PBS turns the final page on Reading Rainbow

“Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high.” These simple and catchy words began a half-hour television show that entertained generations of children from 1983-2009. That television show was Reading Rainbow and was recently removed from syndication after a successful 26-year run, making it the third-longest running series in PBS history.
Hosted by Geordi La Forge (Star Trek: the Next Generation) for its duration, Reading Rainbow became a staple in many elementary school classrooms.
The show taught many children the joys of reading through the medium of television. While this may seem backwards it was a way to reach the youth, who had become increasingly more interested in the world of television and video games than literature.
In addition to teaching children the values of reading, Reading Rainbow also dealt with many real world issues like having a parent in prison and the importance of teamwork.
The show actually ceased production of new episodes in 2006, but continued to air reruns for the next three years.
According to the Washington Post, “A mix of low ratings and insufficient funding to pay for the production license sealed the show’s fate.”
In an interview with NPR, John Grant, who is in charge of content at Reading Rainbow headquarters at WNED in Buffalo, said no one was putting up the money necessary to renew broadcasting rights. Grant also said there had been a shift in philosophy towards teaching children how to read instead of why to read.
While many things have changed since the debut of Reading Rainbow in 1983, many things have also stayed the same. The Department of Education and teachers everywhere are trying to keep literature relevant in an increasingly electronic world. This new shift in philosophy towards teaching children how to read with phonetics and spelling instead of why to read is the latest effort. Perhaps this new shift in thought will produce another show that will be as long-lasting and well loved as Reading Rainbow.
The show will undoubtedly be missed by many, whether it is the children that watched it today or generations before that who cannot help but feel a sense of nostalgia upon hearing the theme song. Either way LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow helped shape several generations of children and helped carve out a niche in the history of learning.

–Tyler Shepard