Sesame Street characters have been adorning Google’s front page all week: Big Bird made an appearance, Cookie Monster was searching for cookies, and today Oscar is having his day in Cyberspace. You know something is up when something is important enough to make Google’s front page so I did what any netizen would do and Googled Sesame Street to figure out why. To my surprise I learned that Sesame Street was turning 40 the same week I was celebrating my birthday. At 43, I was the perfect age for Sesame Street when it first came on the air and seeing my old friends on Google made me realize that I really did learn all that was important from Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and School House Rock.
What I learned from Children’s Television
Treat everyone with respect–Sesame Street was set in the inner city and included a diverse mix of characters, both human and muppet, but every adult human on the show treated everyone with respect and kindness. It didn’t matter if you were a six foot tall bird or an African American you deserved to be treated with respect and kindness.
Learn from Everyone–I learned from everyone on Sesame Street. I learned my numbers from Count von Count who taught me the beauty of numbers as he went through life counting everything from the number of swings someone took to the number of Cookie Monster’s Cookies.
Diversity–I grew up in a “white bread” neighborhood where every family looked pretty much like mine: mom, dad, one or two siblings. Sesame Street exposed me to people who looked different than me and who didn’t live in rural America. I learned about inner city neighborhoods from Sesame Street and learned that different types of people weren’t scary or evil, they were just different.
Take Care of One Another–The adults on Sesame Street made sure that the children, human and muppets alike, were taken care of and knew they were important. The most poignant moment on Sesame Street happened long after I’d stopped watching the show, but I rewatched it on YouTube the other day and cried. In 1983, the actor that played Mr. Hooper died and the producers of the show had to figure out how to handle it on the show. They could have taken the easy way out and said he went into retirement and moved away. However, they chose to be honest and truthful and one of the most poignant moment’s on television was when Big Bird found out his friend was dead. His first question was, “But when’s he coming back?” As the adults struggled to hold back their own tears, they had to gently tell Big Bird that death was forever.
Knowledge is Power–Children’s TV taught me to love to learn at a very early age and I always want and need to learn something new. Schoolhouse Rock, The Electric Company, and Sesame Street made learning fun and by making learning fun made it something that I wanted to do. It’s very appropriate that Google is hosting my early childhood heroes on their front page because now when I need to know something, I rush to Google and research whatever I need to know.
In some ways, I’m envious of kids today because they have the Internet and interactive learning is at their fingertips. You can find all of my favorite School House Rock videos on You Tube including “How a Bill Becomes a Law” and “Conjunction Junction” and Sesame Street has a new address in Cyberspace where children can visit all their old favorites. However, my envy is soon overcome by happiness that my old childhood friends continue to teach children how to count, how to read, and how to be good people.
Cairn by Cairn 