Document 6435178
Transcription
Document 6435178
18 Can You TeU Me How To Get To Sesame Street? Jacqueline Anne Mooney o "Sunny days sweeping the clouds away, on my way to where the air is sweet, Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?" riginally conceived as a disadvantaged children's show, Sesame Street has channed children and adults alike with educational games, creative skits, and diverse situations (Brooke 1). Characters such as Big Bird, Kennit the Frog, and Elmo have influenced toys, educational games, interactive CD-ROMs, and internet websites. In spite of the halo effect of these lovable characters, the controversy of educational television has been debated. Many argue educational television does not achieve the goals of teaching children basic concepts; researchers argue that educational programs deteriorate cognitive abilities and language skills. Other research disproves these theories and presents the view that educational programs, especially Sesame Street, are effective learning tools for children. Sesame Street has been very successful and is one of the longest running, award winning educational television programs for children (Fisch and Truglio, "Introduction" xvi). The success of Sesame Street is not only due to the research and expertise implemented into the show's effective educational curriculum, but Sesame Street has presented appealing educational activities, technologicaUyidvanced their product lines, and exposed children to diversity through characters and situations that conform to the child's environment. Since Sesame Street first aired on November 10, 1969, criticl) and researchers attempted to find fault in the show's structure and content. Many critics perceive that "'educational television' is an oxymoron" (Anderson 2). These theorists claim Sesame Street decreases a child's cognitive abilities, attention spans, and language skills. "Television's constant movement and scene change mesmerize young children, producing a form of addiction" (Anderson 2). Also, extended viewing can be harmful to children during their critical period of brain development (Anderson 3). The claims made by various theorists in Anderson's book propose that television cannot supplement quality education nor can it serve as a teacher. These theories lack empirical evidence to bolster their argument and many studies support the value of educational television, especially Sesame Street. Sesame Street's great success can be attributed to the use of research in the development of all aspects of the show. Over one thousand studies have been perfonned on Sesame Street, and it is proclaimed to be "the most widely discussed, researched, evaluated -~d successfulchildren's television program" (Kraidy 11). Before each season, the producers of Sesame Street develop a focus curriculum for upcoming seasons. This research ensures educational value in the segments and episodes, gives the script for the season a drive and focus, and keeps the show on its chosen path. Research is also completed to ensure the segments presented will be interesting to children and assure that the viewers retain the information shO\Vll. For example, the producers of Sesame Street wondered if the topic of space travel was too advanced for a young audience (Truglio et at 64). The original storyline of Slimey Goes to the .\loon traced a time line of "Slimey's fascination with the moon, and proceeded with the mission training, lift-off, the long journey in space, landing on the moon and exploring it, and finally his jubilant return to earth" _ I I I I I I I I I I f~ •I I I I I , ~ I Sesame Street 19 (Truglio 64). After interviewing several children in two different daycare facilities, results showed that these children had retained knowledge about astronauts and space travel (Truglio 65). These various research experiments display the concerns of the producers to provide an interesting storyline for their young audience but also to foster the ability to learn. "[This] 'marriage' between research, content experts, and producers continues today as the cornerstone of the long-term success of Sesame Street" (Truglio 61). All three components provide a strong support for the building achievements of Sesame Street. Educational activities within the Sesame Street episodes are also an essential building block of the show's success. Each activity presented in the different segments is carefully planned and researched to meet the educational goals of Sesame Street's producers in addition to interesting young audiences. In Slimey Goes to the Moon, writers planned different segments and actions to aid the child's comprehension of the action and understanding of the presented information about the space program and space traveL One of the most notable factors of Sesame Street is that every show has a sponsor letter of the day. For example, at the end of the show, Big Bird or another character may say, "This show was brought to you by the letter 'M.'" This aspect of Sesame Street seeks to give a child an understanding of the alphabet and what each letter looks like. Research found that children remembered this information when the letter of the day was repeated in multiple segments throughout the show (Truglio 66). Throughout educational segments, a character may pause and act like they have forgotten what comes next in the sequence. The child corrects the puppet, allowing them to feel "faster [or] 'smarter' than the character" (Fisch and Truglio 239). This technique allows Sesame Street viewers to feel intelligent and gain self-confidence. Anderson observed that pre-schoolers benefited from these activities. As he explains, he "frequently saw that pre-schoolers were inte~active with those segments that in any way invited it. For example, when Kermit the Frog would draw a letter on the screen, children would draw the same letter in the air with their fingers" (6). The educational activities that cause children to interact with the characters of Sesame Street are associated with academic success not only in years of primary school but also in high school. zm states, "the NHES found evidence that first- and second-grade students who were reported to have watched Sesame Street prior to school entry were better readers than their classmates who had not watched the program" (Zm 123). Of the students studied, 91 % of the children who viewed Sesame Street were able to read short books independently (Zm 124). Through the educational activities displayed in Sesame Street episodes, children gain an ' advantage over other children who do not regularly view the show. The benefits of Sesame Street's activities can also carry into the academic endeavors of students once they r¥nch high school. Huston et al. found that "Adolescents who often watched Sesame Street as preschoolers ... had higher grades in English, mathematics, and science; spent more time reading books outside of school; perceived themselves as more competent in school. .. and expressed lower levels of aggressive attitudes" (Zill 140). While these effects were more prevalent in boys than girls, the effects of Sesame Street's interactive educational activities aided these students in academic endeavors that encouraged much more than counting numbers and identifying the letters of the alphabet (Zm 140). Sesame Street enhanced the abilities of these children and made the concept of learning fun and interesting. Ten or more years after a child views the show, the beneficial effects are a testament to the success of Sesame Street. Sesame Street's success is also built on the concept of changing with the times. The show not only produces items in print such as Sesame Street books and Sesame Street Magazine, _ _ 20 PART 1 The Arak Anthology but has now also added CD-ROMs, video games, and an interactive website. Sesame Street books and Sesame Street Magazine present the opportunity for parents to use Sesame Street materials as supplemental education tools. When parents choose these Sesame Street materials to read to their children, their choice shows that parents value the television show. The approval of an educational television show by parents is essential, and "the show's violence-free, clean language skits are likely to preserve the show's role as a parental safe zone for kids' unsupervised TV viewing" (Brooke 2). Parents place enough trust in Sesame Street's clean, acceptable programming that they do not accompany their children who watch the television show. The parents feel confident that when they buy Sesame Street's products, children will benefit from its educational aspects. Sesame Street products have expanded into over twenty titles made for CD-ROM, video game systems, and internet sources (Revelle 215). Revelle also makes an important observation as to why these new products have been beneficial for the education of children, stating that: Television programming is linear whereas computer software is interactive. If a child fails to understand a particular television segment, the program keeps going and in most cases the child simply begins understanding the show again at a later point. When using computer software, however, the child's q;nderstanding and engagement is critical at every point in the experience. If the child doesn't understand what to do next or loses interest at any point, the interaction stops. (Revelle 217) Sesame Street implemented this method of interaction into many of their new products and has used research as a foundation for these products. Researchers invented a "Roller Controller" for the small hand of a child that was too small to control a mouse, and this tool is useful in the point-and-click efforts required for a computer (Revelle 220). Sesame Street CD-ROMs and video games also implement the important concept of "scaffolding" a child (Revelle 221). This process provides children with small clues with the hope of leading the child to a correct response rather than blatantly correcting them (Revelle 221). The concept of scaffolding displays the game's educational value by providing the children with clues and reasons as to why their answer is incorrect. As the internet has become a valuable resource to society. the makers of Sesame Street products have expanded to an interactive website. At this site, children can become acclimated wi~ !he mature activity of sending e-mail at the Sesame Street Post Office. ~vene explains this actiVIty: . Children can send questions via e-mail to their favorite Sesame Street Puppets and receive responses the next day. Because preschool children typically are not capable of writing or typing, users choose a Puppet from a set of pictures and then choose questions to ask from a list tailored to that Puppet. When the Puppet responds, he or she also asks the child a question. furthering the exchange. (224) Allowing children to become familiar with technology and its associated activities is just as educational as teaching them the letters of the alphabet and how to count from one to twenty. The producers of Sesame Street successfully implemented their educational goals and curriculum into modern technology. They also succeed in constantly updating the show and its products. Revelle comments, "Thanks to this additional level of flexibility, the material can continue to I I I I I I I I Sesame Street 21 evolve, to become as educationally effective, appealing, and usable as possible" (226). As technology transfonns, Sesame Street will continue to find educational value in technology and use it to increase its success. Sesame Street also attributes much of its success to the promotion of diversity and differences. Michael Loman, the program's executive producer, says, "{ think the most important thing that we do is, we show children a wide variety of people living together in a neighborhood, all races, all cultures, all monsters, a little girl in a wheelchair .... And I think that shows children that different is not something to be frightened of, and that all kinds of different people live together and support each other" (Brooke 1). This focus on diversity is one of the reasons the show has been enjoyed by many cultures because it is "first opportunity [for many young viewers] to see people like them on television" (Fisch and Truglio, "Why" 238). Sesame Street strives to present equality in all aspects of the program, including its games and educational activities. For example, the popular game "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other" changed to "Three of These Things Belong Together" because the producers of the show wanted to encourage young viewers to "look for similarities rather than differences" (Fisch and Truglio, "Why" 239). Such careful measures to observe diversity are essential to Sesame Street's success worldwide. The United States is home to many nationalities and cultures, and Sesame Street portrays these many nationalities by its human characters. The show possesses "an African American couple ... [a] white singer ... [a] Mexican American family ... a white woman, an Asian American man, a blind man, and a mute woman" (Kraidy 17). This diverse cast of characters, however, is rarely seen together so that it does not present a semblance of"Eurocentnc majority" (Kraidy 17). The puppets themselves are also meant to present a diverse cast. All of the puppets are equal "by omitting most visible references to gender, race, or age .... race and age are lost in blue, red, green, purple, or other colored fur as_wen as in the muppets' allegorical facial features" (Kraidy 21). The effort by the producers of Sesame Street to present such a cast of humans and puppets to its diverse audience is another building block of its success. Along with the presentation of diversity skits and short documentaries throughout the episodes, Sesame Street presents non-American cultures to viewers who may not have been previously exposed to such differences. One of the ways that Sesame Street encourages awareness of other cultures is by presenting a very short documentary on a culture custom. Kraidy explains a documentary ofthe Chinese New Year's Festival, which is narrated "by a girl who lives in a small village in China and is learning stilt dancing from her grandfather, offers viewers more in-depth information about foreign cultures" (Kraidy 17-18). The program may try to display other cult1.i'fes through the show's characters and their experiences. The segment "'Play Date' (in which a white boy visited the home of his African-American friend) emphasized the similarities between their home experiences (e.g., playing video games) as well as the differences (e.g., the white boy eating collard greens for the first time)" (Fisch and Truglio, "Why" 236). This segment allowed viewers to see similarities to their own lives and appreciate the differences between the two cultures (Fisch and Truglio, "Why" 236). Sesame Street successfully promotes diversity and equality not only in its horne country but also in many countries all over the globe. Since Sesame Street is broadcast in over 140 countries, it is imperative that the program be adaptable to different cultures and social situations (Fisch and Truglio, "Introduction" xvi). In South Africa, Sesame Street helps children obtain the ability of "'code switching' - the ability to comfortably use words, phrases or sentences from more than one language in a single _ _ 22 PART 1 The Arak Anthology conversation" (Fuld and Cole 1). This skill is beneficial for South African children to learn because the country has eleven official languages (Fuld and Cole 1). This connection is achieved by changes in setting, plot, and even characters, so that "instead of Big Bird and Cookie Monster, there are characters based on a pig and a meerkat" (Fuld and Cole 1). These characters are based upon some of the animals in South Africa so their young viewers can relate to the situation. Many languages are used throughout the program, especially during question and answer episodes (Fuld and Cole 2). This adaptation of characters and plot is also used in areas of social turmoil. Kraidy explains that "In the Middle East ... the recent IsraelilPalestinian coproduction of Sesame Street - a combination of former separate Hebrew and Arabic versions of the show - has been found to influence fraternity and interracial tolerance" (Kraidy 12). Children were reported to have "an increase in the use of prosocial justifications (such as friendship) to resolve conflict. . . .children from an test groups tended to use more positive attributes to describe the other [group (Machlis qtd. in Kraidy 12). This promotion of peace and attempt to educate children early in the benefits of discarding stereotypes have possibly shaped the future of those children in countries of social turmoil. This early education allows them to see alternate points of view that may differ from their ancestors' or their society's views. By providing an opportunity to adapt differently to a difficult environment, the early awareness of peace and diversity could promote a large change in these troubled nations. r Sesame Street has captivated audiences for the last thirty years through its loveable characters and universal nature. The program has been supported by research as a provider of educational skits and situations that teach children about the alphabet, counting, and self-worth. Sesame Street has been successful in developing interactive technologies to keep with the changing times. The activities presented for children within the Sesame Street episodes themselves also hold educational value, and can enhance a student's performance once they reach primary and high school. Diversity is an essential building block to the success of Sesame Street. The program adapts to different cultures and reflects the diversity of American culture by its diverse cast of human characters and puppets. Sesame Street continues to be sponsored by the letter "K" for "knowledge," for as long as it presents a curriculum designed to maintain equality and education, the air will be sweet, and the children will be curious how to get to Sesame Street. Sesame Street 23 Works Consulted Anderson~ Daniel R. "Educational Television is Not an Oxymoron." The Annals of the American Academy ofPolitical and Social Science 557 (1998): 24-38. Expanded Academic ASAP Plus. InfoTrac. Univ of Delaware Morris Library, Newark, DE. 6 Nov. 2003. Brooke, Jill. "Sesame Street Takes a Bow to 30 Animated Years." CNN. 13 Nov. 1998. 6 Nov. 2003 <http://www.cnn.comiSHOWBIZITV/9811/13/sesame.streetl>. Fisch, Shalom M., and Rosemarie T. Truglio. "Introduction." 'G' is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street. Ed. Shalom M. Fisch and Rosemarie T. Truglio. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. ---. "Why Children Learn from Sesame Street." 'G' isfor Growing: Thirty Years ofResearch on Children and Sesame Street. Ed. Shalom M. Fisch and Rosemarie T. Truglio. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. 233-244. Fuld, Janice, and Charlotte Cole. "Multilingual Muppets." Reading Today 2004 (Feb. - March 2003): 44. Expanded Academic ASAP Plus. Infotrac. Univ. of Delaware Morris Library, Newark. DE. 16 Nov. 2003. Huston, Aletha C. et aI. "Sesame Street Viewers as Adolescents: The Recantact Study." 'G' is for Growing: Thirty Years ofResearch on Children and Sesame Street. Ed. Shalom M. Fisch and Rosemarie T. Truglio. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence ErIbaum Associates, 2001. 131-143. Kraidy, Ute Sartorius. "Sunny Days on Sesame Street? Multiculturalism and Resistance Postmodernism." Journal of Communication Inquiry 26.1 (2002): 9-25. Expanded Academic ASAP Plus. Infotrac. Univ. of Delaware Morris Library, Newark, DE. 8 Nov. 2003. Revelle, Glenda L., Lisa Medoff and Erik F. Strommer. "Interactive Technologies ReseaI'ch at Children's Television Workshop." 'G' is/or Growing: Thirty Years ofResearch on , Children and Sesame Street. Ed. Shalom M. Fisch and Rosemarie T. TrugliQ;u Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. 215-230. Truglio, Rosemarie T. et al. "The Varied Role of Research: Case Studies from 30 Years." 'G' is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street. Ed. Shalom M. Fisch and Rosemarie T. Truglio. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. 61-79. zm, Nicholas. "Does Sesame Street Enhance School Readiness?: Evidence from a National Survey of Children." 'G' is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street. Ed. Shalom M. Fisch and Rosemarie T. Truglio. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. 115-130. _