Bye, Bye Butterfly

Not to end the week on a down note, but it is absolutely criminal that Reading Rainbow is getting canceled for love of a couple hundred thousand dollars. I, for one, would happily sign up for a subscription donation to keep the program going. National Public Radio explains that:

Research has directed programming toward phonics and reading fundamentals as the front line of the literacy fight. Reading Rainbow occupied a more luxurious space — the show operated on the assumption that kids already had basic reading skills and instead focused on fostering a love of books.

The idea that there's a choice here is absurd and damaging. Children need to learn the fundamentals of reading. But they also need a sense of how far and how high a book can take you. If you don't know that reading is transformative, there's not a huge incentive to learn how to do it well.