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Author Topic: The Way to Sesame Street  (Read 1209 times)

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Offline ReardenSteel

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The Way to Sesame Street
« on: October 26, 2009, 09:41:15 AM »
The politics of children's television
Jesse Walker (Reason Magazine)
http://reason.com/archives/2009/10/23/the-way-to-sesame-street
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It’s hard to fathom just how unusual Sesame Street must have seemed when it debuted 40 years ago this month. The children’s TV show didn’t just mix entertainment with education: It was a full-blown collaboration between commercial showmen and social engineers. On one hand you had a team of educators, experts in child development, and officials at the Carnegie and Ford foundations trying to create a televised preschool. On the other hand you had veterans of projects ranging from Captain Kangaroo to The Jimmy Dean Show, including a gang of puppeteers best known for making strange and funny ads. The program itself reflected both an antipathy to commercialism and a fascination with commercials, which served not just as a source for its parodies but as a model for its programming.


Very interesting read (and a short one too) with a thoughtful conclusion.
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"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion - when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you - when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - you may know that your society is doomed."

- Ayn Rand
http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1826

Offline vesta111

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Re: The Way to Sesame Street
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2009, 11:17:46 AM »
Quote from: ReardenSteel on October 26, 2009, 09:41:15 AM
The politics of children's television
Jesse Walker (Reason Magazine)
http://reason.com/archives/2009/10/23/the-way-to-sesame-street

Very interesting read (and a short one too) with a thoughtful conclusion.

Not just for kids either, parents and caregivers watched the programs with the kids. People learned English watching that program, and Spanish later on in years.

I liked to watch with the kids the Electric Company program, I believe it was that show that had a cartoon The  Count dressed up in a cape that would draw numbers on things, 
I once in a while think of the Count when I see a lone number on buildings or shirts. " I'm going to make a 7."

Adults and kids could connect with the charactors of Sesame Street, what parent didn't know who Big Bird was or Oscar the Grouch.

Kid learn more with humor then dry repetition, so do adults.  My Dad was ahead of his time, when I had to memorise the times tables, he had me sing them like the Alphabet song.     

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Offline Chris_

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Re: The Way to Sesame Street
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2009, 12:27:21 PM »
My 6 year old said that I have to make it known that Elmo and her have the same birthday she is quite proud of that when her teacher told her that little tidbit of information we had to sing happy birthday to them both ever since.
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