April 7-June 2.
The Learning Channel presents The Practical Guide to the Universe, a 10-part series that explores the fascinating realm of quarks, asteroids, and extraterrestrials. Actor Tom Selleck hosts each half-hour episode, examining questions and topics that will intrigue both armchair astronauts and advanced astronomers alike. The segments, the first of which appeared March 31, air Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. (EDT).
April 2-May 21.
The Arts & Entertainment Network presents Pole to Pole, an eight-part documentary that takes students on a remarkable land and sea journey from the North Pole to the South Pole. As guide Michael Palin follows the routes of past explorers and makes new trails of his own, students learn about the continents, countries, geography, history, and cultural diversity he encounters along the way. The hour-long episodes air Fridays at 7 a.m. on A&E Classroom. Free study guides are available. Contact: Community Development, A&E Network, P.O. Box 1610, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-1610.
April 4 and 11.
The Learning Channel, in conjunction with the National Education Association, airs two new episodes of Teacher TV. The first, titled “Standards,” explores how educators are developing controversial new teaching standards and how they may shape the future of American education. The second, titled “The ABCs of Getting Resources,” highlights creative, offbeat learning materials teachers have brought into their classrooms. It also shows how some teachers and schools are tapping into grants, scholarships, networks, and community resources. The 30-minute segments air Sundays at 6 p.m. (EDT).
April 11.
PBS airs “Degenerate Art,” a onehour special that examines the Nazi’s virulent campaign against modern art. The program focuses on the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition in Munich in 1937; 650 works by such artists as Max Beckman, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Emil Nolde were confiscated from museum collections and brought together for ridicule and defamation. Filmed at many U.S. and German museums, the program also includes interviews with eyewitnesses, artists, critics, historians, and families of the artists whose works were attacked. The special airs at 10 p.m. (EDT). Check local listings. An illustrated teacher’s guide containing historical information and artists’ biographies has been distributed to 25,000 principals throughout the country.
April 14.
PBS airs “Survivors of the Skeleton Coast,” this season’s final National Geographic Television Special, funded by Chevron. Photographers Des and Jen Bartlett track a surprising array of desert-dwelling wildlife along the Skeleton Coast in the southwest African country of Namibia. The hour-long program includes rare scenes of elephants sliding down a sand dune to reach a watering hole and a lion guarding a beached pilot whale. The special airs at 8 p.m. (EDT). Check local listings. Free resource guides are available by contacting local PBS stations.
April 16.
PBS airs Liberating America’s Schools, a documentary on school choice. Hosted by Pulitzer Prizewinning columnist Clarence Page, the hour-long special examines programs in Milwaukee; East Harlem, N.Y.; and Minnesota. The show airs at 9 p.m. (EDT). Check local listings.
April 23.
PBS broadcasts “America’s Education Revolution: A Report from the Front,” a documentary on education reform taking place in the nation’s public schools. Reported by Tom Kean, president of Drew University and two-term former governor of New Jersey, the hourlong program features case studies of reform efforts under way in four locations: East Harlem, N.Y.; Alachua County, Fla; Rochester, N.Y.; and Kentucky. The special airs at 9 p.m. (EDT). Check local listings.
