TV Smarts

Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are home-viewing tips:

* Today--”The Battle of New Orleans” (HIST 9-10 p.m.) explains how Andrew Jackson and a force of Creoles, African Americans and others thwarted the British capture of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

* Friday--”California Gold” (KCET 7:30-8 p.m.). Hosts Huell Howser and Julie Nixon Eisenhower visit the recently restored home, now a museum and library, where the 37th president was born in 1913. Also, “Knights” (HIST 11 p.m.-midnight), compares myths and reality about armor-clad knights in the Middle Ages who competed in tournaments during peacetime to maintain their skills for warfare.

* Saturday--”Science and Technology Week” (CNN 11:30 a.m.-noon) explains the laws of physics involved when pitchers use a perforated plastic whiffle ball. Also, “50 Years With the Juilliard Quartet” (BRV 3-4 p.m.), covers highlights of five decades of performances by this string group, including rehearsal techniques.

* Sunday--”Nuremberg” (TNT 8-10 p.m.) is a two-part dramatization of war crimes trials based on historian Joseph Persico’s book “Nuremberg: Infamy on Trial.” Starring Alec Baldwin, Christopher Plummer and Jill Hennessy. Part two airs Monday, 8-10 p.m. A special educational guide is available at https://www.turnerlearning.com.

* Monday--”Spring Awakenings” (ODSY 2-4 p.m.) is a movie based on Willa Cather’s “The Resurrection” about a college-educated girl and a Missouri River boatman.

* Tuesday--”Places of Mystery: Gettysburg and Salem” (TRAV 9-10 p.m.) reports on two historic sites--a Civil War battlefield and scene of reported hauntings by dead soldiers and a New England town that was the site of 17th century witchcraft. California Reading List books at https://www.startest.com are MacKinlay Kantor’s “Gettysburg” and James Knight’s “Salem Days.”

* Wednesday--”The Buena Vista Social Club” (KCET 8-10 p.m.) follows American guitarist Ry Cooder to Cuba, where he discovers musicians still performing traditional music of pre-Castro Cuba. Their lives in modern Havana and subsequent concerts in Carnegie Hall and Amsterdam are memorably captured by filmmaker Wim Wenders.

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Compiled by Richard Kahlenberg in consultation with Crystal J. Gips, dean of the School of Education, College of St. Mary, Albany, N.Y. Columns available at https://ukobiw.net/tvsmarts.