Saturday morning cartoons were once a staple of American television, but by the year 2000 they had all but disappeared. Of course, the Internet never forgets. Case in point: Cartoon Network Video -- a free, searchable, ad-supported service that provides hundreds of full-length episodes of classic shows like Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Johnny Bravo, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and The Powerpuff Girls, as well as current offerings and scads of shorter material. Too recent for you? Then give Kids WB Video a whirl -- it does the same thing with the same interface, but for older programs like Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Smurfs, Scooby-Doo, Thundercats, and the original Space Ghost. If you're in the mood to learn (and don't mind some live-action), PBS Kids Video has educational fare such as Arthur, Wishbone, and Zoom. And don't forget about Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, The Magic Schoolbus and Schoolhouse Rock! Now if only we had some Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs...
posted by Rhaomi on Sep 22, 2009 - 160 comments

TotLol is a video website designed specifically for children. It is community moderated Youtube. The videos are submitted, screened and rated by parents. Some samples include: Bassett Hound Beat Box, Guitar Tips for Kids, and a Children's Book on India. Educational and fun.
posted by netbros on May 25, 2009 - 10 comments

Three years ago, David Nixon took over the principalship at John C. Calhoun Elementary School. "Thirty minutes into his first day of school at John C, a father walked into Nixon's office and said, 'I want to give you the authority to whip my son's butt.' Nixon was surprised, but after he thought it over, he decided to give every parent the same option." Did corporal punishment save a struggling school? [more inside]
posted by jeeves on Apr 28, 2009 - 160 comments

The Case Against Homework. Does assigning fifty math problems accomplish any more than assigning five? Is memorizing word lists the best way to increase vocabulary—especially when it takes away from reading time? And what is the real purpose behind those devilish dioramas? Sara Bennett wants to stop homework. Here she explains why (pdf).
posted by lunit on Apr 9, 2009 - 180 comments

Do girls toys and boys toys lead to a gender gap?
posted by Artw on Dec 16, 2008 - 134 comments

EducationFilter: California becomes the first state to mandate all 8th graders take Algebra; in part because U.S. students constantly trail their peers from other nations in mathematics. At least one person thinks it's a bad idea ("If only 25 percent of this nation ever earns a college degree, why insist that all children take algebra in eighth grade?"). Here's the algebra curriculum 8th graders will have to learn. [more inside]
posted by jabberjaw on Jul 10, 2008 - 124 comments

“…if I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done — I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the kind of senseless, soul-crushing ideas that constitute contemporary mathematics education.” [more inside]
posted by blasdelf on Apr 10, 2008 - 79 comments

Speaking of speeches, David Eggers delivers one at TED on grassroots community tutoring for kids who need help with their English homework: "There's something about the kids finishing their homework in a given day, working one on one, getting all this attention. They finish their homework, they go home -- they're finished. They don't stall. They don't do their homework in front of the TV. They're allowed to go home 5:30, enjoy their family, enjoy other hobbies, get outside, play and that makes a happy family. A bunch of happy families in a neighborhood is a happy community. A bunch of happy communities tied together is a happy city and a happy world, right? So, the key to it all is homework." Love him or hate him (mefi consensus) it's a great example of nervous energy microphilanthropy, social entrepreneurship and, if I may make the connection, machines of loving grace. [previously]
posted by kliuless on Mar 23, 2008 - 26 comments

Fun and games with mathematics and mathematical puzzles (e.g. heart basket, Rubik's Cube, Rubik's Magic, hypercubes, and more) in both English and (with yet more content in) German.
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Feb 18, 2008 - 6 comments

The Primary Review has published three research reports about primary school education in the UK and elsewhere. The Structure of Primary Education: England and Other Countries. Primary Curriculum and Assessment: England and Other Countries. Press release summarising some of the findings. [more inside]
posted by paduasoy on Feb 8, 2008 - 13 comments

Remember when TV raised us right? Time for Timer taught us about cheese, carrots, breakfast, and oral hygiene. The Abominable Snowman taught us about lunch, money, advertising, and the Food Group Disco! Woodsy Owl taught us to Give a Hoot! and keep America lookin' good! and Mr Yuk SCARED THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF US. [more inside]
posted by louche mustachio on Feb 1, 2008 - 28 comments

Progress for Children: A World Fit for Children Statistical Review "reports on how well the world is doing in meeting its commitments for the world’s children. This UNICEF special edition analyses progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in four priority areas for children: promoting healthy lives, providing a quality education, combating HIV and AIDS, and protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence." [more inside]
posted by homunculus on Dec 22, 2007 - 2 comments

The Blurter. The Complainer. The Know-It-All. The Spoiled Darling. You can handle them all.
posted by mediareport on May 8, 2007 - 33 comments

Music makes you smarter if you get an early start. Certainly debatable given the incredibly small sample, but perhaps it's a prelude to an emerging 21st-century collaborative scientific suite or symphony that can explain why we love music so much.
posted by persona non grata on Sep 20, 2006 - 22 comments

Peruse The Geographical Reader for Dixie Children and contemplate the manner in which the greater body of man has improved his intellect these past seven-score years and two.
posted by thirteenkiller on Dec 8, 2005 - 27 comments

Are computers counterproductive to a child's development? Wittenberg University education professor and former computer teacher Lowell Monke thinks so, and has written a provocative essay arguing that, among other things, computers render children "less animated and less capable of appreciating what it means to be alive, what it means to belong in the world as a biological, social being," and "teach children a manipulative way of engaging the world.” His polemic is partially supported by evidence (.pdf academic paper; BBC gloss here) indicating that, above a certain threshold, computer use is correlated with lower test scores. The latest salvo in the continuing debate over education and the culture of simulation.
posted by googly on Oct 5, 2005 - 46 comments

House Appropriations panel eliminates ALL public funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS Ready To Learn. From this morning's Cynopsis:Kids e-newsletter: "In our nation's capital yesterday, a House Appropriations subcommittee voted to approve a new bill that will see budgets sliced for both public TV and radio. Specifically in the line of fire in the kid TV universe is the elimination of the full $23m in funding for Public TV's Ready to Learn initiative. Ready to Learn provides some funds for PBS series including, Sesame Street, Between the Lions, Arthur, Reading Rainbow, Clifford the Big Red Dog and could have Buster sending smoke signals instead of postcards. [...] Though the President proposed a small budget reduction for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting this past winter, yesterday's subcommittee vote would also eliminate all government monetary funds intended for the CPB over the course of the next two years, beginning with a $100m decrease in funding to $300m for next year." Perhaps this will free up some money for No Child Left Behind?
posted by eatyourlunch on Jun 10, 2005 - 85 comments

Young + Brilliant, Blessed + Cursed
posted by Gyan on Mar 9, 2005 - 36 comments

Write about zombies, go to jail. I'd be really pissed at the grandparents, if I were this kid.
posted by Thorzdad on Mar 3, 2005 - 90 comments

The World of Waldorf: where children learn to read after the second grade. Critics speak out against it, but there's dancing, and the moon was once part of earth. But, don't believe everything that you read online! One of the minor links is a pdf.
posted by Jim Jones on Feb 23, 2005 - 31 comments

From MathNet to that silly song about the number nine, Square One was one of my all-time favourite programs as a kid. It hasn't been released on video or DVD, but luckily there are plenty of fansites with video clips, pics, and other media to take you on a trip down mathematical memory lane.
posted by sanitycheck on Jan 18, 2005 - 25 comments

Çatalhöyük , a site for kids devoted to the archeological excavations of the remains of a Neolithic town in central Turkey. A great introduction for all ages to this important city, with activities, quicktime tours and links to more in depth resources.
posted by thatwhichfalls on Oct 19, 2004 - 4 comments

How I lost my childhood: It may seem hopelessly lame to many, but as as child I, and many others of the same time period -- the first children of the microcomputer revolution -- spent many hours in front of our shiny new home computers reverently copying in BASIC programs from source printouts in books and magazines. For some, myself included, this was the launchpad into a sexy, exciting, fascinating career as a professional geek. Now, the book that was one of my sacred texts during this time period, David Ahl's BASIC Computer Games, is available, scanned, online. [via Boing Boing]
posted by jammer on May 14, 2004 - 34 comments

Every Child Left Behind: "The federal No Child Left Behind law is threatening to wreck public education in Minnesota and elsewhere."

"That's what it was designed to do."

Focuses on my home state Minnesota, but the point is relevant to every state in the USA. What do we do to change it?
posted by mooncrow on Mar 15, 2004 - 34 comments

You're not from around here, are you? On Tuesday in Wellesley, MA a kindergartener was put on the wrong bus to go home from afterschool care. The boy is black, and the bus is for the Metco program, which buses minority kids from Boston to suburban schools. Random mixup, or racial bias at work? Much hand-wringing ensues.
posted by serafinapekkala on Sep 5, 2003 - 34 comments

Teachers Traumatizing Students of Deployed Soldiers "WABI TV reported Friday that the Maine National Guard Family Assistance Center has received about 30 complaints from children of deployed soldiers concerning Principals, Teachers and Guidance Counselors reportedly demeaning the role of their deployed parent. Some children involved are 7 to 9 years of age." More inside...
posted by darian on Feb 26, 2003 - 65 comments

Girl to sue over detention "The family, who want compensation, will argue that the detentions were unlawful because they took place in Freya's free time. " If you can't give kids detention, how else are they going to be punished for breaking school rules?
posted by feelinglistless on Dec 28, 2002 - 88 comments

Yesterday I saw a wonderful movie - Spellbound - a documentary about the annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee - which won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at SXSW. It explores the dynamics surrounding kids and parents desire for success in the competition, reconciliation with failure and differing models of education, competition and success. When I was a kid I was on the TV show It's Academic - along with lots of other famous faces. While you may want to make fun of the show - I still remember it fondly. My parents were happy to see me compete but generally unconcerned about the outcome in any way. Now we've got Math Olympics, the Academic Decathlon and a host of other competitive ventures. Any other MeFites remember school days competitions and the drive to succeed?
posted by dhacker on Oct 21, 2002 - 29 comments

Expelled for Blogging? Kid threatened with expulsion after having the nerve to blog from school. I assume his high school had nothing else to crack down on other than the gangs of bloggers up to no good like keeping a tech journal.
posted by Coop on Sep 26, 2002 - 33 comments

Teens, sex, and power of parents How did you "discover" sex? from mom? school? Or the pals down the block?
posted by Postroad on Sep 5, 2002 - 29 comments

Gifted elementary kids in California could go straight to college. Students of any age, even kindergarten, could demand to take the state's high school proficiency examination under legislation approved recently by the Assembly. Passage of the test -- which measures reading, writing and arithmetic skills -- would qualify young students to enter community colleges as if they had obtained their high school diplomas.

Academically, these kids may be ready for college, but are they mature enough to handle being surrounded by students six to ten years their senior?
posted by DakotaPaul on Jun 20, 2002 - 42 comments

Mother jailed for girls' truancy A question for our British gang, is truancy such a problem in the UK now that this is really necessary? When I went to school in England, lo those mumblemumble years ago, I don't remember it being this bad. For the rest of the world, do you think truancy in your country would justify locking up the primary caregiver or is this punishing the wrong person? Can parents be held responsible for everything a child does? And better said, should they? When should we grant children the priviledges and penalties of their own autonomous actions?
posted by dejah420 on May 13, 2002 - 27 comments

The Try Group's site uses a simple Flash "game" to deliver their central idea: that children should be encouraged to look at the world in different ways. There's a little more info at the developer's site.
Neat concept, and also just fun to poke around in for a little while.
posted by Su on May 2, 2002 - 6 comments

The Universe on a Paper Plate. Complexity -> Simplicity for kids.
posted by Spoon on Apr 8, 2002 - 2 comments

He needed it to cut an onion. Under normal circumstances I would have shook my head and said, "Oh, those silly americans". This story, however, is about my 12-year old brother who's facing a 1 year expulsion after bringing a (small) kitchen knife to school for a science assignment. Zero tolerance - or zero interest in what's best for the kid?
posted by mschmidt on Apr 6, 2002 - 80 comments

F.B.I. Recruitment comes to Kindergarten? What's going through the minds of the Kiddie Propaganda P.R. Team? Be afraid, be very afraid.
posted by curiousg on Mar 28, 2002 - 7 comments

Boy quits school at 7, becomes MIT professor at 20. Is alternative education a good idea? This article seems much more positive than another recent boy-genius post. It appears that most reporters assume that child prodigies are antisocial and that their parents are over-ambitious (they use negatively-connotated synonyms of those terms).
posted by alex3005 on Feb 17, 2002 - 20 comments

Curly and Motly are kinda cute, but Luncheon and Lambchop look might tasty. The children from St Canices school in Westport New Zealand welcome you to Lambs Online, where ten of our students are ‘fostering’ 10 lambs which have been ‘adopted’ by a group of Japanese school children from their sister city in Amagese Japan. Each lamb has its own personal website and we invite you to follow their progress through the eyes of our students by clicking on the photos and links below.
posted by adampsyche on Oct 26, 2001 - 6 comments

Teacher reprimanded for telling class she wished GWB had been a victim of 911. In other news a man was arrested for burning a U.S. flag in IN. Personally, America isn't a free country where you can't express yourself.
posted by HoldenCaulfield on Oct 2, 2001 - 49 comments

It's a Sad Day in the Neighborhood. Mister Rogers Hangs Up That Cardigan. Combined with the death of Charles Schulz last year, I feel like my youth is slipping away. How has Mr. Rogers affected your life?
posted by Hankins on Aug 30, 2001 - 38 comments

Two months from illiterate to MP3 trading hax0rz. Very cool social experiment showing how easy today's GUIs are to use, especially for kids.
posted by skallas on Aug 27, 2001 - 12 comments

Tickle Me Elmo
The Truth About Sesame Street "I have never understood how any White parent with an OUNCE of dignity or pride could expose their children to the trash of Sesame Street, regardless of how "wonderful" everyone in the " mainstream" world says it is. It's bad enough that we, as adults, are continually subjected to the garbage pouring out of the jew toob."
posted by riley370 on Jun 15, 2001 - 50 comments

warning! too much testing is hazardous to your health! is it just me, or is this silly?
posted by fuzzygeek on Apr 26, 2001 - 30 comments

"School bullying called widespread." This one's a real gem. Not only are the results of the study overly predictable, but the article is full of other great realizations, such as how "bullying is [...] unacceptable behavior," and how there is a "possible connection between bullying and violence."
posted by CrayDrygu on Apr 25, 2001 - 27 comments

Baby Think It Over. Teens care for a lifelike doll programmed to do all the things a baby does--including waking them up in the middle of the night. "It's a seven-pound, computerized contraceptive!"
posted by frykitty on Mar 6, 2001 - 15 comments

"Chicken, the deadly white meat." An 8-year-old boy was suspended from school for 3 days after pointing a breaded chicken finger at a teacher and saying, ``Pow, pow, pow.''
... What else do I have to say?
posted by Hackworth on Feb 1, 2001 - 16 comments

Private school ejects Sailor Moon fan for inadvertently accessing an "adult" Sailor Moon site. The kid didn't know what the site was ahead of time, the site slipped through the school's content filters, and the boy "immediately logged off after less than a minute on the Web site". I don't know if this qualifies as a zero tolerance issue, but it's definitely an overraction, not to mention an ugly failure of blocking software. [via Ribbit]
posted by harmful on Oct 4, 2000 - 16 comments

Home schooling. While it can be beneficial to some, I still have to wonder about the quality of education and the social stagnation kids may be subjected to...
posted by owillis on Oct 2, 2000 - 19 comments

"2000 may well mark the year that the traditional arithmetic of the city’s private schools irrevocably changed. It used to be so simple. Once you got your child in a fancy nursery school—and that was relatively easy, because how many other parents would shell out thousands of dollars for a nursery school?—your child’s future was set. After nursery school came a fancy private school. Then the Ivy League. In other words, the so-called "feeder school" theory, long denied by school officials but treated as gospel by wealthy parents. But that formula has gone the way of the Old Math."

i just can not relate!
posted by palegirl on Apr 5, 2000 - 0 comments