Weekly Reader redux

Twice in the past week, I have been asked if I had ever heard of the “Weekly Reader.” I have, and I am a fan. The following is an abridged version of a column written for the Gazette in January of 2024.

I don’t recall what I was looking for when I stumbled across a unique find on eBay last week, but it didn’t take long to hit the “buy now” button. A few shipping days later, a used copy of “Weekly Reader: 60 Years of News for Kids 1928-1988” was mine.

For those who don’t recognize the name, the “Weekly Reader” was a children’s newspaper used in schools to engage students with current events and introduce the value of non-fiction periodicals. Printed in classic newspaper format with bold headlines and photos, it brought world affairs into elementary classrooms.

Founded in 1928 as “My Weekly Reader” by educator Elanore Johnson, it passed through several owners—Wesleyan University, Xerox, Reader’s Digest, and RJ Reynolds—before Scholastic acquired it in 2012. Today, it continues digitally as Scholastic News.

Because the content followed then-current events written in simple, declarative sentences, the anthology is a walk through history. It covers the Empire State Building in 1931, MacArthur’s return to the Philippines in 1944, Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, the Moon landing in 1969, and the Jarvik heart in 1982. Even controversial events—wars, assassinations, racial tensions—were included, handled with age-appropriate care.

McCook residents may be pleased to know that one story featured the Norris Dam in 1934. The article didn’t mention McCook or George Norris by name but explained how cheap electricity from the new dam would light homes, power radios, and “help farm women with their hard work.” That the work of our noteworthy neighbor reached the pages of a national children’s newspaper—and into classrooms across the country—says much about his legacy.

My own experience with Weekly Reader came in the 1960s during my Air Force-brat childhood. One memory stands out: fall 1968, when the paper covered the presidential race. That was the year President Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek re-election, leaving spirited contests in both parties. The conventions produced Richard Nixon and Hubert Humphrey, while George Wallace mounted a third-party run.

Our class read the article, discussed the candidates, and then “voted” by raising our hands. Nixon won, Humphrey came second, Wallace third—just as in the national tally. I later learned this wasn’t a classroom whim but part of the “Weekly Reader Student Presidential Election Poll,” conducted from 1956 through 1992 and said to have predicted the winner 13 of 14 times.

The publication eventually succumbed to rising costs, shrinking school budgets, and the digital shift, though controversies over content linger. As recently as 2023, Scholastic faced scrutiny over how it treated racial and LGBT issues at book fairs. Looking back, I realized the 1968 issue we read didn’t include Wallace, who in spite of a segregationist agenda, won more than 13 percent of the popular vote. His inclusion in our classroom discussion apparently came from my Southern teacher, not the editors.

Whether reminding us of George Norris or omitting George Wallace, the Weekly Reader shaped generations by fostering awareness of current events and the role of newspapers. Whatever form it takes—print, digital, or something else—let’s hope schools continue to give students the same exposure to news, civic life and the wider world.