After 26 years of bringing the magic of reading and books to an entire generation, PBS's wonderful and award-winning show (26 Emmys!) "Reading Rainbow" is going off the air. The last show aired yesterday. Here are two stories about that -- one by NPR and this more personal one that highlights the difference between how to read and why to read.
While I'm not at all happy with the manner of "Reading Rainbow" 's demise (US Department of Education, you're no friend of mine), I'm grateful for its existence. It was always about the fun, pleasure, and sheer magic of reading. Phonics can teach you pronunciation and the mechanics of reading, but it can't give you the happiness and purpose of literacy. (Here we are, worrying that people are turning into mushy-brained TV and video game addicts, and yet the edu-crats' philosophy on reading is -- oh, never mind. It's just going to make me rant.)
I grew up watching "Reading Rainbow" and loved every minute of it. Host and producer LeVar Burton was and is fabulous, and he deserves much credit for being a positive influence on a whole generation of American kids -- something that is even more glorious than his more famous TV roles (anyone else remember the delightful episode of "Reading Rainbow" visiting the set of "Star Trek: the Next Generation"?). Thanks for everything, LeVar!
So in tribute to the show, I give you the old-school opening of the show. Oh, such memories. Come on, sing along!
2 comments:
Boo! Hiss! I thought children learned the mechanics of reading at school. If the focus is strictly on the fundamentals of reading, how will they learn to enjoy it?
Girl, preach it!
Post a Comment