PBS edudramas (besides Degrassi)

[jamesanthony]

Other than the DeGrassi shows does anyone recall any of the other edudramas that aired on pbs in the 70s and 80s:

Righteous Apples- 1979 or so- about a teen club
YES Inc- 1982-83 with Denise Nicholas as an after school counselor
Watch Your Mouth- 1977-78 Joe Morton as an English teacher in the ghetto

These shows esp. the last one were dramatic but were also about teaching something. I remember Joe Morton's character contrasting slang with standard English in his lessons in the episodes of this show while the main plot might be about something completed unrelated such as a teen character being enticed into doing something illegal.

Some might find the idea of using these shows to teach academics hokey, but in these 3 series I found that the acting was a lot better and the stories better put together than say the stuff that comes on NBC on a Saturday morning now (they have one show now with a bunch of teens in a prep school that is supposed to be teaching basic physics concepts. Perhaps because the actors are really teenagers this show and others like it come off as being poorly made in comparison to those pbs series which were clearly cheaply videotaped on a few sets, but had a stronger sense of quality about them.)

[vashti1999]

Originally Posted by jamesanthony

Other than the DeGrassi shows does anyone recall any of the other edudramas that aired on pbs in the 70s and 80s:

Righteous Apples- 1979 or so- about a teen club
YES Inc- 1982-83 with Denise Nicholas as an after school counselor
Watch Your Mouth- 1977-78 Joe Morton as an English teacher in the ghetto

These shows esp. the last one were dramatic but were also about teaching something. I remember Joe Morton's character contrasting slang with standard English in his lessons in the episodes of this show while the main plot might be about something completed unrelated such as a teen character being enticed into doing something illegal.

Some might find the idea of using these shows to teach academics hokey, but in these 3 series I found that the acting was a lot better and the stories better put together than say the stuff that comes on NBC on a Saturday morning now (they have one show now with a bunch of teens in a prep school that is supposed to be teaching basic physics concepts. Perhaps because the actors are really teenagers this show and others like it come off as being poorly made in comparison to those pbs series which were clearly cheaply videotaped on a few sets, but had a stronger sense of quality about them.)

For the loooooooooongest time, I've been trying to recall the name of that Joe Morton show. I remember both that and the Righteous Apples. Offhand I don't remember Yes Inc but I probably watched it. Interesting that that's the most recent but I only remember the two older ones. Was that Joe Morton show really as old as 77-78? Seeing Joe Morton in other shows, I had a flashback and remembered him as a teacher on some show on public television and couldn't think of the title to save my life, so thanks. Now I know what to look for, not that I'll find anyone with a copy of this show. I remember liking it.

I was heavy into the Righteous Apples, that was the first place I ever saw Mykelti Williamson. I was into the music, the show in general. Another one of those types of shows was "Up and Coming" and one of the stars was Wolfe Perry of the White Shadow. That's another one I only vaguely remember but would love to see again.