Sesame Street

Sesame Street, an educational television program for preschool children (ages 3–5), is one of the longest-running educational television shows. It debuted in 1969 and continues to run to the present day. Sesame Street is of interest not only for its longevity and popularity, but also for the unique contribution educational research makes in supporting its production. The show has reached iconic status and is familiar to a large proportion of the nation's population. Further, the show developed a strong international following and has been shown in 140 countries. The show has won more Emmy Awards than any other television series and continues to earn accolades and recognition.

Sesame Street's success has largely been attributed to its unique format. The show integrates live actors, puppets, and animation. The cast includes a set of familiar recurring characters (both actors and puppets). Initially, the show struggled for popular acceptance because the actors and puppets were kept in separate scenes on the basis of psychologists' recommendations to keep fantasy and reality elements separated; however, once scenes were rewritten to combine both elements, the show immediately attracted the attention of children. The approach allows children to be introduced to a variety of sensitive topics through nonthreatening and familiar characters. Through this tactic, young children are introduced to the alphabet, counting, and some basic words. Perhaps more important, children are taught the values of honesty, sharing, and community, as well as safety and health.

The show has specifically targeted inner-city, perhaps disadvantaged youth; however, it has been accepted and adopted by children from all backgrounds. Emerging on the heels of the Civil Rights movement, the show has been particularly sensitive to issues related to multiculturalism. The show is intentionally set in a diverse, urban setting.

Another unique aspect of the show's commitment to multiculturalism was the occasional introduction of Spanish words. These words were a conduit for teaching language skills as well as respect for different cultures and an appreciation of diversity. This technique has been adopted and used in shows such as Dora the Explorer and Maya and Miguel.

Sesame Street was launched by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), an organization created specifically to provide sound programming for preschoolers, who had been underserved in the television era. The CTW's founders conducted research on the viewing patterns of children and discovered that kids learn best from the television when selections are kept short and when music and jingles are integrated into a show's segments. The same successful format was eventually used by other CTW created shows: The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, and Ghostwriter.

Master puppeteer Jim Henson was brought in with his Muppets. Henson had coined the term Muppet to refer to his unique style of marionettes combined with puppets. The Muppets were a mix of people, outlandish characters, and animals. The Muppets were designed to allow children to connect with the characters on multiple levels. Iconic characters include Big Bird, an enormous yellow bird with a childlike naiveté; Oscar the Grouch, a perpetually cranky character who lives in a trash can; Grover, an irrepressible and enthusiastic character; Cookie Monster, with an insatiable appetite; Kermit the Frog, who offers a mature introspective voice; and Bert and Ernie, roommates who demonstrate conflict management skills; among many others. The Muppets provided a safe and entertaining method for exploring sensitive topics, as well as created an exciting atmosphere for learning. Each character has different dispositions and levels of maturity, allowing children an opportunity to see themselves in different characters as they confront different life issues.

...