TV Smarts

Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are home-viewing tips:

* Today--”48 Hours: Too Much Too Fast” (KCBS 10-11 p.m.) The title of this documentary is deceptive, suggesting “kids in trouble.” But it’s actually about positive role models--kids overcoming troubles, such as homelessness. One case of courage and resourcefulness involves Mai Lin Schultz of Guerneville, who was given 20 minutes to flee her house last year before it was destroyed in a flood. Now a high school senior, she has a new home, which she helped her mother buy, stars in school athletics and is preparing for college.

* Friday--”America Drinks: History in a Glass” (HIST 9-11 p.m.) This title is also deceptive, suggesting a historical documentary about alcohol. It’s about that and more, including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Maxwell House and Kool-Aid. Bet you didn’t know Jack Daniel’s whiskey was invented by a 16-year-old.

* Saturday--”George Washington’s Funeral” (C-SPAN 7-10 a.m.) Live television special originates from Mount Vernon and covers the reenactment of the funeral of America’s first president as it was conducted exactly 200 years ago (Dec. 18, 1799). During the telecast, modern scholars will add tributes and eulogies. Roger Mudd hosts. For a schedule of 41 presidential biography specials airing Monday-Dec. 30 on C-SPAN, log on to https://www.americanpresidents.org. Also, “A Nose Through Nature” (TLC 9:30-10 p.m.) Documentary on the sense of smell in plants and animals.

* Sunday--”The Unknown Jesus” (A&E; 5-7 p.m., repeats 9-11 p.m.) Documentary on modern archeology and space age technologies, which are giving today’s scholars new theories about the most important figure in the Western world. Suggested reading: “The Birth of Christianity” by John Dominic Crossan.

* Monday--”Anna and the King” (A&E; 5-6 p.m., repeats 9-10 p.m.) Documentary on a 19th century Englishwoman Anna Leonowens, hired to tutor the 67 children of King Mongkut of Siam. Their relationship was marked by conflict because Leonowens criticized his treatment of the women in his Bangkok harem. Afterward, she relocated to Canada and became a leader in the fight for women’s rights.

* Tuesday--”Electric Heart” (KCET 8-9 p.m.) Documentary on the latest efforts to engineer a reliable mechanical replacement for a failing human heart. NASA is involved in the quest to attach a miniaturized left ventricle assist device, or LAVD, to a heart.

* Wednesday--”The National Geographic Millennium Special” (KNBC 8-10 p.m.) This science special offers a trip through time from the Big Bang to the proliferation of wildlife, from the extinction of species to genetic cloning. The work of Jane Goodall, Robert Ballard and Sylvia Earle is described, along with that of Arthur Bonner, an ex-gang member who served prison time and now works with the California Conservation Corps to save the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, one of the world’s rarest.

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Compiled by Richard Kahlenberg in consultation with Crystal J. Gips, dean of the School of Education, College of St. Mary, Albany, N.Y. Columns at https://www.latimes.com/tvsmarts.