They will observe similarities and differences between their own experiences and celebrations and those of the children and families in this episode. His fortune takes a turn for the better when he meets Hayley and Kary, two young Chinese American girls who share their customs: a big family meal before the Chinese New Year parade-the biggest in the country!ĮDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES: Children will gain some understanding of the Chinese American community in San Francisco and their celebration of Chinese New Year. Series release date: 2004 Program DescriptionĮver since arriving in San Francisco, Buster has been plagued with bad luck. "Putting Buster on the road and immersing him in real-life settings via the live-action 'postcards' is a perfect vehicle to teach children about the rich and complex cultural life that exists across America." "It's important for children to experience cultures different from their own," says WGBH executive producer Carol Greenwald. Narrated by Buster, they are woven seamlessly into each animated story. These first-person video "postcards" will be in the form of live-action, P.O.V.-style footage of the places visited in the show. Buster will stay in touch with his friends back home via a small, hand-held digital video camera. Third, in the interest of avoiding embroiling the Ready-To-Learn program in a controversy that will only hurt the program, we believe you should strongly consider refunding to the Department the Federal education funds that were used for the episode.įinally, you can be assured that in the future the Department will be more clear as to its expectations for any future programming that it funds.Close Series Postcards from Buster Program Buster's Lucky Year: San Francisco, CA Program Numberīuster, one of the most popular characters on ARTHUR will accompany his airline pilot father as he flies the fictional Latin rock group Los Viajeros on a concert tour of the United States, with forays into Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Second, we request that you notify your member stations of the nature of the content of these programs and ask that they review the programs before deciding whether to air them. First, if you air the show, we must insist that you remove from the specific episode the Department’s seal, as well as any other logo or statement indicating that the Department funded, endorsed, sponsored or was involved in the development, creation, or production of the episode, and, in addition, that you also remove any such reference in any materials about the program. In light of these concerns, we have several requests. Congress’ and the Department’s purpose in funding this programming certainly was not to introduce this kind of subject matter to children, particularly through the powerful and intimate medium of television. Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the life-styles portrayed in this episode. We believe the “Sugartime!” episode does not come within these purposes or within the intent of Congress, and would undermine the overall objective of the Ready-To-Learn program - to produce programming that reaches as many children and families as possible. The television programs that must fulfill this mission are to be specifically designed for this purpose, with the highest attention to production quality and validity of research-based educational objectives, content, and materials.” In addition, you should also know that two years ago the Senate Appropriations Committee raised questions about the accountability of funds appropriated for Ready-To-Learn programs. 108-792 at 1236-1237 (2004)), Congress reiterated the unique mission of Ready-To-Learn, which is “to use the television medium to help prepare preschool age children for school. In the fiscal year 2005 appropriations conference report (H. A principal focus of the law authorizing funding for the Ready-To-Learn program is facilitating student academic achievement. The episode - “Sugartime!” - is part of the “Postcards from Buster” series, and would feature throughout the show families headed by gay couples.Īs you know, the cooperative agreement that PBS is using to support these programs is designed to prepare preschool and elementary age children for school. The Department of Education has strong and very serious concerns about a specific Ready-To-Learn television episode, yet to be aired, that has been developed under a cooperative agreement between the Department and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). In the episode, Buster visits a Vermont family that has two moms. Bush’s administration, complained to PBS in 2005 about an episode of the animated Postcards from Buster children’s series with funding from her department. Margaret Spellings, secretary of education in George W.
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