Television and Society - Oshkosh Area School District

02/12/2026

SINGLE PARENTS NEEDED SUPPORT! Beloved characters that were there to support TV kids.

02/10/2026

There were single parents in society and on TV. But divorce was taboo so widowhood became the storyline.

02/08/2026

Parody and Satire exposed the fallacy of the perfect family of the 1950s.

02/03/2026

Not all families, TV or Real, were suburban or perfect.

02/03/2026

Coming in handy!

Our Oshkosh Area School District approved my new course for next year at Oshkosh West High School.

These Christmas presents allow some prep for “Television and American Society”. Excited to teach some contemporary history & modern society from a different perspective!

02/03/2026

Finally started this new high school social studies elective this semester; “Televisionand American Society”!

Kids seem to be really enjoying this new lens through which to view history and sociology.

Started with portrayals of the ideal suburban family of the 1950s.

09/11/2025

Antenna TV remembers the iconic Polly Holliday with special episodes of "Alice" this week through Saturday. Watch "Alice" weekdays at 4AE and 3PE, and Saturdays at 6PE for special episodes featuring Polly Holliday.

08/19/2025

this show's a real nightmare

12/25/2024

Our Oshkosh Area School District approved my new course for next year at Oshkosh West High School.

These Christmas presents allow some prep for “Television and American Society”. Excited to teach some contemporary history & modern society from a different perspective!

03/24/2024

R.I.P. Ron Harper 1936-2024

03/17/2024

43 years ago today, March 16, 1981, the final episode of The White Shadow aired. It is an American drama television series starring Ken Howard that ran on the CBS network from November 27, 1978, to March 16, 1981, about a white former professional basketball player who takes a job coaching basketball at an impoverished urban high school with a racially mixed basketball team. Although the lead actor Howard was white, the series broke new ground as the first television ensemble drama to feature a mostly African American cast, with African American actors playing the high school principal and vice-principal, the majority of the teenage basketball players, and other supporting roles. The White Shadow also dealt with controversial subject matter such as sexually transmitted disease and gay sexual orientation among high school students.

Although The White Shadow was not a big ratings hit, it drew praise from critics and helped pave the way for later realistic dramas such as Hill Street Blues and My So-Called Life. It was the first series developed by executive producer Bruce Paltrow, who went on to create and produce the medical drama St. Elsewhere. The show also made popular TV stars of both Howard and Kevin Hooks, who portrayed high school basketball player Morris Thorpe. In the years since its cancellation, a number of journalists have praised the show and in some cases recalled being fans of the show as children or teenagers. In particular, sports columnist Bill Simmons has written about the show's strong influence on his life.