11/11/08

What's your fuunnk-shun?

If you are a child of the 70's or 80's and watched much Saturday morning television, you probably start humming the tune when you hear the words "Conjunction Junction".

-Conjunction Junction what's your function?- That's right, School House Rock! Cartoon shorts that taught us that grammar, place values, and politics could be fun and catchy.

When I saw the 30th anniversary collection on DVD I just HAD to have it. "The Three" have already watched it several times. Our good ol' School House Rock is still relevant and fun in the new millenium! It's even possible to get it from Netflix!


Even Orangeboy enjoys it, despite the fact that he usually finds cartoons fairly useless, or even "a complete waste of time". His time can obviously be better spent playing "Bookworm Deluxe" on the computer or improving his long-division skills. But once he saw some of the money rock and multiplication rock segments, he was hooked!

He did have one criticism though. He was puzzling over it last night. He swung back and forth on the stair rail, his head tilted, squinting up and to the side - pondering the problem. Then he began to speak (without checking to see if anyone was prepared to listen- as usual):

"Hey you know that School House Rock? Well, I was thinking... that one - "Zero, My Hero"? It seems like it should be about place values and not about multiplication."

Sure kid, why don't you write to the original creators and tell them that you were watching the 30th Anniversary DVD of their work, and you thought they placed the "Zero, My Hero" song in the wrong section.

On the other hand, it was a pretty astute observation. I mean, a good portion of the song is about how zero behind another number increases it by a factor of 10, i.e. moves it up to the next place value- and the song is listed in the multiplication section. While IT IS vaguely about multiplying, it might be clearer if labeled as a lesson on place value. Orangeboy is probably just concerned that other kids might not realize how handy a zero is in understanding place value - right?

I'm sure that's it. And if I gave him an address, I bet he would write a letter.

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this. I loved Schoolhouse Rock - and I think my musical kids will dig it, too.

    "I'm just a bill ... on Capitol Hill..."

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  2. I love it!! Place values... Huh.

    I might have to check out the DVD. It sure has been a long time.

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    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous14/11/08

    *LOL!!* So it's not just me? I find that tune running through my mind on a regular basis -- 35 years later!!

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  5. I've come to think that no matter what I'm thinking or doing, SOMEONE on this planet is doing or thinking the same thing.

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  6. Another good 70's classic is "Really Rosie" - the CD has music by Carol King and the songs really could be considered musical social stories about getting along, caring, etc. It's one of Sayer's favorites and palatable to the grown-up ear,too!

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  7. Thanks Carol, that sounds great!

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