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In the Creative Education
Spotlight:
Sesame Street
Sesame Street Intro from Wikipedia.org
Sesame Street is an American educational
children's television series for preschoolers and is a pioneer of the
contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and
entertainment. Sesame Street is well known for its Muppet characters,
created by the puppeteer Jim Henson. More than 4,134 episodes of the show
have been produced in 36 seasons, which makes it one of the longest-running
television shows in history.
Sesame Street is produced in the United States by non-profit organization
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW),
founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers. It premiered on November 10th
1969 on the National Educational Television network, and later that year it
was moved to NET's successor, the Public Broadcasting Service.
With its positive influence, Sesame Street is the most highly regarded
educational show for children in the world. No television series has matched
its level of international recognition and success. The original series has
been televised in 120 countries, and more than 20 international versions
have been produced, not including dubbed versions. The series has received
109 Emmy Awards, more than any other television series. An estimated 75
million Americans have watched the series as children; millions more have
watched around the world, as have their parents.
Sesame Street uses a combination of puppets, animation, and live actors to
teach young children the basics of reading (letter and word recognition),
mathematics (numbers, addition and subtraction), as well as geometric forms,
and classification. Since the show's inception, other instructional goals
have been basic life skills, such as how to cross the street safely, proper
hygiene, and healthy eating habits.
The show displays a subtle sense of humour that has appealed to older
viewers since it first premiered; this was devised as a means to encourage
parents and older siblings to watch the series with younger children, thus
becoming involved in the learning process, rather than having Sesame Street
act as a babysitter. A number of parodies of popular culture appear,
especially ones aimed at the Public Broadcasting Service, the network that
broadcasts the show. For example, the recurring segment Monsterpiece Theatre
once ran a sketch called "Me Claudius". Children viewing the show might
enjoy watching Cookie Monster and the Muppets, while adults watching the
same sequence may enjoy the spoof of the Masterpiece Theatre production of
I, Claudius on PBS.
Several of the character names used on the program are puns or cultural
references aimed at a slightly older audience, including Flo Bear
(Flaubert), Sherlock Hemlock (a Sherlock Holmes parody), H. Ross Parrot
(based on Reform Party founder H. Ross Perot), Dr. Feel based on Dr. Phil,
Polly Darton (Dolly Parton), and a Jack Bauer Muppet in a parody of 24. Over
two hundred notable personalities have made guest appearances on the show,
beginning with Carol Burnett on the first episode, and ranging from
performers like James Brown to political figures such as Kofi Annan. By
making a show that not only educates and entertains kids, but also keeps
parents entertained and involved in the educational process, the producers
hope to inspire discussion about the concepts on the show.
In 1999, the series became the longest running American children's program,
taking the title from Captain Kangaroo. The British series Blue Peter still
retains the worldwide record. The series has made many published lists,
including greatest all-time show compilations by TV Guide and Entertainment
Weekly. Nielsen Media Research has found that 99% of American preschoolers
recognise the series' characters. Another study** found that 81% of kids
under the age of six own a Sesame Street toy or game, and 87% own a book
based on the series.
The series' music has appeared on music charts around the world, including
Ernie's "Rubber Duckie" song, which made #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
in 1970; the song achieved an even higher position in Germany. In 1992,
British band Smart E's released Sesame's Treet, a techno dance track which
sampled the "classic" version of the Sesame Street theme. It reached #2 on
the UK singles chart. Sesame Street has won 11 Grammy Awards, most recently
for 2001 release Elmo and the Orchestra.
LINKS
Extensive
Profile of Sesame Street on Wikipedia.org
"Children and Television" history profile on the Museum of
Broadcast Communications (MBSC) website
Children's Television Workshop profile on the MBSC website
Joan Ganz Cooney profile on the MBSC website
DVDs
The World According to
Sesame Street (2005)
Amazon.com product description:
Did you know that Cookie
Monster speaks Albanian and Serbian? Or that Kami, a South
African Muppet sings in Zulu? Have you met Tuktuki, a new
character who might reach over 13 million kids in
Bangladesh? In more than 120 countries all over the globe,
Sesame Workshop and an international team of Muppets tackle
the world's most challenging issues for 3-5 year olds
including: HIV/AIDS in South Africa, post conflict
resolution in a divided Kosovo, school and play for kids in
Bangladesh where kids start working at 5 years old. The
World According to Sesame Street explores the
behind-the-scenes drama, challenges, and rewarding outcome
of producing local versions of the world's most watched
children's television program. The film follows dedicated
Sesame producers around the globe as they team with local
producers to bring to life the shows in Bangladesh, Kosovo
and South Africa. The World According to Sesame Street
celebrates the child in each of us, the critical need and
desire for children's education around the globe, and the
enduring love that adults have for Sesame Street and all its
characters. Recommended for ages 13 and up.
Sesame Street - Old
School, Vol. 1 (1969-1974)
(3-disc set, 2006)
Amazon.com customer review:
I just received this set
today and I watched it from beginning to end. The episodes
are crystal clear, fully restored, and completely unedited,
unlike the versions shown on Noggin. I saw many clips that
brought back fond memories, including the classic sketch
where Bert is disturbed by water dripping in the bathroom
and asks Ernie to "do something about it". In response,
Ernie turns on the radio to drown out the sound of the
faucet, and then turns on the vacuum cleaner to drown out
the sound of the radio! Absolutely hilarious! All of your
other old school Muppet characters are here, including
Grover, Cookie Monster, Oscar (shown in his original orange
color and his telltale green fur), Herry, Little Bird,
Kermit the Frog Prairie Dawn, and of course, Big Bird and
Snuffy! All of the actors look so fresh and young and you
gotta love them 70s outfits! In addition to the five season
premieres, there are also "classic clips" from each season
as well as the original sales reel hosted by Kermit the Frog
and Rowlf the Dog (who would later star in the Muppet Show)
explaining what this new show called Sesame Street was all
about.
I am glad that Sesame Workshop (formerly known to us old
schoolers as the Children's Television Workshop) finally
listened to the pleas of us thirty-somethings. I hope that
there will be more episodes to come. This is a set that I
will treasure for years to come and someday hope to share it
with my own children.
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