Often times in life, it is quite easy to become so fixated on what comes next in our lives that we often forget to look back at where we came from. I am definitely guilty at times of focusing too much on the future, pouring my hopes and dreams into things I honestly have no real control of. People often think to themselves, if I could just get that next job I would be set, or if I could just find my significant other, then my life would be complete. This is just the natural way we often go about life. When you get stuck in this mindset, you may often overlook the fact that you have come so far and have overcome so much in order for you to get to where you are right now. It is the things you have experienced and learned from in the past that have helped enable you to get where you are today, and it is your continued experiences that will help continue to drive you forward in the future. For this particular post, I wanted to help people focus a little less on the uncertainty of the future by bringing them back to the past, not just college or high school past, but way back to when many of us were kids. We may not have realized it at the time, but what we saw on television back then definitely helped influence the way we react to and understand the world today. They were building blocks that helped make us who we are today and in this post, I am going to count down what I believe to be the Top 10 Greatest Educational Kids shows. These picks will be based on a number a factors like influence, how well they teach, the quality of what they teach, and legacy. I hope you all enjoy this walk down memory lane, so without further to do, let the nostalgia trip begin.
10) Wishbone: If one thing was certain for many of us as a kid, I will bet you that no one really liked reading. Be honest with yourselves, if you had to do book reports in elementary schools like me, you likely waited as long as you could before you started reading and then rushed to complete your report in the last week before it was due despite being given almost a month to finish it. Wishbone was one of two shows (We might cover the other one later) that for many kids turned a dissatisfaction with reading into a genuine joy. This show centered on a Jack Russell Terrier named Wishbone and the many adventures he and his family of humans got involved with. Each episode had a scenario that would generally mirror the events of a classic literary tale like "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" or "A Tale of Two Cities" and as the scenario would play out, Wishbone would recall the events of that tale, often imagining himself as the male lead in the story. The show was praised for how well it told its stories and how it did not sugarcoat a lot of the more intense or sadder moments present in these classic books. Almost always, the events that happened with Wishbone's humans were relatable for kids and helped to really emphasize the main messages present in some of fiction's most celebrated works. It was the excellent costumes and visual storytelling that helped the series win 4 Daytime Emmys and a Peabody Award during its 3 brief years on the air which is the main reason I cannot place it any higher. It just did not have near the legacy or long-lasting influence most of the other shows on this list have.
9) Arthur: If ever there was a catch all children's educational cartoon, this would be it. Arthur follows the lives of the titular Arthur, an anthropomorphic aardvark, and his many friends and the various scenarios they go through living in Elwood City. The show is notable for being the 2nd longest running animated series in the US after only the Simpsons, (which will sadly not be appearing on this list). Over the years, Arthur has not been afraid to tackle many sensitive issues that any kid could find themselves experiencing as they grew up ranging from disabilities like being wheel-chair bound or dyslexic, to people experiencing illnesses like Cancer and Diabetes, to natural disasters like fires and earthquakes. If this list was purely about legacy, Arthur would be much higher on it. The one major thing that holds this show back is that there are quite a few episodes in this over 200 episode long series that actually teach lessons that a lot of adults have viewed to be either wrong or incomplete such as a bullying episode where one of the main ways presented for dealing with a bully is shunning them or the infamous Arthur punches D.W. episode that launched a thousand memes which actively shows Arthur's father telling his son that he got what he deserved when a bully punched him, because now maybe he could understand how bad it made D.W. feel when he punched her (also anyone who has watched that episode knows D.W. was incredibly annoying, inconsiderate, and was never shown being disciplined for breaking Arthur's model airplane). It is these flaws and a general consensus that the show has started to dip in quality that leaves it at number 9 on this list.
8) Liberty's Kids: This is the show that made kid's love American History. Liberty's Kids was a children's historical fiction animated series that told of the life experiences of Benjamin Franklin and a few of his fictional associates, 3 of which were shown as kids and teenagers who were just trying to process and report everything that was going on in America during the time of the American Revolution. This show sticks out in my mind as the best historical children's program because the characters are all written well and have defined and relatable personalities. Kids also get to watch and experience history from the perspective of kids, making the events more understandable and getting the audience to place themselves in the shoes of the characters. Despite telling the story of America's early history, the show also does not portray the British as fully evil or wholly tyrannical, merely as dutiful soldiers just trying to carry out the orders that were given to them. This show also famously had the support of a large cast of celebrity voices who wanted to support the idea of kids learning why the founding of America was such a big deal. Some of the more notable celebrity roles were Walter Cronkite as Ben Franklin, Sylvester Stallone as Paul Revere, Michael Douglas as Patrick Henry, Ben Stiller as Thomas Jefferson, Billy Crystal as John Adams, Dustin Hoffman as Benedict Arnold, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Baron Von Steuben, Liam Neeson as John Paul Jones, Whoopi Goldberg as Deborah Sampson, and Annette Bening as Abigail Adams. It is star power and solid storytelling as well as a long history of re-runs on various networks that lands Liberty's Kids at number 8 on this list.
7) Zoboomafoo: The definitive kids show when it comes to teaching and instilling a love of animals in kids. Martin and Chris Kratt are considered by most to be the foremost children's wildlife educators and have been doing so for over 2 decades. On Zoboomafoo, the Kratt brothers join their Sifaka Lemur friend Zaboo on adventures in discovering and learning about animals in the magical Animal Junction whose paths connect to all of the worlds various habitats. This show readily combines song, slapstick humor, and playtime all in great effect in order to communicate to kids about the joy of learning about animals and their various features, abilities, and powers. From Anteaters (ZOT ZOT) to Leopards to Zebras and everything in between, there is no show that better communicates how beautiful and spectacular the creatures of this planet are then Zoboomafoo. While I could have placed the equally fun an inventive Kratt's Creatures (the show the inspired my love of animals) on this list, I chose Zoboomafoo more for its wide ranging appeal and the fact that this series won an Emmy for Outstanding Direction in a Children's Series and has itself inspired a successor series in the animated superhero themed animal education show, Wild Kratts. It clocks in at number 7 because while it does a great job of instilling a deep love for animals, the information is often times not as deep as the Kratts have gone in their other shows.
6) Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego: This is the only children's game show to make the list and is likely the only reason many kids developed an interest in Geography. The focus of the game was for the competing kids to take on the role of detectives called Gumshoes, whose job it was to track down international thief Carmen Sandiego and her dastardly associates. To find her, the Gumshoes had to answer geography based questions that would slowly reveal the location of Carmen or her henchmen. Not only did the show teach interesting facts about geography, usually relating to famous landmarks within famous cities, but it always did so in such a fun and engaging way as interspersed among the questions would be gags and skits performed by the hosts and to cap it all off, the jazzy sounds of Rockappela's musical accompaniments. The show made learning about the world into a game with a defined goal at the end. This was definitely one of the first game shows that made an impact on me because what kid would not want to save the world from a super criminal. Strong nostalgia and being unique in that it was a game show are what help Carmen Sandiego land at number 6.
5) Reading Rainbow: And so we come to that other reading centered kid's show, which has a legacy that speaks for itself (so you don't have to take my word for it). This famous kids show hosted by Levar Burton always featured the reading of a story book and was often times the first experience really young kids ever had to reading. The stories were often tied to a life lesson like sharing or learning not to be afraid of something, thus tying a love of reading to understanding and learning valuable truths about life. The show often times ended with kids recommending and giving reviews for books that they read which served to have kids themselves promote the cultivation of a reading culture. Not only has the show won multiple Daytime Emmys but it is also one of the most referenced and parodied children's series in popular culture with its instantly recognizable theme song being covered by a multitude of artists. The only reason I cannot place Reading Rainbow higher is because its target demographic skews mostly younger and it does not focus on life lessons as heavily as some of the other entries on this list.
4) The Magic School Bus: If Liberty's Kids is the show that made me love American History, then The Magic School Bus is the show that made me love science in general. There was never a normal field trip with Miss Frizzle and her Magic School Bus which did not just teach science, it helped kids experience science first hand. While some of the scientific community have condemned the Frizz's message of "Take Chances, Make Mistakes, and Get Messy" as not really the best way to promote scientific learning in kids, no one can deny that her motto is at the core essence of what it means to learn. If you are too afraid to make a mistake, you will never act on you curiosity and you will never learn or gain anything from the experience of trying. That is a lesson I still remember and fondly look back upon. The Magic School Bus effortlessly combines scientific discovery, fun and wacky adventures, and a diverse and fun cast of characters to create a program that can only be described as delightfully informative and excessively fun. While it no doubt still has a strong legacy (as evidenced by a horrible reboot on Netflix), it just did not push its concepts quite as far as my next entry and does not have the legacy to rival the top 2.
3) Bill Nye The Science Guy: The Magic School Bus made science fun; Bill Nye made science cool. No matter what your opinions are of Bill Nye, no one can deny that he is an excellent science educator and communicator. Nye brought comedy and wit to his program and was never afraid to be blunt and upfront about the topics he covered. If the Magic School Bus tried to amaze and astonish with a fantastical approach to science then Bill Nye made sure the focus was always on the practical aspects of knowledge and how it affects and changes the ways we live our daily lives. From musical parodies, to slapstick, to demonstrations, to skits, there was no end to the variety of approaches Bill would use to attack the subject of science education. It would not be a stretch to call Bill Nye the Science Guy the Saturday Night Live of educational programs as every topic he tackled was done so in an inventive, fun, and informative manner. One thing Nye understood clearly is that if kids were going to learn to take science seriously, his program needed to have variety and it could not drag. Variety helped to widen the show's appeal and age demographic and the fun fast paced gags prevented the series from ever dragging and thus boring his target audience. The show has won multiple Emmys and would likely be number 1 for me if I could ignore the impact and legacy that the top 2 shows have above all others.
2) Sesame Street: This was the single hardest decision I had to make on this entire list. Sesame Street and my number 1 pick were always at the top of my list and it was painful to decide which show had the better combination of quality children's edu-tainment, lasting appeal, legacy, and mature moments. Ultimately, I decided to place Sesame Street at number 2 merely because I felt the overall legacy of the show to be not quite as legendary as my number 1 pick. That being said, Sesame Street has over 4 decades worth of legacy proving that it certainly stands the test of time in terms of broadcasting quality children's education. Sesame Street teaches children a wide breadth about a variety of different things from counting, to spelling, to the basics of foreign languages like Spanish, to music and too many other topics to list. The expressed goal of Sesame Street as stated by author Malcom Gladwell is that, "Sesame Street was built around a single, breakthrough insight: that if you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them". The show has also treated serious topics with a realism and care that go almost unmatched by all other children's programs such as dealing with the death of a loved one or how to make friends and interact with people who have autism. It was incredibly hard not giving Sesame Street the crown of best educational television show, but a few powerful factors swayed me to my ultimate number 1.
1) Mister Roger's Neighborhood: To me, this is the kids show that has had the greatest and most long lasting impact. To put it simply, Mister Roger's Neighborhood was not about spectacle or being extravagant, or trying to put on an act. At its core, this show was about simply about talking with and learning from a friend. More so than any other educator on any other children's program, Mister Rogers wanted to be a kid's friend. To Fred Rogers, it seemed as if the key to educating children was to cultivate a lasting and special bond with them first and foremost. His teachings were practical, simple, and easy to understand. He would take his audience on tours of factories and ask the kinds of simple yet fascinating questions that curious children would ask. Maybe even more important than the practical things he taught like tying shoes or how to make a sandwich, Mister Rogers taught kids about the power of imagination (a full 30 years before Spongebob would turn Imagination into a meme). In his own words, "Love is at the root of everything, all learning, all relationships, love or the lack of it." To me, it is the simplicity to which Fred Rogers taught that earns Mister Rogers Neighborhood the number 1 slot in my rankings. Because he treated kids with love and respect, he earned their trust, and because he earned their trust, he could talk honestly about the difficult things in life like death, divorces, wars, and assassinations. He would simply and honestly express his pain and frustration with people who hurt each other and thus kids would learn that it was okay to feel hurt or confused by difficult situations. The fact that this Thursday, June 8th the documentary ,"Won't You Be My Neighbor" is releasing in select theaters is a testament to how the teachings and legacy of Fred Rogers have stood the test of time.
Well that concludes this list of what I feel are the Top 10 Education Kids Shows. I certainly hope you enjoyed this little walk down memory lane. It is certainly my hope that as you read through a list like this, you would all take the time to look back on the things that helped bring you to where you are today. I believe that everything we experience as people happens for a reason and will ultimately act to shape the people we become. Take a breath every once and a while and reflect on what things in your lives have had the most lasting impact. The future will still be waiting for you when your done.
PS If you feel like I left something off the list or just want to share your thoughts, do so in the comments below!