Ey Can you do: Wait Remember : Immortal Grand Prix Monsuno Di Gata Defenders Redakai Exchange Student Zero Detentionaire Galactik Football Penn Zero Part Time Hero Supa Strikas The Venture Bros. Zatch Bell D.I.C.E. Next plz...
Grew up on the show. Loved it alongside Arthur, Mr Roger's Neighborhood. We really need more good quality edutainment shows for kids these days as I fear they really are missing out
The Martha Speaks episode, Ludlow Laughs, Gregory The Terrible Eater, Germs Make Me Sick, Perfect The Pig, etc(I still miss the 1980s Reading Rainbow intro). 🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥📺🌈📚📚📚
I'm likely not the only one who has pointed this out, but one of the most significant aspects often overlooked in the context of Reading Rainbow and LeVar Burton is that LeVar Burton was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 14. This fact is one of the main reasons he was passionate about what he did, and it's also one of the key reasons why people with dyslexia connected with and watched Reading Rainbow.
I am truly flabbergasted... I had no idea that he BEAT THE HELL out of that learning disability. He had my admiration, due to my love of the show. But, he earned my respect due to his levels of courage and relentlessness displayed by his unwavering dedication to overcoming his disability.
I used to joke with my friend that most of my knowledge of classic literature came from Wishbone. I'd also joke that I don't want to read most classics since if they were any good there'd have been a Wishbone episode 😂
I can’t reccomend LeVar Burton’s podcast, LeVar Burton Reads, enough. He narrates some truly excellent short stories, it really basically is Reading Rainbow for adults. Between the Lions, too. A great puppetry-based PBS show similarly focused on reading. It was a solid sketch show too.
LeVar Reads is one of my favorite podcasts, I love how it presents more mature material for the people in their 30's-40's who grew up watching Rainbow.
my mom would turn the tv off whenever the lions did the "meat shower" bit because she was trying to push vegetarianism on my siblings and I, all it did was give me an ironic fascination with meat and canibalism jokes that is probably going to give future psychiatrists some red flags
As someone who was in high school when 'no child left behind' was a big thing, I can say it was a horrible idea. Some teachers went nuts in it worried that if kids failed they would be punished. So many teachers did more and more group projects forcing the A+ kids with the failing kids, making the A+ kids do all the work. It lowered the hard working kids grades, but would raise the failing kids grade to just passing (and that was all that those certain teachers cared about). Some teachers would do shady stuff like extra credit only for failing students, a failing test would get thrown out only for the failing kids, only doing group projects, and more.
I met levar burton at a con. Some time after Picard Season 1 was announced and not aired. He talked about Reading Rainbow, possible revival, his Reading Podcast, his passion for reading , Star Trek, How a "Solo Picard series" would not star Harison Ford, and then some woman hijacked the mic for 15 minuets to talk about "Going to school in the 60s and how life was better back in the day" also this was before Jeopardy
LeVar and Bill were like our second dads teaching us about life and science and such through a TV Screen. I will always appreciate that I grew up in the best time period and so many around my age all had that same collective experience to share.
I learned Science from Bill Nye, I learned kindness from Mr Rodgers, I learned to love animals and nature from Steve Irwen, and LeVar Burton planted a small tiny seed in my brain that has only now, as a near 30 year old, started to blossom into a passion for reading and writing stories. They'll never know it, but they shaped me into a better man.
This and Mr Rogers were my go to growing up. I contribute a lot of my love for literature from watching Reading Rainbow. I unfortunately don't read a lot of books as I once did. But I still try and find time to write poetry now and again. My mother even watched it with me, now and again, and she was able to learn English and become more fluent over time. She really liked the shows on PBS and would even watch them when I was at school. For being a single parent, she really did raise me well and I never got to really tell her that when she was still around.
Shoutout to my 3rd grade teacher Ms. Conidaris. Without her, I would’ve never known what magic this show brings to reading, as well as just being an awesome show. She kept VHS copies of tons of edu-tainment shows and RR was one she’s play 5 or 6 times out of 10, alongside Arthur and/or Magic School Bus. I always used to complain in high school about how I missed out on a lot bc I was born at the tail end of 90s trends (02 kid), but tbh I’m glad I know what it’s like to embrace these moments. Her classroom was always a fun place, and I’ll always be grateful for Ms. C not just because she put me on bygone children’s media, but because she was a genuinely wonderful teacher.
My guidance Mrs Lee was everything. Well I only seen her couple of times a week 1st -5th grade. When middle school 6th grade I visited her home on weekends. When she passed way of old age of 90. She loved so much 200 people came most of which was students from the same elementary. From 30 year at that school. And someone made a Facebook of all her photos that had 2 million views on that Facebook page. She was a very lovely woman there is special place in heaven for people who touch so many people hearts
Okay so im dyslexic (af), my family werent big readers and worked a lot. I was also in special ed (out of the classroom) through the 2000s until 9th grade (2010). Reading rainbow was a huge push for me to keep trying to read at a very young age. And as a black kid, LaVar was HUGE. Did I tear up watching this? Maybe, probably because reading felt far away and reading rainbow made it feel like I too could read and that reading was for everyone. Idk they put so much work for kids like me, it's pretty dope. Fyi- i couldnt read until almost middle school but now i have a masters. Reading Rainbow was also special to me and happy to see it was for other people too.
As much as I loved Sesame Street as a kid (and I was obsessed), I think Reading Rainbow was my favorite show, even as a toddler. I was just under a year old when it first premiered, and my parents weren't exactly the most warm or involved people, but I was a book kid and looking back now, I can definitely say that this show, and LeVar Burton's warm personality, had a very positive effect on me.
Levar was the MLK of our generation. He taught us we could do anything - even be scientists and astronauts! I still listen to his podcast every day. Don't give up the dream!!!! I absolutely love that he still reads me stories. He's one of my greatest heroes, and means so much to me.
it's such a sad story on how RR struggled and ultimately was screwed over, No Child Left Behind was one of the worst things the gov ever did, since it lowered the bar which didnt encourage harder studying, it only encouraged kids to do just enough. while RR was encouraging learning, and i feel that education lacks that completely.
@@UltimateGamerCC The act also encouraged the "Memorization over Learning" method, which massively harmed education for children everywhere; Just so schools can meet the requirement for certain funding.
Butterfly in the sky, I can fly twice as high! Take a look, it’s in a book, Reading Rainbow..READING RAINBOW 🌈 I loved reading rainbow as a kid. Idk if the podcast still exists but it’s a podcast called Levar Burton Reads where he reads short stories and it’s amazing!
Just from the title I thought Company Man had randomly made a video on Reading Rainbow, lol; As for the show itself, I spent quite a bit of time in front of the tv as a youth watching it along side all the other PBS shows, and it really did its job of making me want to continue reading and exploring the countless new worlds that reading books could take you to. The shock of recognizing Burton on Star Trek years later as the reading rainbow guy was priceless for me and my siblings.
"Teachers noticed they had to spend more time getting gets literacy back to the level it was at before summer break" I had the opposite occur, in fact my teachers were utterly flabbergasted as to why I was reading so far ahead of the other kids in class, and legitimately annoyed when I said it was because of video games, RPG's specifically... and downright pissed off when my parents confirmed it. They did not like that answer, lol...
my grandma just encouraged reading what you like so comic books it was. in 5th grade i was reading as good or maybe even better than some college level people.
sounds like me :D though my visual condition of legal blindness with limited usable vision means I also preferred audio books which I tended to listen to at 1.5x speed lol
@@GlitchedVision Same. The only reason I learned all the countries on a map was because of the original Street Fighter 2. Before every fight they would say and show Japan or Thailand or India, etc. I played it so much that's how I learned lol.
Aw I have found memories of watching Reading Rainbow. Love this show when I was a kid. I had no idea it has this many seasons. I watch this series around the 2000s. Thanks for covering the history and information on this show. I had no idea this show went through. And now I know thanks to you.
OG Reading Rainbow 🌈 fan here, very well done doc Jordan. Brought back many memories of watching the 1st few seasons in pre-K-4th Grade when they were originally aired on my local PBS Stations in Lansing & Detroit.
During the 90s I watched this series a lot and it certainly made a strong impression on me. Reading Rainbow was definitely one of the best PBS shows ever. I didn’t keep up with it past the time I turned into a teenager but it certainly was an important part of my childhood. Thank you for making this video and bringing back some great memories of this series! Love your channel man!
I never watched Reading Rainbow as a kid and even without nostalgia for the show, I was touched by this beautiful tribute to it. Keep up the great work, Jordan!
as a person that didn't learn to read until fourth grade, I LOVED this show! listening to stories and such is so captivating and honestly the only way I was able to get stuff read to me without being called lazy or stupid.
Thank you so much for making this, Jordan. This is my favorite video of yours. Reading Rainbow is very special to me and many people of my generation and others. Seeing this documentary made me so emotional. Seeing the clips made me nostalgic and the story of how the crew and Lavar worked so hard to keep it going made me get choked up with how wholesome and noble it was.
as someone who loved reading rainbow as a kid and is an english teacher now, i have an undying respect for this show and what they’ve done for my generation and the kids of the 80’s as well. it’s such a shame that the good the program set out to do initially and later under LeVar, had so many battles to fight.
As someone born in 1980 I grew up on pbs, esp Bob Ross, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, and later Square One. They absolutely helped shape my education. I'd fake sick to stay home and watch PBS, feeling I learned more there than in public schools
Reading Rainbow was really fun, it was the show that introduced me to Arthur and other books that ended up becoming popular and getting their animated series! Also anyone remembers Ghostwriter! That show barely gets talked about enough online, PBS barely aired that show when it originally aired and quickly cancelled it and syndicated it on Nick!
@@Kisa01 I agree, my older sister and I loved Ghostwriter. I really learned quite a bit about writing from watching it, plus being a fan of mystery stories helped me enjoy the show more. I was so sad when it got cancelled due to a lack of funding. Really hope that the rest of the show does get released on DVD/ Blu Ray in the near future. Going to pick up some of the tie in books in the near future as well, since I only read a handful of them when I was grade school.
I remember this show as a kid, I was a little kid watching this in the early 80's and through grade school. I mean I loved it when I saw Levar Burton go from hosting this, to starring another show I loved. Star Trek TNG, I feel as if I grew up watching the guy. Still this show was one of my favorites, as my mom was a teacher who read to my sister and I. This was a golden era for edutainment, something I feel is a much needed concept to return.
I have dyslexia, and as a child I was told I was lazy. I remember this show coming on and how I would jump to angerly turn it off. I hated reading, it wasn't fun for me and I was blamed for my own struggles. I wonder if I would have learned of my disability earlier if I had actually sat and watched this show.
I have a coworker with dyslexia. If it helps you are not alone when it comes to regret. He told me he has a great deal of anger over everything that could have been different and he has met many people that felt that too. Anger is too mild of a word for how they felt.
This made me cry and also go watch the twenty minute Lifetime Achievement speech. So good!!! Thank you, you are my nostalgia rabbit hole and it’s a pleasure every time
The best that TV can be... Fortunately for everyone to witness is all that work from the crew and the unstoppable energy from the host recorded forever. The biggest benefit, of course, is the interest in reading presented lovingly to children during the time of their lives when life-long interests begin.
Reading Rainbow was a huge part of my childhood. This was a show my mom and I loved to watch together. I remember looking for the books I saw on Reading Rainbow when I went to the library. Another thing the show got me into was genealogy. I saw it on an episode of Reading Rainbow one day and I became obsessed with tracing my family history.
@NotWhatIamMadeFor: Yes, LeVar Burton and Fred Rogers meet in person both on camera in an episode of Mister Rogers Neiborhood sometime towards the end of its run(that episode is here on You Tube) as well as in private. LeVar even penned a tribute to Fred Rogers for People Magazine in 2003 following Rogers death from stomach cancer.
The weird thing about Levar Burton... for some people, he's Geordi LaForge, and others... he was Levar from Reading Rainbow... others... Kunta Kinte. It was even a joke on his appearance in the NBC sitcom, "Community".
I remember watching this show in elementary and it sparked my interest in reading books, i wasn't interested in literature but reading rainbow helped me experience in wanting to try out different things that i enjoy, bill nye made learning fun but reading rainbow was a treasure.
That sound that plays at the end of the theme song i got a friend of mine to make it a sound notification for me! I've had so many people after hearing my phone go off ask me, "is that Reading Rainbow?!"
I grew up watching Reading Rainbow on PBS. It was one of my favorite shows on PBS just like Wishbone, Ghost writer and The magic School Bus. These are the shows I grew up on watching on PBS. Thank you for this video. You bought back some memories of this show.
"Reading Rainbow" has a special spot in my heart not only for the stories it shared, but how it encouraged us to find our own. When I was six, I remember seeing LeVar in a commercial for a children's writing contest and I immediately felt drawn to enter it. I wrote a story about a fish with green and purple stripes, and no, I sadly don't remember anything about the plot. But that sparked my love of writing and storytelling. I went on to be a theatre kid in high school, double majored in Creative Writing and Theatre in college, and am now working as a playwright and actress. All thanks to this wonderful show. Thank you, LeVar, thank you.
Hey, Jordan Fringe. You should definitely do a "Wait...remember?" video on Between the Lions. I remember watching that show on PBS Kids during my childhood. My favorite segment on that show is The Adventures of Cliff Hanger when a guy named Cliff Hanger (pun intended) tries to get off a cliff through many attempts like for example, saying a tongue twister of a magic word. Would you mind doing a video on Between the Lions?
Who sang the theme song at the end? They did a beautiful job! I’m grateful that I got to watch Levar and RR growing up. And it’s great that it still lives on for new generations.
I used to watch this show on PBS growing up it started in 1983 he's 65 now. I have good friend that's the same age, im 47. My dad would collect old books. Lavar Burton was cool. Thanks for sharing this the memories. Reading Rainbow 🌈
Thanks for the wonderful deep dive into one of my childhood favorites. Reading Rainbow probably was responsible for getting me to read more. I loved books when I was younger.
So i've been watching through Star Trek: The Next Generation lately because even though I was born in the 90's, I didn't really watch it as a kid and was never interested at all. But like Dad kept talking about it over the years so I finally gave in recently and have been loving it, and by god the Whiplash I had 2 minuets into this video when I had the realization that Geordie was the guy from reading rainbow blew my mind. Like obviously I had seen reading rainbow as a kid, but it wasn't something I went out of my way to watch. Like you said, they wheeled the TV in front of the room and put it on in school multiple times, I saw a few episodes here and there and liked it pretty well. But like I don't have vivid memories of it, just kind of remember the concept. But like as soon as I hear LaVar Burton talk in this video it was an instant realization that the Star Trek guy was also the guy teaching me on the TV when I was growing up lol. Wish I knew that as a Kid! I didn't like Star Trek, but I would have been even more interested in him! Edit: This is also one of the moments where I realize that all the time I make fun of cartoon/comic characters saying "Well its just this guy you know really well with a little mask on, how can you not tell?" But then literally just throw a visor on a guy and I'm completely clueless. No idea who it is.
@@rutgerb I started with the origional series despite basically everyone I know saying to just skip to next generations, but I was stubborn and I'm kinda glad I was. It was old and cheesy, but it had a charm to it and allot of lore that next generations has carried over, and I like that allot. Originally I was just gonna stop after Generations, but im honestly having a really good time so I think I will continue on after I finish up!
@sasukuto i've never watched the orginals. I rolled into it with Picard (im a 80s/90s) kid, then loved Voyager (its has great characters: like the docter, Nelix, 7of9😍). And deep space nine (has worf in it aswell) is the best ever made with my all time favorits: Garak and Quark. Enterprise which came out around 2000 and sort of flopped is good aswell. These days star trek Lower decks is a nice addition to the older shows. Ps. The orville is a great watch aswell. I am so jelaous of you because ive allready seen it all, yeah, besides the orginal but no its the old, cheesy and (i am not American) not my 'culture'/'vibe'
Love the show and Levar. Had recorded tapes from PBS when I was little. My mommy would go to the library to pick up these books as well as Reading Rainbow VHS tapes from the local Library. It also kinda inspired me to become an artist. Such good childhood memories! 📚 🌈
Never knew that it was shown in schools. I grew up watching it in the 1980s on Channel 24 in Orlando. There are three things I remember most from watching Reading Rainbow growing up. When he visited the Oakland A's and get tips from Dave Stewart, when he toured the Next Generation set and showed the models and Tikki Tikki Tembo-no Sa Rembo-chari Bari Ruchi-pip Peri Pembo. I never fail to get joy out of saying that.
It's sad they don't let shows that are aimed at children and younger audiences put in this much care. Compare shows like Sesame Street/Reading Rainbow/Mr Rogers/Bill Nye to what they're given now. We were given such great shows, why should our children be given less?
It's a general trend all across the board now...like even if you compare movie trailers from the 80s and 90s to now, you'll see that it's less about giving information and more about lighting up all our little brain centers. Short videos cater to (and contribute to) short attention spans, children are sat in front of videos that involve bright colors and quickly-changing scenes (hell, so are adults)... Even as someone who largely got to grow up before the Internet became a huge thing, I find myself a victim of it as well. It's definitely frustrating.
I remember watching this show when I was younger. This video also reminded me of a Saturday morning series called CBS Storybreak. This series took a different book each week and turned it into a thirty-minute cartoon, then let you know more about the book itself at the end of each episode. And the series could pair surprisingly well with Reading Rainbow.
So I normally listen to all of YT save for music videos on double speed. But when that cover came in at the end, you bet your ass I slowed the video back down to normal playback speed and nearly bawled my eyes out. Reading Rainbow, Bill Nye and really all of PBS Kids still, to this day holds a very special place in my heart. I only wish every generation after mine can experience something this special. I'm not much of a reader, even after watching the show, school and I disagreed on a myriad of issues. But there was a desire to read and learn and educate myself that I could only guess was instilled by this show, Bill Nye, and Croc Files (looking forward to that video some day. No I'm not prepared to try not crying over the show's history). Thank you so much, Jordan, for reminding me of where my passion for reading and writing was born, where that tiny seed planted in my psyche for writing stories and building characters really came from.
I always liked reading rainbow because as long as I can remember was wanting to read and loving reading. Most kids my age hated reading and did not seem to do it for fun like I did so having a show focused on reading brought a smile to my face that maybe it would encourage other people to enjoy books. It mostly failed, most kids today have no attention span and their reading comprehension is utter garbage, but it was worth a try and I am sure it made at least some children aware of the joy of fiction.
I grew up with my older siblings watching reading rainbow and it was fun for me too. The animation in the OG opening always fired up my imagination and I always wanted to be one of those kids recommending books to others 😅
I was 18 when Reading Rainbow had its first episode on PBS so I did not know about the show until I had my children and two of my three daughters when they were younger we would watch Reading Rainbow together and we loved Levar Burton how he did the show and we always looked forward to watching it. I wish it was still on.
I miss this show. I still get excited when I see a children’s book with the Reading Rainbow sticker on the front. It was amazing honestly. Children need to read.
I just saw him at a speaker series here about 2 weeks ago, he talked about literacy and his acting career. And how Reading rainbow got started and his adult short story podcast where he reads short stories. So it's really nice thank you for doing this
This was a fantastic documentary. It's sad the way things ended but it's nice knowing Levar's still out there helping inspire kids to read. I think instead of suing him the network should have tried to get more involved. I doubt Levar or the people he was working with were doing anything malicious.
As a kid I never quite liked reading at school. Books were entertaining or not. Today I don't foster a "love of reading" but an "appreciation of reading". I encourage and remind kids of non-fiction. There are books on how to play games, how to win at games, doing magic, crafts like origami, friendship bracelets, cooking & baking, how to take photos. Books of facts and just neat stuff. I encouraged them that "reading just needs a click" there is just a point when you realize you can get *more* information from Reading than other ways, and you have control over it.
Reading rainbow is why i loves to read! I would search the library for books that were recommended by the show. I have a memory of walking by the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and asking my parents to go inside. I saw the Library of Congress on a Reading Rainbow episode and wanted to see it for myself. My parents response "If we go in there, we will never find you again."😂
Reading Rainbow was a big part of how i grew to love reading. "The Great Railway Adventures" helped build my model collection and vocabulary from a young age.
Used to watch Reading Rainbow religiously as a kid and loved all the episodes. The host and staff poured so much work and love into each episode and personally I learned so much from it. That was in the "Golden Days" when there were no Internet with instant information and thousands of options that kids just get distracted and bored so easily. Sad to see so many bookstores closed down in the last 10 years (Borders, Crowns, etc.). Still read on a daily basis and usually prefer the physical books.
I only heard of Reading Rainbow from Community but I picked up that it was a childhood show featuring LeVar Burton showing off the joys of reading so I’m excited to hear a more detailed explanation of the show that meant so much to my second favorite Community character.
WNED is an example of “just because you’re correct doesn’t mean you’re right”. They were probably right that levar was using their intellectual property without their consent, but he’s not doing so out of some selfish desire for money but to spread the love of reading to a new generation: the whole point of the show in the first place. WNED should’ve just let him do what he was doing, or talked with him privately to gain more input over it if they cared that much. I hope there isn’t too much ill will because I would like to see reading rainbow return one day
I grew up with Reading Rainbow 🌈 and then when i became a mother of three my children loved watching Reading Rainbow. So the shows that i grew up watching my children grew up watching as well. My children were PBS Kids like me.
Thanks so much for watching! Do you have any fond memories of Reading Rainbow? Let me know!
Yes and my favorite boom from the series was sunken treasure boom and it told about the atocha treasure wreck
Ey Can you do:
Wait Remember :
Immortal Grand Prix
Monsuno
Di Gata Defenders
Redakai
Exchange Student Zero
Detentionaire
Galactik Football
Penn Zero Part Time Hero
Supa Strikas
The Venture Bros.
Zatch Bell
D.I.C.E.
Next plz...
Grew up on the show. Loved it alongside Arthur, Mr Roger's Neighborhood. We really need more good quality edutainment shows for kids these days as I fear they really are missing out
The Martha Speaks episode, Ludlow Laughs, Gregory The Terrible Eater, Germs Make Me Sick, Perfect The Pig, etc(I still miss the 1980s Reading Rainbow intro). 🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥🎥📺🌈📚📚📚
yes i still watch it on amazon prime
I'm likely not the only one who has pointed this out, but one of the most significant aspects often overlooked in the context of Reading Rainbow and LeVar Burton is that LeVar Burton was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 14. This fact is one of the main reasons he was passionate about what he did, and it's also one of the key reasons why people with dyslexia connected with and watched Reading Rainbow.
Wow I didn’t even know that. Makes me appreciate the guy even more!
That is some dedication right there
OKAY STOP IDK THIS AND IM DYSLEXIC TOO AND HE AND THIS SHOW WAS HUGE PART OF MY CHILDHOOD STOP.😭
I am truly flabbergasted...
I had no idea that he BEAT THE HELL out of that learning disability.
He had my admiration, due to my love of the show.
But, he earned my respect due to his levels of courage and relentlessness displayed by his unwavering dedication to overcoming his disability.
i misspelled "no" as "know".
life is funny like that sometimes...
Anyone else remember Wishbone? The series that took us through classic literature as told by a jack russel terrier.
I loved that f*cking dog. Had most of the episodes on VHS so so long ago.
Definitely! You could find full episodes on UA-cam or in parts.
I used to joke with my friend that most of my knowledge of classic literature came from Wishbone. I'd also joke that I don't want to read most classics since if they were any good there'd have been a Wishbone episode 😂
I still remember themes from classics because of Wishbone
I loved wishbone fr
I can’t reccomend LeVar Burton’s podcast, LeVar Burton Reads, enough. He narrates some truly excellent short stories, it really basically is Reading Rainbow for adults.
Between the Lions, too. A great puppetry-based PBS show similarly focused on reading. It was a solid sketch show too.
Guy deserves a national award for being invested in mass child education and pushing an effort towards it
I always loved the Cliffhanger segments of Between the Lions. Such a great show for kids.
@@Arc115YT All of the animated segments were incredibly well done, but Cliff was definitely a standout!
LeVar Reads is one of my favorite podcasts, I love how it presents more mature material for the people in their 30's-40's who grew up watching Rainbow.
my mom would turn the tv off whenever the lions did the "meat shower" bit because she was trying to push vegetarianism on my siblings and I, all it did was give me an ironic fascination with meat and canibalism jokes that is probably going to give future psychiatrists some red flags
As someone who was in high school when 'no child left behind' was a big thing, I can say it was a horrible idea. Some teachers went nuts in it worried that if kids failed they would be punished. So many teachers did more and more group projects forcing the A+ kids with the failing kids, making the A+ kids do all the work. It lowered the hard working kids grades, but would raise the failing kids grade to just passing (and that was all that those certain teachers cared about). Some teachers would do shady stuff like extra credit only for failing students, a failing test would get thrown out only for the failing kids, only doing group projects, and more.
Thanks Bush
Ah the good old days... when we knew the school lunches were mystery meat and we liked it! 😂
@@dharrsch fuck you mean dog that shit was nasty lol
I think I was one of the dumb kids they tried to help
I met levar burton at a con. Some time after Picard Season 1 was announced and not aired. He talked about Reading Rainbow, possible revival, his Reading Podcast, his passion for reading , Star Trek, How a "Solo Picard series" would not star Harison Ford, and then some woman hijacked the mic for 15 minuets to talk about "Going to school in the 60s and how life was better back in the day"
also this was before Jeopardy
Humanity...
I always have a blast when people tell me how great the good old days was right after (or before) telling me how much it sucked.
Rosy retrospection is the driving force of generational bias.
LeVar and Bill were like our second dads teaching us about life and science and such through a TV Screen. I will always appreciate that I grew up in the best time period and so many around my age all had that same collective experience to share.
I learned Science from Bill Nye, I learned kindness from Mr Rodgers, I learned to love animals and nature from Steve Irwen, and LeVar Burton planted a small tiny seed in my brain that has only now, as a near 30 year old, started to blossom into a passion for reading and writing stories. They'll never know it, but they shaped me into a better man.
"That goodwill belongs to us" is such an evil corporation thing to say. Makes me hope WNED goes under
Everyone has heard of Lavar Burton. No one has heard of WNED.
It’s all about the profits for them, not the mission
This and Mr Rogers were my go to growing up. I contribute a lot of my love for literature from watching Reading Rainbow. I unfortunately don't read a lot of books as I once did. But I still try and find time to write poetry now and again. My mother even watched it with me, now and again, and she was able to learn English and become more fluent over time. She really liked the shows on PBS and would even watch them when I was at school. For being a single parent, she really did raise me well and I never got to really tell her that when she was still around.
Shoutout to my 3rd grade teacher Ms. Conidaris. Without her, I would’ve never known what magic this show brings to reading, as well as just being an awesome show. She kept VHS copies of tons of edu-tainment shows and RR was one she’s play 5 or 6 times out of 10, alongside Arthur and/or Magic School Bus. I always used to complain in high school about how I missed out on a lot bc I was born at the tail end of 90s trends (02 kid), but tbh I’m glad I know what it’s like to embrace these moments. Her classroom was always a fun place, and I’ll always be grateful for Ms. C not just because she put me on bygone children’s media, but because she was a genuinely wonderful teacher.
My guidance Mrs Lee was everything. Well I only seen her couple of times a week 1st -5th grade. When middle school 6th grade I visited her home on weekends. When she passed way of old age of 90. She loved so much 200 people came most of which was students from the same elementary. From 30 year at that school. And someone made a Facebook of all her photos that had 2 million views on that Facebook page.
She was a very lovely woman there is special place in heaven for people who touch so many people hearts
Okay so im dyslexic (af), my family werent big readers and worked a lot. I was also in special ed (out of the classroom) through the 2000s until 9th grade (2010). Reading rainbow was a huge push for me to keep trying to read at a very young age. And as a black kid, LaVar was HUGE. Did I tear up watching this? Maybe, probably because reading felt far away and reading rainbow made it feel like I too could read and that reading was for everyone. Idk they put so much work for kids like me, it's pretty dope.
Fyi- i couldnt read until almost middle school but now i have a masters. Reading Rainbow was also special to me and happy to see it was for other people too.
Thank you for sharing this with us.
❤
Man that’s awesome 😊 so happy for you!
absolute W
As much as I loved Sesame Street as a kid (and I was obsessed), I think Reading Rainbow was my favorite show, even as a toddler. I was just under a year old when it first premiered, and my parents weren't exactly the most warm or involved people, but I was a book kid and looking back now, I can definitely say that this show, and LeVar Burton's warm personality, had a very positive effect on me.
Levar was the MLK of our generation. He taught us we could do anything - even be scientists and astronauts! I still listen to his podcast every day. Don't give up the dream!!!! I absolutely love that he still reads me stories. He's one of my greatest heroes, and means so much to me.
God this show was such an important part of my childhood. Jordan, this is probably my favorite video you’ve made so far!
it's such a sad story on how RR struggled and ultimately was screwed over, No Child Left Behind was one of the worst things the gov ever did, since it lowered the bar which didnt encourage harder studying, it only encouraged kids to do just enough. while RR was encouraging learning, and i feel that education lacks that completely.
@@UltimateGamerCC The act also encouraged the "Memorization over Learning" method, which massively harmed education for children everywhere; Just so schools can meet the requirement for certain funding.
Lavar Burton is one the most important people to cause my love of reading.
I said nothing for the grammar.
You could say, with that "Lavar" typo, he really cleaned up.
Right ❤❤❤ and a great actor ❤
I remember the theme song to Reading Rainbow. It's an iconic piece of childhood theme songs!
Butterfly in the sky, I can fly twice as high! Take a look, it’s in a book, Reading Rainbow..READING RAINBOW 🌈 I loved reading rainbow as a kid. Idk if the podcast still exists but it’s a podcast called Levar Burton Reads where he reads short stories and it’s amazing!
When jordi from Star Trek next gen taught every kid to read and it was awesome
We didn't know how good we had it
@@harleyjo4875what part of their comment made you think they didn’t know that books exist lmao
He didn't teach me to read but he did spark my love for it
I remember the first time seeing Reading Rainbow, and my mind was blown seeing LeVar Burton’s eyes for the first time.
Just from the title I thought Company Man had randomly made a video on Reading Rainbow, lol; As for the show itself, I spent quite a bit of time in front of the tv as a youth watching it along side all the other PBS shows, and it really did its job of making me want to continue reading and exploring the countless new worlds that reading books could take you to. The shock of recognizing Burton on Star Trek years later as the reading rainbow guy was priceless for me and my siblings.
Omg yes 😂
"Teachers noticed they had to spend more time getting gets literacy back to the level it was at before summer break"
I had the opposite occur, in fact my teachers were utterly flabbergasted as to why I was reading so far ahead of the other kids in class, and legitimately annoyed when I said it was because of video games, RPG's specifically... and downright pissed off when my parents confirmed it. They did not like that answer, lol...
my grandma just encouraged reading what you like so comic books it was. in 5th grade i was reading as good or maybe even better than some college level people.
sounds like me :D though my visual condition of legal blindness with limited usable vision means I also preferred audio books which I tended to listen to at 1.5x speed lol
Same. Video games and comic books.
@@GlitchedVision Same. The only reason I learned all the countries on a map was because of the original Street Fighter 2. Before every fight they would say and show Japan or Thailand or India, etc. I played it so much that's how I learned lol.
My mind honestly jumped to old RPG games as a cheat in place of actual books as soon as he started going into how kids don't like books anymore.
Aw I have found memories of watching Reading Rainbow. Love this show when I was a kid.
I had no idea it has this many seasons. I watch this series around the 2000s.
Thanks for covering the history and information on this show. I had no idea this show went through. And now I know thanks to you.
Same here, although for me it was the 90s.
@@TheZephyrsWind 80s & 90s for me
God I loved this show. No cable TV and elementary school fills my mind. PBS Kids is THE BEST network for children in my opinion.
OG Reading Rainbow 🌈 fan here, very well done doc Jordan. Brought back many memories of watching the 1st few seasons in pre-K-4th Grade when they were originally aired on my local PBS Stations in Lansing & Detroit.
During the 90s I watched this series a lot and it certainly made a strong impression on me. Reading Rainbow was definitely one of the best PBS shows ever. I didn’t keep up with it past the time I turned into a teenager but it certainly was an important part of my childhood. Thank you for making this video and bringing back some great memories of this series! Love your channel man!
I never watched Reading Rainbow as a kid and even without nostalgia for the show, I was touched by this beautiful tribute to it. Keep up the great work, Jordan!
as a person that didn't learn to read until fourth grade, I LOVED this show! listening to stories and such is so captivating and honestly the only way I was able to get stuff read to me without being called lazy or stupid.
Thank you so much for making this, Jordan. This is my favorite video of yours. Reading Rainbow is very special to me and many people of my generation and others. Seeing this documentary made me so emotional. Seeing the clips made me nostalgic and the story of how the crew and Lavar worked so hard to keep it going made me get choked up with how wholesome and noble it was.
as someone who loved reading rainbow as a kid and is an english teacher now, i have an undying respect for this show and what they’ve done for my generation and the kids of the 80’s as well. it’s such a shame that the good the program set out to do initially and later under LeVar, had so many battles to fight.
Tony Buttino is my grandpa. It's so cool to see his work be appreciated! Thank you for this! I'll send it to him.
Reading rainbow is the reason why I have an addiction to books today. I grew up with the show, and loved it.
As someone born in 1980 I grew up on pbs, esp Bob Ross, Reading Rainbow, Sesame Street, and later Square One. They absolutely helped shape my education. I'd fake sick to stay home and watch PBS, feeling I learned more there than in public schools
Reading Rainbow was really fun, it was the show that introduced me to Arthur and other books that ended up becoming popular and getting their animated series! Also anyone remembers Ghostwriter! That show barely gets talked about enough online, PBS barely aired that show when it originally aired and quickly cancelled it and syndicated it on Nick!
ghostwriter was sooo good! i remember finding a VHS of a few episodes at the library as a kid
Wish they would release the rest of the series on DVD. They only did season1 of ghost writer
@@Kisa01 they need to also release the new ghostwriter mysteries on dvd too!
@@Kisa01 I agree, my older sister and I loved Ghostwriter. I really learned quite a bit about writing from watching it, plus being a fan of mystery stories helped me enjoy the show more. I was so sad when it got cancelled due to a lack of funding. Really hope that the rest of the show does get released on DVD/ Blu Ray in the near future. Going to pick up some of the tie in books in the near future as well, since I only read a handful of them when I was grade school.
I remember this show as a kid, I was a little kid watching this in the early 80's and through grade school. I mean I loved it when I saw Levar Burton go from hosting this, to starring another show I loved. Star Trek TNG, I feel as if I grew up watching the guy. Still this show was one of my favorites, as my mom was a teacher who read to my sister and I. This was a golden era for edutainment, something I feel is a much needed concept to return.
Thanks for recognizing Levar and much of an impact he had
I have dyslexia, and as a child I was told I was lazy. I remember this show coming on and how I would jump to angerly turn it off. I hated reading, it wasn't fun for me and I was blamed for my own struggles. I wonder if I would have learned of my disability earlier if I had actually sat and watched this show.
I have a coworker with dyslexia. If it helps you are not alone when it comes to regret. He told me he has a great deal of anger over everything that could have been different and he has met many people that felt that too. Anger is too mild of a word for how they felt.
Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high. Take a look, it's in a book, Reading Rainbow!
I can go *anywhere!*
This made me cry and also go watch the twenty minute Lifetime Achievement speech. So good!!! Thank you, you are my nostalgia rabbit hole and it’s a pleasure every time
The best that TV can be... Fortunately for everyone to witness is all that work from the crew and the unstoppable energy from the host recorded forever. The biggest benefit, of course, is the interest in reading presented lovingly to children during the time of their lives when life-long interests begin.
Reading Rainbow was a huge part of my childhood. This was a show my mom and I loved to watch together. I remember looking for the books I saw on Reading Rainbow when I went to the library. Another thing the show got me into was genealogy. I saw it on an episode of Reading Rainbow one day and I became obsessed with tracing my family history.
Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood and Reading Rainbow,
two crucial building blocks of many children. Often replicated but equally impactful.
As an English teacher whose family did not have cable until I was in high school, I owe a lot to Reading Rainbow.
The amount of research and detail you put into making this video was absolutely amazing! Well done!
LeVar Burton always gave me that "Mr Rogers" feeling. I feel like the two of them would have been good friends. I wonder if they ever met.
@NotWhatIamMadeFor: Yes, LeVar Burton and Fred Rogers meet in person both on camera in an episode of Mister Rogers Neiborhood sometime towards the end of its run(that episode is here on You Tube) as well as in private. LeVar even penned a tribute to Fred Rogers for People Magazine in 2003 following Rogers death from stomach cancer.
Its been a while since I watched reading rainbow 🌈 , its good to see it again.
The weird thing about Levar Burton... for some people, he's Geordi LaForge, and others... he was Levar from Reading Rainbow... others... Kunta Kinte. It was even a joke on his appearance in the NBC sitcom, "Community".
I remember watching this show in elementary and it sparked my interest in reading books, i wasn't interested in literature but reading rainbow helped me experience in wanting to try out different things that i enjoy, bill nye made learning fun but reading rainbow was a treasure.
That sound that plays at the end of the theme song i got a friend of mine to make it a sound notification for me!
I've had so many people after hearing my phone go off ask me, "is that Reading Rainbow?!"
I grew up watching Reading Rainbow on PBS. It was one of my favorite shows on PBS just like Wishbone, Ghost writer and The magic School Bus. These are the shows I grew up on watching on PBS. Thank you for this video. You bought back some memories of this show.
"Reading Rainbow" has a special spot in my heart not only for the stories it shared, but how it encouraged us to find our own. When I was six, I remember seeing LeVar in a commercial for a children's writing contest and I immediately felt drawn to enter it. I wrote a story about a fish with green and purple stripes, and no, I sadly don't remember anything about the plot. But that sparked my love of writing and storytelling. I went on to be a theatre kid in high school, double majored in Creative Writing and Theatre in college, and am now working as a playwright and actress. All thanks to this wonderful show. Thank you, LeVar, thank you.
Hey, Jordan Fringe. You should definitely do a "Wait...remember?" video on Between the Lions. I remember watching that show on PBS Kids during my childhood. My favorite segment on that show is The Adventures of Cliff Hanger when a guy named Cliff Hanger (pun intended) tries to get off a cliff through many attempts like for example, saying a tongue twister of a magic word. Would you mind doing a video on Between the Lions?
🎵Cliff Hanger hanging from a cliff... And that's why he's called Cliff Hanger🎶 Can't. Hold. On. Much. LOOOOOONNNNGGERRR
Who sang the theme song at the end? They did a beautiful job!
I’m grateful that I got to watch Levar and RR growing up. And it’s great that it still lives on for new generations.
Did you ever find out? I wanna know, too!
I used to watch this show on PBS growing up it started in 1983 he's 65 now. I have good friend that's the same age, im 47. My dad would collect old books. Lavar Burton was cool. Thanks for sharing this the memories. Reading Rainbow 🌈
Holy crap! It went on for that long eh. I do remember it fortunately. Same with Zoom and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
I aged out from Zoom , but remember it and RR
Thanks for the wonderful deep dive into one of my childhood favorites. Reading Rainbow probably was responsible for getting me to read more. I loved books when I was younger.
So i've been watching through Star Trek: The Next Generation lately because even though I was born in the 90's, I didn't really watch it as a kid and was never interested at all. But like Dad kept talking about it over the years so I finally gave in recently and have been loving it, and by god the Whiplash I had 2 minuets into this video when I had the realization that Geordie was the guy from reading rainbow blew my mind. Like obviously I had seen reading rainbow as a kid, but it wasn't something I went out of my way to watch. Like you said, they wheeled the TV in front of the room and put it on in school multiple times, I saw a few episodes here and there and liked it pretty well. But like I don't have vivid memories of it, just kind of remember the concept. But like as soon as I hear LaVar Burton talk in this video it was an instant realization that the Star Trek guy was also the guy teaching me on the TV when I was growing up lol. Wish I knew that as a Kid! I didn't like Star Trek, but I would have been even more interested in him!
Edit: This is also one of the moments where I realize that all the time I make fun of cartoon/comic characters saying "Well its just this guy you know really well with a little mask on, how can you not tell?" But then literally just throw a visor on a guy and I'm completely clueless. No idea who it is.
Next watch star trek Voyager and after that star trek Deep space nine
@@rutgerb I started with the origional series despite basically everyone I know saying to just skip to next generations, but I was stubborn and I'm kinda glad I was. It was old and cheesy, but it had a charm to it and allot of lore that next generations has carried over, and I like that allot. Originally I was just gonna stop after Generations, but im honestly having a really good time so I think I will continue on after I finish up!
@sasukuto i've never watched the orginals. I rolled into it with Picard (im a 80s/90s) kid, then loved Voyager (its has great characters: like the docter, Nelix, 7of9😍). And deep space nine (has worf in it aswell) is the best ever made with my all time favorits: Garak and Quark.
Enterprise which came out around 2000 and sort of flopped is good aswell. These days star trek Lower decks is a nice addition to the older shows.
Ps. The orville is a great watch aswell. I am so jelaous of you because ive allready seen it all, yeah, besides the orginal but no its the old, cheesy and (i am not American) not my 'culture'/'vibe'
I watched Reading Rainbow and Mister Rogers religiously as a kid.
I was firmly a PBS kid.
I loved this show!!! I grew up with it as well and it started my love of reading!!!
Love the show and Levar. Had recorded tapes from PBS when I was little. My mommy would go to the library to pick up these books as well as Reading Rainbow VHS tapes from the local Library. It also kinda inspired me to become an artist. Such good childhood memories! 📚 🌈
I agree, but you don’t have to take my word for it. I love Mr. Britain.
Never knew that it was shown in schools. I grew up watching it in the 1980s on Channel 24 in Orlando. There are three things I remember most from watching Reading Rainbow growing up. When he visited the Oakland A's and get tips from Dave Stewart, when he toured the Next Generation set and showed the models and Tikki Tikki Tembo-no Sa Rembo-chari Bari Ruchi-pip Peri Pembo. I never fail to get joy out of saying that.
Reading Rainbow is one of my favorite classic pbs kids show and my love for books and comics.
Reading Rainbow is a halodeck simulation where Geordi teaches the kids of the federation about the love of reading physical literature
This is now canon.
I listen to Levar Burton reads all the time!
This was so well done! Thank you sir!
It's sad they don't let shows that are aimed at children and younger audiences put in this much care.
Compare shows like Sesame Street/Reading Rainbow/Mr Rogers/Bill Nye to what they're given now.
We were given such great shows, why should our children be given less?
It's a general trend all across the board now...like even if you compare movie trailers from the 80s and 90s to now, you'll see that it's less about giving information and more about lighting up all our little brain centers. Short videos cater to (and contribute to) short attention spans, children are sat in front of videos that involve bright colors and quickly-changing scenes (hell, so are adults)... Even as someone who largely got to grow up before the Internet became a huge thing, I find myself a victim of it as well. It's definitely frustrating.
I was like 7 weeks old when this show launched, I never knew that. It was just always there, I figured it stretched back to the 70s.
I'm glad the legal dispute didn't corrupt too much. The spirit of Reading Rainbow lives on as it should. A wonderful series.
I remember watching this show when I was younger.
This video also reminded me of a Saturday morning series called CBS Storybreak. This series took a different book each week and turned it into a thirty-minute cartoon, then let you know more about the book itself at the end of each episode. And the series could pair surprisingly well with Reading Rainbow.
Between the Lions was my absolute favorite as a kid.
So I normally listen to all of YT save for music videos on double speed. But when that cover came in at the end, you bet your ass I slowed the video back down to normal playback speed and nearly bawled my eyes out. Reading Rainbow, Bill Nye and really all of PBS Kids still, to this day holds a very special place in my heart. I only wish every generation after mine can experience something this special. I'm not much of a reader, even after watching the show, school and I disagreed on a myriad of issues. But there was a desire to read and learn and educate myself that I could only guess was instilled by this show, Bill Nye, and Croc Files (looking forward to that video some day. No I'm not prepared to try not crying over the show's history). Thank you so much, Jordan, for reminding me of where my passion for reading and writing was born, where that tiny seed planted in my psyche for writing stories and building characters really came from.
Well done video and I really appreciate how you highlighted some really great memories of my childhood.
Reading Rainbow was big part of my childhood.. Levar helped me learn to love reading at a young age
Thank you Jordan.❤
I always liked reading rainbow because as long as I can remember was wanting to read and loving reading. Most kids my age hated reading and did not seem to do it for fun like I did so having a show focused on reading brought a smile to my face that maybe it would encourage other people to enjoy books. It mostly failed, most kids today have no attention span and their reading comprehension is utter garbage, but it was worth a try and I am sure it made at least some children aware of the joy of fiction.
I grew up with my older siblings watching reading rainbow and it was fun for me too. The animation in the OG opening always fired up my imagination and I always wanted to be one of those kids recommending books to others 😅
I wish this would come back! My son is 4 and he loves to watch the old episodes. This show is timeless.
Wait. Reading Rainbow had a reboot? 📖🌈
Why did I not know about this
You're not the only one who had no idea.
I was 18 when Reading Rainbow had its first episode on PBS so I did not know about the show until I had my children and two of my three daughters when they were younger we would watch Reading Rainbow together and we loved Levar Burton how he did the show and we always looked forward to watching it. I wish it was still on.
I loved reading rainbow as a child. This show had a impact on my childhood. Reading Rainbow helped to inspire me to read books.
I miss this show. I still get excited when I see a children’s book with the Reading Rainbow sticker on the front. It was amazing honestly. Children need to read.
Thanks for breaking this down this was my childhood.❤
Thank you for a wonderful commentary.....about a great and extremely inspirationally person (Levar Burton) and his idea for a kids show😀
I don't recall many specifics from the show, but I do know that I used to watch it after school quite fondly.
I just saw him at a speaker series here about 2 weeks ago, he talked about literacy and his acting career. And how Reading rainbow got started and his adult short story podcast where he reads short stories. So it's really nice thank you for doing this
This is a series that would definitely benefit from a reboot and get people interested in reading and storytelling
The commercial bumpers are timed so perfectly lol, thank you 💕😂
This & "Between The Lions" was sooooo inspirational and detrimental to me
This was a fantastic documentary. It's sad the way things ended but it's nice knowing Levar's still out there helping inspire kids to read. I think instead of suing him the network should have tried to get more involved. I doubt Levar or the people he was working with were doing anything malicious.
Wonderful video. Thank you for making it.
As a kid I never quite liked reading at school. Books were entertaining or not. Today I don't foster a "love of reading" but an "appreciation of reading". I encourage and remind kids of non-fiction. There are books on how to play games, how to win at games, doing magic, crafts like origami, friendship bracelets, cooking & baking, how to take photos. Books of facts and just neat stuff. I encouraged them that "reading just needs a click" there is just a point when you realize you can get *more* information from Reading than other ways, and you have control over it.
Reading rainbow is why i loves to read! I would search the library for books that were recommended by the show. I have a memory of walking by the Library of Congress in Washington, DC and asking my parents to go inside. I saw the Library of Congress on a Reading Rainbow episode and wanted to see it for myself. My parents response "If we go in there, we will never find you again."😂
Reading Rainbow was a big part of how i grew to love reading. "The Great Railway Adventures" helped build my model collection and vocabulary from a young age.
My older sister won a contest as a kid and was featured on Reading Rainbow
Used to watch Reading Rainbow religiously as a kid and loved all the episodes. The host and staff poured so much work and love into each episode and personally I learned so much from it.
That was in the "Golden Days" when there were no Internet with instant information and thousands of options that kids just get distracted and bored so easily. Sad to see so many bookstores closed down in the last 10 years (Borders, Crowns, etc.). Still read on a daily basis and usually prefer the physical books.
When the cart rolled in, you knew life just got a tad better!! 😘👌
I only heard of Reading Rainbow from Community but I picked up that it was a childhood show featuring LeVar Burton showing off the joys of reading so I’m excited to hear a more detailed explanation of the show that meant so much to my second favorite Community character.
I do indeed clearly watching this in school back in the 80’s. It’s a shame it’s no longer around.
WNED is an example of “just because you’re correct doesn’t mean you’re right”. They were probably right that levar was using their intellectual property without their consent, but he’s not doing so out of some selfish desire for money but to spread the love of reading to a new generation: the whole point of the show in the first place. WNED should’ve just let him do what he was doing, or talked with him privately to gain more input over it if they cared that much. I hope there isn’t too much ill will because I would like to see reading rainbow return one day
Thank you. It was beautiful.
I grew up with Reading Rainbow 🌈 and then when i became a mother of three my children loved watching Reading Rainbow. So the shows that i grew up watching my children grew up watching as well. My children were PBS Kids like me.