The Impact of Sesame Street

It is hard to believe that Sesame Street has been around for over 40 years. As a teenager I remember when it first aired, and how it changed the way television was viewed, from primarily a way to entertain young children to a vehicle to help young children, particularly from vulnerable backgrounds, improve their literacy skills and school readiness.

Sesame Street was more than a new television program, it was the start of a different way of thinking about the role of television as an educational vehicle.

That does seem more than a lifetime ago, but a few weeks ago a colleague and I met with Dr. Bernstein, the Executive Vice President for Education, Research, and Outreach of Sesame Workshop.

Broadly speaking, Sesame Workshop is the organization that sits behind Sesame Street to drive the research, development, and distribution of the content of Sesame Street, related television programming (such as Electric Company), and so much more.

Today, Sesame Street can be viewed in 140 countries around the world, including India, many nations in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. It has dealt with issues such as HIV/AIDS, acceptance and conflict, diversity, health, unemployment, childhood obesity, and nutrition.

It has  addressed separation and injury, targeted to the nearly 1 million preschool children of military families who are separated from a parent. And it is supporting efforts to promote an interest by young children in science and math in response to President Obama’s Educate to Innovate initiative to improve the performance and participation of children in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).

Our meeting with Sesame Workshop highlighted the overlap of interest and commitment between them and many of the Knowledge Universe companies in improving the early educational experiences for young children and, coincidentally, the 40 year history of both Sesame Street and KinderCare.

Over the years, Sesame Street, KinderCare, CCLC, and Champions, have collectively made a positive difference in the lives of millions of young children in the United States and around the world, socially, cognitively, and academically.

May the good work continue for another 40 years!