Education

Education, Entertainment, Mathnet, Square One TV, YouTube

Mathnet and Square One TV: Books, DVDs, and Videos

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Before I continue the ongoing series (yes, I know it’s been since January), I thought I’d point out a few ways you can view and own content from Square One TV and Mathnet. It can be harder to find these things since many of them have been out-of-print for awhile, but if there’s enough demand, maybe Sesame Workshop will listen one day yet…?

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Videos: VHS and DVD

Okay, so this category might more targeted to teachers, but you can also find a few releases on Amazon as well. Keep in mind, the Amazon ones are VHS only, so you’ll need to go old school or find someone who can transfer them to a more modern format. 😉

Amazon

Here are the VHS titles you can purchase on Amazon currently. Some may be used or in like-new condition, since they may be sold by third-party vendors. The tapes were once sold brand new back in the early 2000s, but alas, that’s awhile ago now. You can occasionally find these on eBay as well.

Square One TV Video Jukebox

Hosted by “Downtown” Julie Brown, features a handful of music videos from the show.

Mathnet: The Case of the Unnatural

The one-hour version of the “Android” episode. Originally came with a lenticular trading card, although used copies may not have them.

Mathnet: Treasure in Monterey Bay

This is the only time the episode had this title. The actual title was Despair in Monterey Bay. This is the one-hour version also. Originally came with a lenticular ruler; again, a used copy may not come with them. I remember seeing this as a PBS pledge drive incentive once, too…

GPN Educational Media

GPN used to offer VHS tapes in their shop, but it seems they have since changed over to the DVD format. These can be pricey if you’re purchasing more than one, but this is to cover the cost of broadcast rights for teachers who use them in their classroom. They have Kate-era episodes, so if you’re looking for legitimate copies of those, here you go. GPN offers downloadable teacher’s guides as well for classroom use.

Mathnet Cases on offer from GPN: The Case of the Dirty Money, The Case of the Missing Air, The Trial of George Frankly, The View from the Rear Terrace, The Case of the Missing Baseball – Purchase them HERE!

Square One TV/Math Talk

For a short time after Square One TV went off the air, they aired repackaged mini episodes called “Math Talk” intended for classroom use. There is no Mathnet footage with these, but if you enjoy classic Square One TV content in themed packages, these will be right up your alley. They also offer a teacher’s guide packed with worksheets and activities teachers can use with their lessons. Available in English and Spanish.

Math Talk Series: Unit 1: Probability and Statistics, Unit 2: Number Sense, Unit 3: Measurement, Unit 4: Geometry. Purchase Math Talk HERE!

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Education, Entertainment, Mathnet, Social Media, Square One TV

Square One TV and Mathnet – Part One: The Heavy Hitters

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Before We Begin…

The original Square One TV cast.
The original Square One TV cast. Source: Sesame Workshop

On this day approximately 1 billion seconds ago (that’s 32 years, in case you didn’t know, and no I’m not trying to be exact on the math), Square One TV premiered on PBS. It seemed like the perfect time to finally start this little series of show-related blog posts.

2019 also marks 50 years since Sesame Workshop (once known as Children’s Television Workshop) began their legacy of remarkable kids’ educational programming that continues to this day. Like many of you, I cut my teeth on shows like Mister Rogers, Sesame Street, 3-2-1-Contact, The Electric Company, and of course, a little show called Square One Television. I could carry on about all of these shows, but you’re only here for SQTV, am I right? It’s why I’m here, so I guess that’s why you are. 😉

A quick side note: God knows I’ve dropped the ball in maintaining the Mathnet site – I KNOW I should overhaul it, really I should. Yet, it’s become something of a relic, a piece of early internet design and technology. So, while I mighta/shoulda/coulda fix it up someday, it’s such a gem in its untouched state, right? But, that’s a post for another time.

Diamonds in the Rough – The Big Time Coverage

SQTV Satin Jacket
A rare and precious find – a Square One TV jacket. You don’t want to know how much I paid for this…

The point of these upcoming posts is to gather all the modern-day media coverage for the show. While articles don’t come up often, when they do, fans crawl out of the woodwork and get nostalgic all over social media, usually in waves as different people find them over time. Maybe you missed them the first time around, heck, those of us who have followed the fandom for 30+ years now may have missed a few, too. So, let’s take a look at the most high-profile media sources who have given their props to the show. I’ll go in the order they came out.

Mental_Floss

Remember Square One?

The site for geeks, dorks, nerds, and everyone in-between. Looks like these guys may have struck first, back in June of 2013. Maggie Ryan Sanford included several videos from YouTube in this Square One TV/Mathnet coverage (some of which may or may not still be online).

Vox Media

The originals.
LA Mathnet Cast – Source: Getty Images

9 Facts Only Mathnet Fans Will Care About

Let’s play “What Do We Know?” This article by Phil Edwards came out a few years back – May of 2015 to be exact, but it still makes the rounds on social media, and it’s a fun little read. Gobble up these nerdy facts about your favorite math detectives and impress/scare your friends.

Vulture

Adam Conover
Comedian Adam Conover/TruTV

The 90s Kids’ Shows That Informed Adam Conover’s Comedy the Most

This one picked up some buzz (pun intended) just before the next article, back in late November of 2018. Erik Abriss’ interview with Adam Conover touches on the 90s shows that influenced his comedy work: Beakman’s World, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Square One TV.

BuzzFeed

This 80s PBS Show Made it Cool to Love Math

This is the most recent one from December of 2018, and with BuzzFeed being the major player they are in the media, it got a lot of attention on Twitter. Major major props to Anne Helen Peterson for this one. Some nice mathematics of love for Square One and Mathnet as a whole.

Closing Thoughts

You don’t have to comment here or even acknowledge my efforts, just share and enjoy and put a bug or two in the ears of those you know (especially those who might have connections, if you know what I mean). And do keep checking back, because I promise at some point I will have some real gems to share in the form of cast pictures, printed articles, and collectibles I’ve found along the way. And there will be more parts including interviews, podcasts, blog posts, and other items of interest.

Giving Props Where They’re Due…

A big thank you to the fellow fans who helped me dig up these links – I wouldn’t know where to find them all without your help! Gayle G., Lori J., Heather J., Lauren HS, and Brian H.

Props to these diehard fans who also help to keep these efforts going: April S., Von T., Anton S., Philip H., Christopher M., Sonia L., and Viewers Like You!

Education, Entertainment, Mathnet, Social Media, Square One TV

An Open Letter to PBS.

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Dear PBS,

Oh, how you taunt us so. A couple of weeks ago, you posted on your official Tumblr account this little teaser image:

Where in the World IS Carmen Sandiego?

…Carmen Sandiego?

And then…speculation started to flow from all corners of the Web. Even HuffPo covered it! New episodes? Reruns of old episodes? So much potential excitement here, and then…NOTHING. No follow-up posts as of yet. Boo. Hiss.

So, what’s the deal, PBS? Don’t you guys realize how EPIC this would be? Why tease the masses, then just crush their hopes with your “edited to add” business: “this is not about new episodes, but will be appreciated by any 90s kid…” Well, I was an 80s kid and I watched it, but I’ll let that slide. Are you going to do something, or not? And while we’re on the subject, PBS, let’s talk about some other shows that could prove useful for today’s kids. You did keep Reading Rainbow on the map for awhile, as well as Ghostwriter, you even refreshed The Electric Company, an “Old School” staple, as well as Zoom! for a time. Sesame Street continues to brighten the lives of young kids as well. So, how about a couple more that could use some revamping, or re-airing, at the very least: 3-2-1 Contact, and Square One TV. Oh, and of course, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (Let’s pretend that Noggin didn’t exist though, because it’s dead; well, it’s Nick Jr. now, and they didn’t always do these shows justice in rerun format.)

Granted, some of the materials and information on these shows may be a bit dated and in the case of “Carmen,” inaccurate, but in a time where American kids are falling behind in math, science, and geography, let’s at least put some reruns back. Better yet, DVD releases of these shows. Ever heard the phrase “shut up and take my money” used online? Surely you have. You would have SO MANY former kids fully prepared to hurl massive amounts of money at you if you put these shows out on DVD. You might not even need to have pledge drives for awhile if you do it right. Teachers and parents want this stuff in their homes, trust me. As someone who created the site for “Mathnet” (yes, it needs updating, I KNOW), I can tell you I have received a lot of E-mails about this very thing for years now, and the more people hear about possible renewed interest in these 80s and 90s after-school staples for kids, the more people will crawl out of the woodwork wanting to know more. And they’re waiting…

I could go on for quite a while about this, but what I’m saying here is: pay attention to the media buzz! Look at the likes, shares and mentions on all the major sites  – there’s your target audience, plus any new fans you pick up along the way. If you follow through with these teasers, it’ll be a move you won’t regret, and kids are about to go back to school – is there any better timing? 

So, do it. Do it, Rockapella!

With Love (that remains to be seen),

Me, and Legions of Other Fans.

Education, Entertainment, Life, Mathnet, Square One TV

3/3/13 – World Dyscalculia Day

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Yay, it’s World Dyscalculia Day!

Uhhhhh…WHAT?

So, I started to touch on the topic of Dyscalculia in my last post, and I intend to further break it down into a series of posts over time, but this is a good time to summarize it, on the very day set aside each year for Dyscalculia awareness (always 3/3; how fitting for it to be a lovely fraction).

There is SO MUCH I want to say about it, but seriously, it can’t be summed up in a short post, and writing a novel will only bore people in a sea of new knowledge (tl;dr ;)), given how few actually know what it is. There are a lot of people out there who have this and only wish they could turn to someone who gets it, or knew more about it themselves, or wish to find a community of fellow “sufferers” where they’ll fit in and can relate to.

What is Dyscalculia exactly? It’s a learning disorder involving numbers, but not just numbers. Rather than write a painfully long description when other sites explain it very well, head over to the Dyscalculia Forum site and read up for a good breakdown (I’ll wait…). This does not mean we’re stupid and/or lazy, or aren’t trying hard enough to understand things like handling money, reading a map or organizing a space, or that we’re just choosing not to do something because we don’t like/feel like it, we actually lack the ability to grasp these concepts; our brains simply cannot make heads or tails of it (pun intended). It’s like any other form of dyslexia – you can try to learn, practice for hours, and no matter how much you put into it, your brain will never retain the information, or very little of it, and scrambles it around furiously without ever actually understanding it. Ooh, and the resulting brain pain. 😛

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Art, Creative Writing, Design, Education, Feelings, Life

Learning and Growing.

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I have found, since walking away from the old job, that I have learned and grown so much in my thirty-something years, and truly I was at a point in time where I got as far as I was going to without taking flight on my own to seek my true calling in life. The “old” me, the insecure one of years ago who had little confidence in herself, would never thought this possible. Thanks to good friends, supportive parents, and just plain looking inside myself to realize my potential, that little frightened bird has made it. However, for those following along here, please don’t tell me I should just let go, move on, and walk away from something when I’ve committed myself a great deal to at least trying to do my part, with a load of feelings and thoughts that go with it, when I’ve been doing the best I can, take it or leave it. It’s just not that simple – these experiences, feelings and thoughts are a large part of what has built me up to who I am today. Hear me out for a little background on my life, why don’t you?

There are a few situations I have had to go through in the past to realize sometimes you have to “just keep swimming” and not look back when something has helped you grow, but only held you back for whatever reasons after a time; sometimes it’s not agreeing or meshing with people and situations that have become dysfunctional, futile or feed negativity into an environment while you try to keep your eyes on the prize, whatever it may be. You become broken inside, discouraged, losing heart, losing focus. For so many reasons it can happen, and not just at any one time or place in your life. There will be people who misconstrue your words, don’t listen to your advice (or that of others), rush to keep you quiet, cut you out of the picture or threaten and intimidate you for daring to speak up, and in that, seemingly refusing to validate your feelings and input. And there are those who do not see things eye-to-eye with you, or simply aren’t in an ideal place themselves, whatever it may be, and in dealing with this realization sometimes you have to leave behind or cut out those parts that aren’t healthy in order to remain strong yourself.  You can’t change other people, after all; you can try to affect change, but we’re not designed to fix other people’s problems, only work on ourselves and do the best we can to make our existence the best it can be.  But for all the parts that make it difficult, realizing this is a sign of growth, especially when you muster the courage to break through the haze and see you are still that same person you used to be, still full of hope and potential, still wanting everything you always have, only now you’re stronger, braver, more prepared for the journey ahead. 

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