“The show’s run is ending, Grant explains, because no one… will put up the several hundred thousand dollars needed to renew the show’s broadcast rights… but the decision to end Reading Rainbow can also be traced to a shift in the philosophy of educational television programming… which wanted to see a much heavier focus on the basic tools of reading — like phonics and spelling.”

Fuck. F-UK. FUCK! it’s one thing when the people behind a show walk away, because they don’t want to do it anymore, or because they can’t. But this just bums me out, and kind of pisses me off because because Reading Rainbow, and the people behind it, just deserve better.

Aww, MAN! =P Poo.

I can’t begin to express how troubled I am by this article. It bothers me that the assumption that kids knew how to read turned out not to be a safe assumption to make. It further bothers me that it sounds like PBS is openly admitting to dumbing down entertainment for kids.

This is a travesty. I actually did a Reading Rainbow based presentation for a college english class 2 years ago, we played the theme song and had LeVar Burton’s picture behind us while we presented and something we discovered while we were preparing our presentation is that Burton did the show not because he needed the work but because he thinks that kids need the show. The fact that CPB and PBS won’t back him in his literacy mission because they think kids can’t read to begin with is just all sorts of wrong.

That’s such crap. ‘Research has shown’, what a thin excuse. Did that research show that more parents are letting the TV babysit for them, instead of taking the time to teach their kids the basics? TV should never be a kid’s primary source of learning, it should be an addition. Phonics should be taught by the parents or preschool teachers, not by some stranger in a studio.

I grew up with Reading Rainbow. I was reading years beyond my grade level. Why was this? Because my parents and the other adults around me took the time to teach me the basics, and shows like Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, and Mister Rogers encouraged me even more. These were part of a handful of shows I was allowed to watch; the rest of the time I was encouraged to play outside. I couldn’t just sit in front of the TV all day, I had to be reading or playing as well.

People are dumbing down their kids, and everyone pays for it. Instead of letting the show end, they should be giving Levar Burton a damned medal and begging him to keep hosting.

i grew up watching reading rainbow. that’s usually where i got to figure out what book i wanted to get next! i hope they keep showing reruns, that way, whenever i have kids, they can watch it, too.

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

Teaching children phonics and spelling does nothing to insure that they will read, just that they can. There’s more than enough shows out there teaching the how too- it’s a huge loss to have RR no longer teaching the why.

It’s the end of an era, and our children will be poorer for it.

Long Live the Rainbow!!!!!

Am I the odd one out for being surprised it was still running in the first place? Not complaining, but I hadn’t heard anything on it since I was in 2nd grade or so…

I didn’t even know it was even still running, as Kaji said…I remember Reading Rainbows though, I used to read tons of books when I was in elm. school and adult books in middle school…yes, my mother taught me to read, but it was also, a little bit of RR that helped. I used to read the books that they reviewed.

Good show, sadden by circumstances but, all good things must come to an end, eventually.

What happened to letting teachers and schools do the whole “how do you read” bit? I still remember television as a box full of inspiration and wonder. We’d watch wondrous shows and movies, based on imagination that inspired creativity for generations. Books did the same, and Reading Rainbow bridged the two. I can’t even remember the amount of books I got into thanks to that show.

This is stupid and foolhardy, I think people need to wake up when they tamper with education. Teaching kids to read is one thing, but perhaps they should be asking “why is it that in our country kids still don’t know how to read proper?” And let the systems that aid in reading, such as giving kids a REASON to read, do their thing.

They’ll start encouraging kids to read again when someone figures out an easy way to insert ads every few pages. /cynicism

I remember RR, and i can honestly say, it didn’t “help” me to read more, because I grew up not having a TV for the most part. So it was read or play. I am saddened by the loss of the show, because it did encourage my oldest son to read more, and now it won’t be around to encourage my youngest son. However, we weren’t planning on using the TV as a babysitter anyway, so…..

It’s a shame, but I am a little surprised it took this long. Sesame Street always had my attention more than RR. I guess it’s just the times changing, but don’t take my word for it…

It really does suck. I will miss that Star Trek lookin’ mofo staring up at the sky. Full of butterflies.

It’ll be the last time I can take a look, at a book …