By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
PBS Kids is launching a new program to teach kids about politics and community engagement.
Beginning this year, PBS KIDS is rolling out a full slate of civics-themed content that will span a range of both new and existing series.
The idea is to encourage young viewers to learn more about what’s happening around them in terms of politics, how democracy in America works, and to get more involved in their communities.
“Kids are so perceptive to everything happening around them, and at PBS KIDS, we believe it’s important that they have a place to go to learn about civics in an age-appropriate way,” said Sara DeWitt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PBS KIDS. “At a time when many K-12 schools have cut back on civics curriculum requirements, we are significantly expanding our offerings to meet the growing need, reinforce the core principles of citizenship, and help kids understand how they can be a good neighbor and have a positive and lasting impact in their communities.”
The initiative comes at an important time in America’s political history, as democracy itself has come under threat, and politics has become polluted by propaganda campaigns both foreign and domestic, spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation through social media and quasi-journalistic websites.
At the same time, schools have generally decreased the requirements for civics courses, leaving a major gap in understanding that makes it difficult for people to understand what’s happening in the political sphere.
To encourage participation with a basic understanding of how democracy and journalism actually works, PBS Kids is expanding on its Social Studies learning goals. The network will feature a second season of the hit shorts series, CITY ISLAND, and two new music video series, CITY ISLAND SINGS and TOGETHER WE CAN, created with Sesame Workshop.
PBS KIDS is also in development with TIME Studios on a live-action shorts series supporting civic engagement through media literacy.
That latter issue has become critical over the past decade, due to the rise of disinformation campaigns aimed at a number of targets, including American democracy itself. Many of those campaigns are run by foreign countries, but others are organized and aired on the internet by extremists in the U.S. A major goal of disinformation campaigns is to discredit American institutions important to democracy, including the legitimacy of the voting process, the integrity of the justice system, and the role of the mainstream media in reporting on politics and social issues.
Disinformation campaigns have also been directed at important issues, such as discrediting climate change science, or the public health measures and vaccinations put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which experts in public health say caused hundreds of thousands of Americans to die unnecessarily.
New Starburst Flavored Sparkling Ice Drinks Go Viral on Social Media
The PBS program is not designed to specifically counter misinformation, but rather to give kids the tools they need to better understand the information that comes at them from a variety of sources, and to make critical choices as they grow up to become adult voters.
In response, “PBS KIDS’ civics-focused content integrates foundational Social Studies concepts to support the core idea that everyone, including children, can be active and contributing members of their home, school, and broader communities,” the network says. “When they work together as a member of a group, conduct themselves responsibly, and develop conflict resolution skills, children begin to explore ideas at the heart of government and the democratic process.”
PBS is a public broadcaster, and the new content initiative is being made possible through funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Part of the program will see PBS producing video games that teach civics and civic responsibility that will enable young players to become CITY ISLAND citizens, along with a new music video spin-off series, CITY ISLAND SINGS, which encompasses 10 music videos that will debut across streaming platforms every Wednesday and Friday beginning May 29. Season 2 of the series, which will include 20 episodes that will roll out every Friday, is set to premiere on July 5 and builds on the first season’s focus on civic engagement, expanding the curricular focus to media literacy, covering topics such as news media, fact-based reporting, advertisements, and the flow of information on the internet.
CITY ISLAND, from creator Aaron Augenblick and Future Brain Media, is a series of animated shorts for early elementary school-aged children set in a thriving metropolis and living city, where every object is a character. It includes local organizations, government institutions, and a diverse citizenry (like main character Watt, a lightbulb, and his friend Windy, a kite), while highlighting topics like cooperation, conflict resolution, and city planning. The series aims to help foster young viewers’ understanding of how cities and communities work.
A new music-focused series called TOGETHER WE CAN, created and produced by Sesame Workshop, consists of 20 live-action music videos that cover civics topics such as what it means to be a member of a community, the importance of rules and rights, and broader civics engagement concepts from voting and symbols of democracy to the concepts behind the U.S. Constitution. TOGETHER WE CAN, for children 4-8, will premiere the first ten episodes on July 3, with the remaining ten rolling out on August 7.
New content, including new episodes of ROSIE’S RULES, will join PBS KIDS’ existing civics-oriented offerings, like YOU, ME & COMMUNITY, a series of animated shorts about broader civics themes with catchy songs, which cover roles and responsibilities in communities, different kinds of families, creating positive change in your community, and more. In addition, slated for October is a playlist of civics-focused episodes from hit PBS KIDS series such as ARTHUR, ROSIE’S RULES, DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD, MOLLY OF DENALI, ALMA’S WAY, PEG + CAT, and XAVIER RIDDLE AND THE SECRET MUSEUM.