Who or what besides "Mister Rogers" and "Sesame Street" can you think of as an example of didactic (teaching) entertainment for kids?

Schoolhouse Rock!

Thanks, not acquainted with that. So—will a mention of Schoolhouse Rock immediately bring to mind stories that teach lessons, like Mister Rogers’ fables? like Aesop’s fables?

If it’s just a general educational program, it’s not specific enough for my purposes.

Magic School Bus.

Magic School Bus—yes, for teaching facts. But for teaching principles and life lessons? like “slow and steady winds the race”? like “to have a friend, be a friend”? stuff like that? That’s what I’m after, as opposed to how water treatment plants work and how seeds germinate.

Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Barney is highly recognizable and likes teaching the kids lessons that have nothing to do with water treatment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_%26_Friends

Schoolhouse Rock is more fun though

Wishbone immediately comes to mind.

Also, Reading Rainbow, perhaps.

What about Dr. Seuss books? I recall that you and I feel the same way about The Cat In The Hat, but many of Mr. Geisel’s books are worthy of life lessons.

As for Schoolhouse Rock and its other variations, I don’t think that they fall into the didactic form of learning, as they were more about memorization. But it did work for some of us from that era. Link

Berenstain Bears

You know, the Harry Potter books moreso than the movies, I’d say are pretty good for teaching about friendship, loyalty and honesty, I think. They are not specifically for educational purposes, but Harry, Ron and Hermione and even many of the supporting characters are an excellent “template” for friendship and kindness.

@Jeruba: If you’ve never heard of Schoolhouse Rock, how did you know how a bill becomes a law?

Let’s not forget the Grammar Rock and Multiplication Rock series.

Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories is an oldie but goodie. They may have a new version out, but I loved the old stories.

Also, Adventures in Odyssey is put out by Focus on the Family My kids loved both of these. The Odyssey ones are both recordings and videos.

Highlights magazine. Cover to cover.

I’m not looking for stories for kids. I’m looking for an eaxmple to stand for a teaching device of a certain kind.

Here’s what I’m trying to do: I want to write a sentence that says something like “From the fables of Aesop to the <fill in the blank>, stories have been used to teach lessons.” The allusion that goes in the blank has to be something contemporary, comparable to the teaching stories of Aesop, and just as recognizable.

Please don’t get sidetracked onto editing my sentence. That is just an example of the kind of use I have in mind.

Okay, then, Goofus and Gallant, to be specific.

Play School.

There was also a television program called Jackanory. The only example I can find is Rik Mayall reading a Roald Dahl book, George’s Marvellous Medicine. Awful production but Link

Play School would fit better I think because they often have someone reading stories to the children but I can’t find an appropriate clip. Play School is still on television now in Australia and possibly in the UK too.

Fraggle Rock

Nina’s little fables is a modern version on the sprout channel. Barney and friends, Thomas and friends, bob the builder, Bernstein bears all teach little life lessons :)

Don’t forget the parables of Christ.

Cartoons… with a strong moral at the end; Like Teddy Ruxpin… or Veggie Tales

The Electric Company(1971_TV_series)

I’ll second Fraggle Rock.

Thomas the Tank Engine is an animated children’s program, but all of the stories are about friendship and hardwork and loyalty and honesty etc. There’s always a moral to the story.

Clifford? This may be of some help – it’s more for entertainment, but I remember it to have some teachings of the basic golden rules. Now, I don’t know how many it has, or how deep, inspiring, or memorable they are, but I see morals peeking through here and there.. maybe?

Curious George is amazing with stories involving critical thinking.

I like a lot of the older television fare, like “Family Affair”, “Leave It to Beaver” (the old series), “Full House”, “Little House on the Prairie”, and “The Waltons”. Some people today may criticize these shows as “goody goody” and sentimental, but I find they always had a “lesson” to teach in almost every episode, something that’s lacking in a lot of today’s television shows. In fact, I think that’s what our youngsters need today. Shows that provide a didactic moral lesson. You can get the shows I mentioned on DVDs.

I wonder if anyone remembers the little 15 minute shows “Davy and Goliath”? It was a great show too.

Roald Dahl’s books for children… though you might not like all of the lessons they learn there.

Thanks for all efforts to help. I’m afraid I did a very poor job of explaining what I needed, but thanks anyway.

Thoughts that might fit or might not… thinking more along the lines of the niche fables filled in antiquity

> Dear Abby or Miss Manners?
> Chicken Little or the Brothers Grimm?
> Disney?
> After School Specials? (reference)

Disney movies? Not very good life lessons, but they’re there.

I’m looking for a name I can mention in a brief phrase, an allusion that will mean or stand for “teaching stories” in the 21st century in the same way that a mention of Aesop stands for teaching stories (i.e., fables) of the past.

Perhaps there is no such thing in the 21st century.

Leap Frog Toys, especially Scout and Violet, toys that can be programmed to talk to the child, as in ”(name), I love you” and ”(name) your my best friend” “My favorite color is (enter child’s favorite), what’s yours?”

The closest thing I can think of to that, which @Pied_Pfeffer mentioned already, is the Dr Seuss books. I don’t think I would really think “teaching stories” if I heard the name though. I can’t actually think of anything that really fits your requirements. There are things that come close, but aren’t perfect.

Value tales?

Many of the attractions at Walt Disney World’s Epcot & Animal Kingdom themeparks. There are attractions that teach about conservation, animal care, the history of communications, energy resources, and much more.

Arthur is a great kids show that is all about teaching lessons. If I remember correctly, they have a section at the end of the show where the characters specifically say what they learned.

@Jeruba, you seem to be looking for a current TV show that teaches through stories. Several people have given examples here, but none will have the lasting recognition of Aesop’s fables. I would argue that neither does Mister Rogers, because he had much less exposure outside of the US (I did not even know that he did fables), and probably the same goes for Sesame Street outside of North America. Aesop’s name immediately suggests to everyone a specific kind of learning story, as do biblical parables… but I don’t think you’re going to find anything contemporary with that sort of “brand recognition”, even though there are many such resources for children today.

I guess that answers the question, @dappled_leaves. I thought that people who are more media-savvy than I and more kid-involved than I am these days would think of something straight off. It does surprise me that there isn’t something “everybody” knows in this category. Thank you for the apt summing up.

@Jeruba: Don’t despair. SSt. opened to excellent reviews in 1966 and…

” By 2006, there were independently produced versions, or “co-productions”, of Sesame Street in twenty countries. In 2001 there were over 120 million viewers of all international versions of Sesame Street and by the show’s 40th anniversary in 2009, they were seen in more than 140 countries.” source

Here is the list: Rue Sésame, El Mundo de Elmo, Sesamgade and other treasures.

This may not cover “everybody, ” but it certainly covers as many bodies as may have heard of Aesop.

Thanks for your research, @gailcalled and everyone else. There’s no doubt that Sesame Street is highly recognizable. And people probably have immediate associations: children, educational, Big Bird, Muppets. But not didactic stories per se. I’m reaching for something that isn’t there, and I’m going to have to handle it another way.

Parables from the Bible have been around waay longer than Aesop. It’s still an option.

Thanks, @snowberry, but something from the present century was part of my objective here. I wanted to represent a span of time.