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This idea popped into my head the other day , which is why I thought I may as well fire up a fresh new thread about it .
Anyways by " edutainment " I mean the practice of mixing educational material with so called " fun " material , f.ex Sesame Street episodes where they teach kids how to count while having them sing along to a Big Bird song .
I'll probably go more in depth with respect to my views on this issue , but for now suffice to say that I have a rather mixed opinion regarding it .
In short I see nothing wrong with making educational material more palatable to young kids , yet at the same time I can't help but wonder if those who claim that part of the reason why kids/adolescents/people in general these days are less responsible/self sufficient/mature as well as more entitled partly as a result of watching too many feel good episodes of kids shows aren't onto ( at least ) something .
Anyways I ( as usual ) look forward to reading y'all s thoughts on this matter .
I’d say that it largely depends on what the intention behind the education is. Edutainment can act as a springboard that can be used to motivate individuals to acquire greater knowledge, but can never be a full substitute.
Watching the Magic School Bus is a great way to get kids interested in exploring scientific concepts, however they aren’t likely to learn more beyond basic facts by watching it. The same could be said about edutainment in the form of video games, they are fun for kids, but ultimately lose their value when one becomes an adolescent. Incidentally, if you look carefully, you’ll notice that most edutainment products are targeted at elementary school kids.
If one wishes to truly learn about a certain topic, then they need to research it academically. In the case of something like science, that often involves divulging into complex concepts supported by advanced mathematics. That’s not something you’ll find in edutainment, as the primary purpose is to entertain the target audience.
Yup. Some day it's going to be in the history books: "And the downfall of society was all because of Sesame Street."
When I look around at the ills of society, they have nothing to do with whether kids learned from Schoolhouse Rock.
Lol I mean that's certainly not what I believe/I don't think I've ever heard or read anybody put it like that , but what I was getting at is the theory that treating kids to ( for lack of a better word ) immature displays of expression for too long may result in them becoming less mature as adults ...
Which by the way is not a theory I wholly subscribe to , it just happens to be on that makes me wonder a bit is all .
I have no problem with certain educational tools, however, I do have an issue with schools that have a problem with parents that watch over the things the kids are being taught. Parents SHOULD know the things their kids are being told.
People have worried about everything from TV to jazz to rock music to comic books to video games to satanic cults corrupting youth. I remember when Tipper Gore wanted warning labels on records and somebody sued Judas Priest over one of their songs somehow making someone commit a crime. All of these thing assume kids don't have any mind of their own, nor any agency. I don't know whether social media is just another boogyman or in a different category.
But there was a change in parenting styles towards helicopter parenting, snowplow parenting, and just not letting kids out of your sight. There's also been a shift towards way more homework and overscheduling and herding the kids into organized activities. Do kids these days ever get to make a decision or have to figure out stuff for themselves? The combination of things doesn't seem to be a recipe for producing well-adjusted young adults. Add in the worship of victimhood today, and young adults have less incentive to mature.
That's a really good set of observations. More later.....
I have no problem with certain educational tools, however, I do have an issue with schools that have a problem with parents that watch over the things the kids are being taught. Parents SHOULD know the things their kids are being told.
100%.
Our kids attended private K-12 schools.....the schools expected day to day parental involvement.
ETA - we were asked to check their math homework every night and help correct errors. Similarly we were asked to help, in minor ways, write final paper drafts. The results of these notions paid off fantastically for or kids. These things were done in such a way teachers could easily identify areas of weakness and offer targeted support.
The first kids who watched Sesame Street and Mister Rodgers' Neighborhood are now in their mid-50s. Many of us were latch-key kids (kids who came home to an empty house after school), went on to have part-time jobs after school, and left home at 18 or 20. We were all eager to get a car and an apartment. Our childhood TV watching didn't seem to make babies out of us.
Looking now at a lot of feel-good TV shows of the era, they set a better example than almost anything I saw day-to-day in real life.
Jonathan Haidt observes that really fragile kids started emerging around 2012 with, but not definitely because of, social media.
Yes, this. I think some people assume this is all fairly new. I watched "edutainment" since the 60's starting with Romper Room and Captain Kangaroo and going all the way up to The Electric Company (for tweens). Plus we had School House Rock in between the cartoons on Saturday morning. I can't see any harm they caused, more likely the opposite. I remember what a conjunction is 40 years after high school because I still remember "Conjunction Junction" from School House Rock.
It's the difference between Magic Kingdom and Epcot. MK is pure entertainment, Epcot is edutainment. I can't see how it would make kids more entitled to have to watch an educational film on how energy is made before they get to go on the ride part. Seems like it would teach them patience, delay of gratification and other good things.
Oh, come on. The way that just about all of us learned the alphabet was by singing it. Why not put enjoyment in learning? I think teachers are all secretly actors and the best teachers are the ones that make you want to learn their subject.
And this got pretty engrained in us.
I knew a person who was pulled over on suspicion of DUI and was told to recite the alphabet. The guy said to the policeman that he can't say it to him, but he could SING IT TO HIM.
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Quote:
" edutainment "
This does not seem to be extending the attention spans, applied creativity, and artistic expression if it's prime audience... but it could.
I prefer to use radio / audio edutainment (dramatized stories / audio documentary and science,) so the attendee is still mindfully engaged in the experience. TV / video tends to fill in too many gaps and becomes passive entertainment.
I would imagine the teachers could explain how they fill the attention spans of youth. Kids are generally no longer able to sit through a Disney movie from the 1960-1970's that evolves a story line and a comprehensive need to pay attention.
This idea popped into my head the other day , which is why I thought I may as well fire up a fresh new thread about it .
Anyways by " edutainment " I mean the practice of mixing educational material with so called " fun " material , f.ex Sesame Street episodes where they teach kids how to count while having them sing along to a Big Bird song .
I'll probably go more in depth with respect to my views on this issue , but for now suffice to say that I have a rather mixed opinion regarding it .
In short I see nothing wrong with making educational material more palatable to young kids , yet at the same time I can't help but wonder if those who claim that part of the reason why kids/adolescents/people in general these days are less responsible/self sufficient/mature as well as more entitled partly as a result of watching too many feel good episodes of kids shows aren't onto ( at least ) something .
Anyways I ( as usual ) look forward to reading y'all s thoughts on this matter .
Edutainment is nothing new; it's as old as the hills.
The ABC song was first copyrighted in 1835.
The Mickey Mouse Club...on TV in 1955; Romper Room in 1953.
You also have a lot of old board games that were educational behind the "game".
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