choose between Spongebob Squarepants and Sesame Street yelling "A is Apple!" Where is the inspiration to learn something for the love of learning or to read something for the love of reading? Children are learning that learning is something you do to pass a test, not that it's something you do because you love to do it or are interested in something. Isn't that sad?!!!
Children learn best when they are engaged and interested. It's an perpetual process that occurs even when a teacher (or a parent) isn't trying to teach. Children learn from our body language, they learn from the words we use around our spouses or our co-teachers. Children learn from what's going on in their environments. Reading Rainbow gave that one more kick of inspiration to Take a Look in a Book. Can other shows help inspire that interest in reading - that interest in learning??
As a momma-to-be, I'm alarmed by what I'm seeing in our society. Remember how I just said that children learn from the interactions they have with others around them (teachers, parents, & peers)? A neighbor of mine said that she was watching Nickelodeon (the children's channel) last night at 8:00. While she was watching (I'm not sure if her children were with her or not), one of the characters said the word "b*tch" on the show. Another wonderful one is the show about the 15-year old who got pregnant in high school. What on EARTH are we teaching our children if they are able to encounter words (especially derogatory words) or see teenage pregnancy glorified like that at home or on a trendy television show? How about showing anti-depressant medicine ads during Pinocchio (another fine example I heard recently)? I totally understand why I grew up without a television. I'm not sure that it helped me fit in too well, but I know why I'll be limiting the amount of television these Babes watch!
So, that's my rant for today. I'm so sad to hear that teaching the WHY to read has become less important than teaching the HOW to read. I'm alarmed that children's programming has been allowed to become morally bankrupt and demoted to Washington's standards.
The Babes are doing great and I need a nap. Read in Peace, Reading Rainbow...
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