I’m sad to report that Reading Rainbow is no more. For those of you who weren’t reared on hours of after-school PBS television, Reading Rainbow was a children’s program that introduced kids to books under the guidance of the enthusiastic LeVar Burton. I was already on the older end of the target demographic when it began airing in the early 80s, but it did prompt several pleas to my mom to take me to the library so I could check out a book featured on the show. And when I saw the promos for Star Trek: The Next Generation, my first reaction was “Hey, what’s the guy from Reading Rainbow doing in Starfleet?”
The PBS suits explain that the show is being scrapped because the current trend in educational programming is to emphasize basic reading skills. Bleh. How utilitarian. Even PBS is teaching to the test now. I realize not every kid is an advanced reader and advanced readers are probably a tiny sliver of the kids watching public television , but it’s disheartening to know there’s one less adult waving good books in kids’ faces and encouraging them to seek out other good books.
