Watch for a moral to Showtime’s story of ‘The Monkey People’

Who hasn’t wished for an easy solution to his or her chores? Wouldn’t it be nice if somebody would just clean your room and take out the garbage, while you lazed around thinking important thoughts?

That’s just what the people of an Amazon jungle village wish in “The Monkey People,” a new installment of Showtime’s original “We All Have Tales” series. During the course of the animated special, a mysterious man comes to the village and introduces a group of monkeys that will do everything the villagers want. But by the end of the story, it’s clear that the monkeys bring problems along with their “help.”

“We All Have Tales’ ” “The Monkey People,” Tuesday 7:30-8 p.m. and Friday 3:30-4 p.m. Showtime. For 5- to 8-year-olds.

MORE KIDS’ SHOWS

Four former secretaries of education discuss problems and possible solutions to the nation’s education crisis in A Conversation With the Secretaries of Education (Sunday 10-11 p.m. KCET). For parents.

ARK: Helping Kids in Need (Monday 5:30-6 p.m. KOCE) profiles the volunteers at Orange County’s “Advanced Resources for Foster Kids” organization, which helps abused and abandoned children. For parents.

The first edition of the 1992 Health Quarterly programs (Monday 8-9 p.m. KCET) focuses on the young, with segments on children’s health care, how poverty affects children’s health and whether young people can cope with modern problems such as drug abuse and AIDS. For parents.

The National Parent Quiz (Monday 8-9 p.m. KOCE) uses a panel of children, parents and parenting experts to give advice about everyday family crises. For parents.

Learning in America: Education on Trial (Monday 10-11 p.m. KCET) is a new three-part series set in a courtroom, which encourages viewers to phone in “verdicts” on various issues in education. The first topic, “Do We Need a National Report Card?” looks at arguments for and against national standards defining an adequate education. For parents.

James Earl Jones stars in a rebroadcast CBS Schoolbreak Special “Soldier Boys” (Tuesday 3-4 p.m. CBS), about a group of teen-age boys who get involved in dangerous war games. For 10- to 17-year-olds.

Based on an Inuit legend, The Woman Who Raised a Bear as Her Son (Wednesday 6:30-7 p.m. Disney Channel) tells the tale of an old woman who discovers an orphan polar bear cub and takes care of it, learning lessons about nature and the environment along the way. For 2- to 11-year-olds.

The 1979 film The Black Stallion (Friday 7-9 p.m. Family Channel) is based on the classic book by Walter Farley. For all ages.

A 13-year-old girl with a gift for drawing gets mixed up in an art forgery scam in the family adventure Vincent and Me (Saturday 7-9 p.m. Disney Channel). For ages 11 and up.