When I first watched this clip (embedded below), I didn’t know what I was feeling. Warren Buffet has lent his image and voice to a cartoon aimed at kids meant to teach them about finances.
First, I kinda wish I’d gotten a show like this when I was a kid. I’ve learned that even passive learning — where kids might only be paying half attention to what’s on-screen while they do other things — can have a significant impact on one’s knowledge. Sesame Street helped me learn words bilingually, for example, and a cartoon like this could go a long way toward getting kids to think about money in ways other than the direct purchasing of goods.
I was also surprised to find that Warren Buffett sounds pretty good as a cartoon. He has a pleasant, non-threatening way about his acting that works fairly well with his avuncular animated avatar.
However, I think that even as pared down as these episodes might be, the pace of the lesson is a little rushed. But being an online series — it wll “air” on an AOL portal — means that it can be re-watched at one’s own leisure. The trouble then becomes getting kids interested in finance. I certainly wish them well with this series; what our money does shouldn’t be a big mystery. Check out the clip here:
