Sesame Street as a Community Asset. Your Thoughts?

Ok here goes:

I have to write a research paper for my English class on community assets, so i figured "Hey! Why not write a paper on Sesame Street!" But I need some sources and I don't just want to be limited to Wikipedia and stuff like that. My teacher said it would be good if I could interview someone who knows about the topic. And since I dont think I'm going to run into a puppeteer or writer for the show on the street anytime soon, I thought "Why not use input from the fans!"

So heres the question: Would you guys be willing to share your thoughts on Sesame Street, how it has affected you personally, and the impact that it has had on your community?

I could use this thread as a source, and of course I would quote you guys, and if you'd like to read it, I'll even post my paper here when I've finished it. Anyway, thanks you guys! It'll be great to hear everyone's input on this!

I would LOVE to provide input for you paper Jenn! I think it's a GREAT topic you've chosen and would work splendidly! Just let me know when you want me to start rambling about how SS has affected me, and I will.

Sure, just say the word because I'm an open book!

Hey, a good source is The World According to Sesame Street documentary. Any store that has DVD's should have it and it talks about how SS has affected communities all around the globe!

For a more local thing, I'd say that it taught me values when I was young, things that i still think are important and that even adults could continue to use.

wow! awesome you guys! feel free to start rambling at anytime!

I'll be sure to check that out! thanks!

Gladly! As a young child one of my first influences was Sesame Street. And since I was born in October of 1990 I caught the show coming down from it's high point of the late eighties. I distinctly remember possessing thirty to fourty Sesame video tapes that I would run dry, singing and dancing along with the amazing characters. I remember loving Big Bird, Ernie and Bert, and Oscar, Cookie Monster, Grover, and even Elmo at times.

My first memories of the show in any form is the cassette of "Sesame Street: Platinum Hits". I would listen to it every time I was in the car at any point in the summer. My favorite songs were "Elmo's Song", "Fuzzy and Blue", and "Rubber Duckie". Sesame Street first taught me to love music.

Sesame Street also taught me how to first laugh. It was also where I learned what real comedy is.

Aside from teaching me about music and laughter, the show taught me to read. I learned my alphabet at two, and was reading books by three. The first book I ever read was "The Monster at the End of This Book" starring Grover. I would read it over, and over again, until it drove my mom up a wall.

Community wise, Sesame has influenced almost everyone I know. I can make a joke about Cookie Monster, or have a debate with a close friend about how much better Grover is than Elmo, and people will understand, because they know! I have a very firm belief that Sesame is responsible for most kids coming into kindergarten knowing their alphabet, numbers, and sometimes even how to read. I think that Sesame Street is the best thing that has ever happened to children's education, and will continue to educate for years to come.

Double post! Sorry!

Okay.

Well thing I admire about Sesame Street is the fact that it's such an ethnically diverse community in itself because the entire street resides people of different races like whites, blacks, Hispanics, birds, grouches, monsters, Ernie and Bert, and so on. Not to mention the fact that everyone on the street is so friendly and accepting, not like most people are today who feel people outside of their "lifestyle" are either evil, or unworthy of being on the same planet. There's so much hate going on in this world today, Sesame Street is like the safe haven where a lot of people would love to live; I don't think there is such a community in this world that's like that, I mean sure there are still SOME communities left where it's like everyone knows everyone by name, but you rarely see very diverse communities anymore and the Sesame Street community is the kind of community I'd love to live in.

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And yes, we would love to see it when it is finished!

Great! looks like we're off to a flying start! can't thank you guys enough! and sure, i'll post it then!

HAHA! my sister got me this book for christmas! even though i only first read it at the age of 18, I still think it was awesome! That's what's so great about SS also, it still appeals to people who have "grown up" so to speak. I don't think i'll ever really grow up though

Aah! One of my first books was "Grover's Bad Awful Day". ^^

My grandparents used to have the Monster at the end of this book, book. I used to love reading it all the time. It would bring a smile to my face every time I would read it and I would always find myself laughing at Groves antics in it everytime.

haha yeah Grover's always been my fav SS character, i love how he's always talking about how cute he is. because he IS! lol but yeah, anyone have anything else to add about the topic? I'd like to hear the thoughts of as many people as possible.... if possible....lol i don't know how to talk but yeah, anyone else? (yay! penguin!)

So was my contribution any help at all?

Yes! I love how you pointed out that the Sesame street community is made up of so many different people, and that it's like a "safe haven" where anyone would want to live in. I also like how you threw in the fact that our communities have changed very much over the years and our relationships between neighbors are not so personal anymore. I enjoyed very much reading what you had to say, and i'd be glad to quote you on my paper!

here's a "research proposal" that i'm supposed to turn in before i write the actual paper. comments? criticisms? tell me what you think


Introduction

This research project will examine and discuss the many ways in which the educationally oriented Children’s Program, Sesame Street, is a very strong and incredibly essential asset to our community, as well as to the rest of modern society. Sesame Street began as a revolutionary new concept devised by CTW (Children’s Television Workshop) that included a combination of animation, live actors, and puppets, to teach young children how to read and write. The program has now evolved to a state where it teaches other basic lessons, such as social skills, healthy eating and exercise habits, and the benefits of diversity in the community. This Program was first introduced in 1970 and the fact that it is still aired regularly is reason enough to study it. This program should also be studied because of its educational value and impact on the most important members of our community, the children.

Purpose of Study

It is imperative that people get better educated about Sesame Street because it is important for us to know that as far as television is concerned, there is an alternative choice that will actually help our children, instead of teaching them bad language and questionable morals. We know that if our kids are watching Sesame Street, they are learning something important. This show entertains as well as educates. Something that many other so-called kid’s shows just don’t do. If we become better acquainted with the show and what it has to offer, it will be clear to see why it is so important to our community as well as to the rest of the world.

Review of Literature

Much of the world knows about Sesame Street from their personal experiences in watching the show, and most who haven’t seen it have heard about it from those that have. It is common knowledge that it is an educational show aimed at kids. Many of the characters and personalities on the show are also familiar in peoples minds. But it is the fact that there is still so much that people don’t know that is the problem. And it is this that I intend to bring to light.

Hypothesis

I will be writing about the history of Sesame Street, its educational value, the impact that the show has had on individuals as well as their communities, and why it is a vital part of our children’s development. I will talk about how the show has impacted modern society and why some people may say that the show is not as effective as it once was. The Hypothesis of the paper will be: The key to success is in education. The key to education is in Sesame Street. This is what makes Sesame Street such an important asset in the community.

Methods

To find out about my hypothesis, I will research on the internet at such websites as Wikipedia, Encyclopedia.com, and Muppet Central. I will include some background information on perhaps the most important person involved with the show, Jim Henson, and why he was important in making the show what is today. No doubt, I will be discussing my own personal experiences with Sesame Street, and how it has affected my family and the rest of my community. I shall also collect input on the subject from other fans (and perhaps even critics) of the program to show how it has affected people in other communities far from my own.

Scope

The bigger specific topic would be educational children’s programs in general. The smaller specific topic would be focusing on one particular character in the show (i.e. Elmo), or one specific episode or segment (i.e. The Number of the Day). I believe that the specific topic which I have chosen to write about is “just right” because in this way I focus on the whole series without immediately running out of things to say or leaving things out because of the topic being too general or too specific. I think it is appropriate to discuss Sesame Street because unlike other educational children’s programs, it is viewed by a worldwide audience, and each country’s versions of the show contains different segments that pertain to their particular cultures and ways of life.

Conclusion

I believe that this is a subject that needs to be brought out into the open and it is for this reason that I ask for your approval of my choice of topic. It is vital that people learn more about the importance of Sesame Street and the role that the show plays in shaping our community, so that it can receive the full appreciation that it deserves. I believe that I am right for this project because I am already somewhat familiar with the subject, as I have been watching Sesame Street since the day I was born (my parents can verify this), and am also a devoted fan of the work of Jim Henson. Once again, I believe it is imperative that the topic recieve your approval, as Sesame Street is in fact an essential asset to the community. Thank you.

(P.S. that's me asking the instructor for his approval, in case you're confused )

Interesting idea! Though just wanted to point out the show debuted in 1969, not 1970.

And other good sources would be going to the library and looking up Child Psychology books, they often discuss children's media. It's good to interview fans though (if you do quote me, please just say "a fan" rather than my screen name, thanks).

Looking back, I enjoy Sesame Street for a few reasons:

1. It introduced children to the idea of diversity. The adults on the show were people of all sorts of cultural backgrounds, yet they were all considered normal and treated with respect. You learned to look up to them even if you weren't the same race. I imagine this was valuable for kids who didn't live in particularly diverse environments. Even TV shows today don't offer that much diversity.


2. I'm not sure this is true now, but in the past Sesame Street discussed rather advanced social topics, in addition to letters and numbers. Such as that love had to be between two people, or that in a discussion people will sometimes disagree. Maybe these things went over the child's head at the time, but they paid off later in life. Basically, the lessons taught on Sesame Street became more relevant as kids got older, rather than less.

This is a FANTASTIC topic Jenn!! I love it! Your research proposal looks great.

Some thoughts from me about Sesame Street and the community:

Sesame Street deals with many issues head on. They don't run away from them, they confront them. When Mr. Hooper died, they could've said he moved away, but they dealt with it, they used it as a teaching tool. They encouraged parents to watch with their children so they could discuss it later in their families, classrooms, etc. Sesame Street also addresses actual things happening in the world head on as well. The hurricane episode is a great example of something that happens in real life and how they chose to deal with something like that to help children learn that it's ok to be scared and things like that. I know this episode first aired near 9/11 and that they showed it again after Hurricane Katrina. Even the Iraq war is being dealt with in a special video for military families in which Elmo's dad is going off to fight in the war. Sesame Street is not afraid to address these kinds of issues. It's important for them to do so, so they're helping children to understand what is going on in the community around them.

Sorry if it seemed like I was rambling, but there's my two cents!

Okay, great, that's all I wanted to know!