What LeVar Burton Means to Me

Maybe it's time to bet on kindness.

(image credit: Daniel Zuchnik // Getty)

[For those who want to listen to this on-the-go, the audio version should be up on Apple’s podcast website soon. You can also listen here.]

It was 1994. I was 7 years-old, just starting 2nd grade, and I didn’t know how to read.

I wasn’t too far behind my peers—most kids learn how to read by the end of 1st grade or about 6 years-old—but I was behind enough that I recall my teachers being concerned.

My problem was that reading felt so intimidating. I remember sitting in a small group with other students in my class and dreading my turn to read the text aloud. The other kids seemed so confident and so smart, and then it came to me and I sat there struggling to sound out the words.

There were no books in my home. There were no newspapers in my home. My parents didn’t read.

The internet was arriving on the scene, but this was long before a computer could be found in most homes, let alone the trailer parks where we lived around that time.

Save for the occasional TV Guide (which, ironically, would be quite helpful in learning how to write later), there were no materials at home for me to practice reading.

It just wasn’t something we did, and I felt like it showed. I was ashamed to even attempt reading aloud because I felt it would reflect badly on my family. It was embarrassing.

This all changed because I had amazing public school teachers. The biggest reason I improved my reading skills—and quickly, might I add—was because of the patience and dedication of my teachers. They’re the main heroes of my literacy journey, no doubt.

But I had to let my guard down first. I had to put my fear of reading aside, and no one was more critical to that than LeVar Burton.

For over 23 years, Burton was host and executive producer of “Reading Rainbow”, a half-hour program on PBS that encouraged kids to read.

In my humble opinion, it’s the gold standard of childhood literacy tools. Burton would introduce a topic in every episode that was central to a selected children’s book, do segments on it with real people, and say with a smile “But don’t take my word for it” before mini reviews of the book would pop up from kids my age.

I didn’t know I was allowed to not like a particular book, especially the popular books some of my teachers recommended to us. What a relief it was to see kids my own age on TV saying “meh, not for me” and that was okay. The important thing, it seemed Burton was communicating to children like me watching, is that you at least need to try reading.

There is a warmth central to LeVar Burton’s hosting of “Reading Rainbow” that I can’t quite articulate. For children who were in unsafe homes, especially during that pre-internet time when it was easy to feel isolated from the rest of the world, Burton’s enthusiasm and kindness were a significant elixir.

It was because of LeVar Burton making books less intimidating that I became obsessed with reading. I started taking home books from my school library every night and devouring them into the early hours of the morning. By the end of 2nd grade, I had improved dramatically. By the end of 4th grade, I was reading at a high school level.

Now, I write things for a living that other people read.

It wasn’t because LeVar Burton was smart (although he’s clearly quite smart) or that he was cool (and he is objectively cool as hell). It was because, looking back, LeVar Burton was kind and didn’t judge me. He seemed to say: I know this looks hard, but it’s really fun and I know you can do it.

My overworked and underpaid teachers taught me the mechanics of reading, and they were magnificent. They went extra the mile in helping some random kid understand words on a page. But it was Burton who taught me how to overcome my fears and open a book in the first place.

I’m admittedly biased on the whole “Jeopardy” discourse because it’s hard to imagine anyone other than LeVar Burton as host. He just feels perfect for this role in this particular moment of our nation’s history.

America’s in bad shape, and one of the biggest reasons for that is the state of education in the public square. I’m not just talking about schools, where those teachers I once had are more overworked and underpaid than ever and must contend with utterly ridiculous things, like backlash against wearing masks to prevent the spread of a deadly disease.

That’s quite important, but I’m talking mostly about how adults in the United States educate themselves. I’m talking about the process of looking up information on our own, negotiating gaps in understanding, being open to being wrong, embracing critical thinking, seeking out new knowledge, etc.

As much as I’ve always loved watching “Jeopardy”, it’s difficult to ignore the cultural barrier the show unintentionally puts up in the broader perception of how knowledge is gained and used.

These are very, very smart people competing on the show, and it’s easy to imagine some Americans watching it and feeling intimidated away from learning new things.

Yeah, it’s a game show. I get that. I’m not blaming “Jeopardy”, of all things, for the state of incurious disrepair that has plagued our nation.

But I do wonder how much Jeopardy could be part of the solution. Imagine millions of Americans tuning-in every night to see LeVar Burton’s warm and welcoming face—the face of childhood literacy—and thinking: he doesn’t make me feel small for not knowing things.

We have been in desperate need of a massive cultural shift in how adult learning is recognized and appreciated. Although educational efforts, from GED tutoring to undergrad continuing education programs, have certainly sprung up everywhere in the past few decades, we have still failed, as a society, to embrace the concept that formal education shouldn’t stop after childhood.

College and skills training are just too damn expensive, but beyond that, we’ve unintentionally created this psychological barrier for millions of Americans by primarily framing proactive intelligence as this thing you either have when you’re born or you don’t. It’s a dirty lie, and it’s hurting us.

Do I think this will change with LeVar Burton as host of “Jeopardy”?

No, certainly not overnight, but I would like to believe he’d plant seeds with his trademark accessibility and enthusiasm for learning. He’s been doing it quite well on television for more than four decades.

But don’t take my word for it.

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Hi, I’m Charlotte Clymer, and this is Charlotte’s Web Thoughts, my Substack. It’s completely free to access and read, but if you feel so moved to support my writing, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription: just $7/month or save money with the $70/annual sub. You can also go way above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $210.

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