"Schoolhouse" Still Rocks

After a week of heated and tense national discussion about race what you can and cannot say free speech, I was reminded about a time when life was simpler and it was clear what was right and what was wrong in life. A reminder that came through the magic of the Saturday morning cartoons of my youth.

Demetrius, Melanie and myself were having a conversation yesterday about the favorite cartoons of our youth. One of us brought up the old “Schoolhouse Rock” – a series of vignettes which aired on ABC from the mid-70’s to the mid-80’s. They combined educational themes with cute cartoons and catchy song tunes.

These short cartoons taught us about such subjects as the American Revolution, immigration and well as the central nervous system and multiplication tables. They did it with a soft sell and songs that have stayed with is for years. 20 years after watching them for the first time, the tunes stay stuck in my head. I can still recite the lyrics to the songs “Conjunction Junction”. “I”m Just a Bill” and “Lucky Number Nine”.

They were not only educational, but also creative and – to this day – I still use them when trying to recall the order of certain historical events. If you want to see them for the first time, or just journey back to your youth, the following Schoolhouse Rock videos can be found on YouTube:

“I’m Just a bill” http://youtube.com/watch?v=mEJL2Uuv-oQ

“Shot Heard ’round the World”: http://youtube.com/watch?v=VV0b4bqnjfo

“Conjunction Junction”: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dQxUbJOwRDA

Have a great weekend everybody!