THE SCHOOL THAT TRIED TO END RACISM
8.30pm, Tuesday, ABC
To end racism is no small aim but one Sydney primary school won't know how successful it's been for years.
Racism is something that tends to take root once a kid hits Year 5. That's when they start gravitating to their own racial groups rather than hanging out in the playground with the same kids from their class, regardless of ethnicity
What the school is doing is introducing a program for kids in Year 3 and 4 in the hope it can counter some of their subconscious racial bias before it begins to affect their conscious decision-making.
Not surprisingly, most of the white kids in the class don't understand the level of racism their friends from other ethnic groups experience.
Being the least racially persecuted group, white people tend to presume racism isn't really that bad in Australia - because they haven't experienced it.
At least the kids in this show have the chance to have their eyes opened to the reality of racism in Australia and, with it, maybe get the chance to do something about it.
LOST FOR WORDS
8.30pm, Wednesday, SBS
Here's an eye-opening statistic for you - more than 43 per cent of Australians don't have the literacy skills they need to get through everyday life.
That's nearly half of the adults in the country - and we're not talking about the inability to read a book or understand a report at work.
It's what some of us would consider basic things, like reading the screens on station platforms to find out where the next train is going, or understanding a recipe in a cookbook.
Or even a friend's post on social media.
It's often hard for adults to get help, due to the shame factor - though with nearly half the population in the same boat there's no need to be ashamed.
The people in this show have decided to seek help in the form of an intensive literacy course.
It's a show worth watching if you're in that 43 per cent - because it might offer some hope. And, if your literacy skills are good, it's still worth watching to get a sense of how much of a struggle day-to-day life can be when you don't understand the words in front of you.
FAT PIZZA: BACK IN BUSINESS
9pm, Wednesday, 7Mate
Back in business? That's a shame.
Because, really, the show that aimed to be raunchy, irreverent and definitely not PC has been been overtaken by the real world.
Every day on social media people say outrageous and shocking things - often just to get a reaction. There was even a doofus of a US President who let some truly horrible things fall from his mouth.
That creates problems for Fat Pizza. With the show's efforts to be controversial now looking outdated, all it has to fall back on is its comedy.
But the problem is, without that shock value to distract us, the truth of Fat Pizza is revealed. It's simply not very funny.
Fat Pizza had its place once upon a time, especially in showing groups of people who never get a look in on TV shows (aside from A Current Affair or Australian true crime shows).
It might be time for creator, director, writer and actor Paul Fenech to try something else.