Favorite moment of last week: an 8th grader dancing in the back of the room to Conjunction Junction, the Schoolhouse Rock video that connects you with and, but, and so.
What this series did so brilliantly is they made the thing you needed to learn fun – in this case conjunctions – by adding catchy tunes and groovy graphics. Oh, and they aired them on Saturday mornings on ABC during the kid’s TV programs. Basically, you were watching a cartoon between the cartoons, but you were learning at the same time, not just being passively entertained.
And with Conjunction Junction, you got a rhythm-and-blues song that my generation still refers to. I can just picture the backup singers and lead they hired for the gig.
Hence the happiness: “This is good!” the 8th grader told me, flashing me a big smile.