Specials Close Gap Between the School and the Screen

September may signify the start of fall, but for the youth of America, it means back to school--and television is marking the occasion this week with a tote bag’s worth of programs confronting educational concerns and issues.

Television executives hope that by programming shows about the state of education and potential reforms, the subject will move to the forefront of public debate.

“It’s about motivating people to become more interested,” producer Don Mischer said of his two-hour program, “Back to School ‘92,” which CBS will broadcast Tuesday at 8 p.m.

“The show,” Mischer said, “is an attempt to basically send a wake-up call to the country pointing out that kids are our primary natural resource, and we aren’t taking good care of them now. One of the implied messages is that despite what you hear from the media, kids are good and want an education, but we as a country are not supporting them as much as we should.”

Cable’s The Learning Channel also has chosen Tuesday, International Literacy Day, to run “To Read,” an hourlong special (at 5 p.m.) about people whose lives have been changed by reading and learning to read.

PBS is making the most ambitious effort, filling most of its prime-time hours from tonight through Thursday with education-related programming (although not all stations are taking the full package).

“What we are saying is that it (education) is so important to the future of this country, that we can’t take it for granted anymore,” said David Crippens, senior vice president for educational enterprises at KCET-TV Channel 28.

Crippens acknowledged that there is an abundance of programs being offered but noted that they appeal to different interests. “If I were the parent of a younger child,” he said, “I would be interested in ‘Teach the Children’ (on Wednesday). If I was interested in the visual and creative arts, which are being lost in education today, I would watch ‘Behind the Scenes’ (on Tuesday).

Here are highlights of the PBS programming:

* “Who Will Teach for America”: Profiles several graduates from the nation’s top colleges who taught in needy rural and inner-city schools in the “Teach for America” project. (At 9 tonight on KCET-TV Channel 28 and KPBS-TV Channel 15.)

* “A Cry From the Edge”: Crippens describes the show as “a look at how we as a nation are seeking to improve the quality of education and the action that has to occur, step by step, classroom to classroom, school by school, community by community.” It focuses on several grade levels in the Southern and Eastern regions of the country. (At 9 p.m. Tuesday on KCET, KPBS.)

* “On Television: Teach the Children”: Hosted by Edwin Newman, this documentary examines the role of television as an educator and discusses what it calls the troubling “curriculum” of commercial television in the United States--especially violence and advertising. (Wednesday at 8 p.m. on KVCR-TV Channel 24, 9 p.m. on KCET, KPBS.)

* “America’s New Frontier: Education Reform”: Focuses on educators who are trying to help students catch up with the educational advances being made throughout the world and introduces revolutionary approaches to public education. (At 10 p.m. Wednesday on KCET.)

* “Why Do These Kids Love School?”: Author Tom Peters introduces a look at innovative approaches to education that have had impressive results. (At 10 p.m. Thursday on KCET).

Neither Mischer nor Crippens believe that the large number of education-related programs in such a short time will be daunting for the viewer.

“Did you think that ‘The Civil War’ was overload?” Crippens asked. “I think not.”