Posted May 29, 2014
I don't disagree that Reading Rainbow was an important show, just that it's unrealistic to expect it to have any effect on children that aren't yet able to read the books they're recommending.
Reading is not an all-or-nothing skill. You can be able to read at a basic level and have no interest in developing it further. Or you can struggle to put letters in the right order while trying to read every book you can get your hands on. Giving someone the tools to read without anything interesting to use them on is like teaching history for the purpose of reciting dates, math for the purpose of solving abstract math puzzles, or chemistry for the purpose of measuring and handling chemicals. Some will naturally take to those fields, but many others will feel disengaged and only put in the amount of work needed to pass the class. When you're engaged and interested, you become a far greater student of any field, whether it's sophisticated university-level research or something basic like reading and arithmetic.
The same show can mean different things to different people. Some children will be more eager to learn to read at all, others more eager to apply their existing skills to become faster readers with a better command of language. An older student might not find Reading Rainbow's book selections interesting enough, but that's to be expected. It's not unusual for educational shows to target younger viewers in the interest of reaching the largest audience at the most impressionable age.
Without a doubt, if you show someone Reading Rainbow every week without any additional instruction, they aren't going to learn to read from it. The show is a supplement to reading instruction, not a source of it. But I don't see how exposing young children to a wide range of books and other interesting material is a wasted effort. Role models and inspiration were important in the early lives of many great thinkers and creators. A friendly nudge toward a good book never hurt anyone.
As an English teacher and somebody who studies 3 other languages, I strongly disagree with the notion that programs like Reading Rainbow help people who can't read. It's not the goal of the program nor is there any component of the program that is going to help with literacy of individuals who can't read the materials that they're recommending.
Extrinsic motivation from shows like this does not last long enough to be of any particular value. People gain motivation from mastery, purpose and autonomy and Reading Rainbow at best contributes to purpose.
That's not to say that I dislike the program, I just think it's incredibly foolish to give it credit for things that it isn't doing.
