Hi, my name is Maya Cruz. I am 11 years old and am in sixth grade. I am here to tell you about my experience with PBS’s children’s programs.

As a toddler, I watched a lot of PBS shows with my older sisters, Sumara and Cierra. Although I am 11, I still watch PBS shows whenever they’re on. A few of my favorite shows were Sesame Street, Martha Speaks, WordGirl, and Super Why.

Although I’m pretty sure every kid grew up watching Sesame Street, some might not have had the same experience as I did. Sesame Street taught me how to be patient (even though I’m still not that patient ☺) and how not to bully. It also taught me about music which is my inspiration and what I want to do for a living when I get older.

Martha Speaks was a new show when I was in preschool. It taught me about the alphabet and how to listen to people without having an attitude. Word Girl taught me the same thing. It also had some fun game quizzes at the end of the show. They would show a clip of the episode and ask us which word I would use to describe the person/people’s action, or reaction. Lastly, there’s Super Why, which was my end-of-little-kid-show. It taught me about friendship and respect, and once again, about speech. Although I watched Super Why, when I went to kindergarten, I wasn’t able to watch as many episodes because I was in school most of the day.

In conclusion, all the shows I watched taught me about social skills and life in general. Most importantly, the shows taught me how to have fun. If PBS is going to be cancelled, a lot of kids won’t be able to have the same educational experience that I did. Also, I believe that if I hadn’t watched PBS I wouldn’t be able to write this. I know that kids will be able to learn in school, but what about kids in preschool? It helps them get a start on education, learning the alphabet and not to bite people, before they go to school and learn/do those things. PBS needs to be saved and the only way to do it is for kids like me and even younger, to step in and save PBS with all our power. PBS has been there through it all, why not for the next generation?

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