Minnesota School of the Air

27% of the US population comprises of school-age children, and due to covid-19, the past 18 months has been particularly hard on them.

In fact, schools all over the world faced unprecedented challenges last year in response to the pandemic, when school closures at short notice left headteachers with the task of mobilizing staff to teach remotely with little preparation or training time.

Homeschooling was the solution, and adapting to this new method was a challenge for teachers, parents and children alike.  

Remote learning isn't a new thing though, and during a polio epidemic in 1946, some schools also temporarily closed. Radio shows designed with the aid of teachers, substituted for the closed schools, and this led to a trend of using the radio airwaves to educate school children. 

There were several old time radio series who used this method, NBC University of the Air, Indiana School of the Air, and the new series I'm adding to RUSC at the moment - Minnesota School of the Air. 

This was a series of instructional radio programs written and produced for school-age children to listen to in the classroom. Each series was designed to supplement the curriculum of local school districts, with the content aimed from kindergarten right through grade 12. 

In general, each program was between 10-15 minutes in length, broadcast twice a week, and included musical sing-alongs, fairy tales, and other adventuresome tales about forest rangers, zoos, trains, and lots more.

The series debuted on September 26th 1938 with a broadcast of Interesting Tales for Little Folks: Puss-In-Boots,and continued right through to its conclusion in 1979, when Betty Thomas Girling passed away. She had served since 1945 as the series director, as well as administrator, producer, performer, and script writer.

Minnesota School of the Air, along with other series broadcast in the 1940s were eventually recognized for their importance during the epidemic, which led to several awards.

I'll keep adding the new series to RUSC over the coming weeks. Hopefully we won't need to use them to home school again any time soon - but I'm sure it wouldn't do your children or grandchildren any harm to listen anyway! Hey you'll be sure to learn something new yourself too!

Happy listening and learning my friends,

P.S. Don't forget to complete the RUSC 'Who's The Daddy?' quiz over on our puzzle page. :-)