Maya & Miguel

I've already given a brief review of the pbs.org site for kids. In general, the PBS Kids website is a fun and educational site for kids in a broad age range and the shows represented on the site are racially/ethnically diverse, which I believe is very important. For this post I will focus on one show: Maya and Miguel. The majority of the characters in this show are Spanish speaking—they are Dominican and a mix of Mexican and Puerto Rican. The remaining characters include an African American, a Caucasian (who is disabled), and a Chinese American. The site can be accessed in both English and Spanish. The site is fun and interactive. It is easy to navigate and is full of culturally educational games and activities and full episodes of the show are available. The characters speak slowly and clearly, which makes the language accessible to ELLs. I am conflicted as to whether or not I would use this site, however. First, the characters have a Bratz-like appearance which I find extremely artificial and unrealistic and harmful to kids’ self image. Second, this site and the accompanying show are not free of stereotypes. For example, Paco the parrot has a stereotypical Mexican accent and Theo, the one African American, is a great athlete. Additionally, from the full episode I watched of the show (which is available on the site), the girls seem to care a bit too much for shopping and romance and not enough about engaging in the educational opportunity of the museum they are visiting while the boys, initially apathetic, quickly gained interest. Although this part of the pbs.org site could be fun for ELLs to explore, I don't think I would use it.