I believe I have mentioned my public radio addiction in previous posts. For so long public radio has been my inspiration to get active in my community. I didn’t expect it to be the target of our social action, but on February 19th, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill eliminating funding for national public radio and the Public Broadcasting Corporation.

Of all the issues the kids and I have felt compelled to bring to our senators, this one has the most every day impact on us personally. It was an easy target for this week’s simple activity. I simply adapted the letter available on the Public Broadcasting website to reflect my own personal feelings, added the girls artwork, and sent it off.

Insightful interviews and informative discussions from public radio have set the back drop for most of our kitchen table projects (along with just about any other project we happen to do near a radio). I’m happy to say that public radio has even become an educational tool for Miss Kindergarten.  For example, a few weeks ago, she sensed my excitement over the peaceful yet forceful protests in Egypt, and soon I found myself wading into a conversation about democracy and peaceful protest.

The pervasiveness of public radio combined with the kids’ love of Dinosaur Train, Word World, and Sesame Street, made this was an easy issue to get excited about.

While Miss Kindergarten and Little Miss Three colored their favorite Muppet characters to send along with our letter, we talked about why we love public broadcasting.

The girls love PBS because, as a cable-free household with limited television time, their favorite PBS shows are definitely the highlight of their media-related worlds. Tiny and the others on Dinosaur Train are a big part of our little family.

Miss Kindergarten needed no prompting about the importance of public radio either. “Without that, how would we know what’s going on in the world?” She has clearly heard my line of defense whenever the girls start demanding music just when the top of the hour news summary begins.

We sent our letters off today to Minnesota’s senators, who I feel acquainted with thanks to public radio’s frequent interviews with public officials. Let’s hope, for the sake of an informed citizen-body and an educationally-entertained childhood, that public broadcast will maintain the low level of priority it currently has in the national budget.

Tags: Free, In the News, Social Action

About Sarah

Sarah Aadland is striving to make family volunteering a meaningful habit for her family of five. Join the conversation as she ponders what they may (or may not have) learned and looks for helpful information about raising compassionate kids.Though she plans to one day put her Masters in Public Policy back to work for social justice, she sees family volunteering as a way to build a stronger community, a better world, and a more connected family. In addition to her children, Sarah tends a large garden, a small flock of chickens, and a habit of mindfulness amid the necessary rituals of parenting.

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