The Standard School Broadcast facts for kids
The Standard School Broadcast was a special weekly radio show. It started way back in 1928. This program helped students in the western United States learn to love music. It was actually the oldest learning radio show in America! The show was made in San Francisco, California. It was played on NBC radio stations and shared with many other stations. The Standard School Broadcast taught listeners about music and American history. Carmen Dragon was the person who chose the music for the show for many years. The company that paid for the show, Standard Oil of California (now called Chevron), won a special award called a Peabody Award for the series in 1958. Later, in 1975, the program received another Peabody Institutional Award. This was for teaching kids through radio for 47 years straight!
Contents
Why Was This Show So Special?
In 1958, The Standard School Broadcast won a Peabody Award for being a great educational radio show. The award recognized how the show kept growing and getting better for 30 years. This amazing music show for schools was praised for teaching well. It also had amazing musicians and was produced perfectly. It used all kinds of music groups, both with instruments and singers.
In 1975, The Standard School Broadcast received another Peabody Institutional Award. The award said:
The Standard School Broadcast's 47 years on the air across the Western states is a big achievement. It's even more impressive that its shows were always creative and fun. Plus, they never had any commercials! Many of the world’s best musicians performed on the show. It almost single-handedly helped many generations of listeners discover the fun of good music.
Finding Old Episodes
Some old episodes of The Standard School Broadcast can be found by people who collect old radio shows.
In the 1970s, the Chevron Research Company made special recordings. These were edited from The Standard School Broadcast and given out to help the public. These vinyl records came with guides for teachers. They were given for free to elementary and junior high schools. This happened across the West, Rocky Mountain area, and the Southwest. These old recordings are no longer made, but they can sometimes be found for sale online.
Our Nation's Heritage Recordings
These recordings helped students learn about American history:
- 1970: Prologue to America
- 1970: The New World
- 1970: Exploring the New World
- 1970: Europe in the New World
- 1970: The English in America
- 1970: The Colonial Frontier
- 1970: The Revolutionary War
- 1971: Cornerstones of a New Nation
- 1972: The New Nation is Launched
- 1972: The New Nation is Tested
- 1972: The Nation Expands
- 1972: The Nation Divided
- 1972: Settling the West
- 1972: The Industrial Revolution in America
- 1972: The Twentieth Century Begins
- 1972: The Nation in Prosperity and Poverty
- 1972: America in World War II
- 1973: America at Mid-Century
- 1973: America Through Five Centuries — Epilogue
Music Makers Recordings
These recordings focused on different musical instruments:
- 1973: Guitar (two-record set)
- 1973: Percussion (two-record set)
- 1975: Brass
- 1975: Keyboard (two-record set)
- 1975: Strings (two-record set)
- 1975: Woodwinds and Reeds
