[Mb-civic] The View From Sesame Street - Gary Knell - Washington Post Op-Ed

[William Swiggard]

The View From Sesame Street
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By Gary E. Knell
The Washington Post
Monday, May 1, 2006; A19

When the groundbreaking show "Sesame Street" was created in 1968 to help 
children prepare for school, it was not without its critics. To some, 
the attempt to use television to teach children seemed unlikely to 
succeed. To others, the show was radical, even revolutionary. "Sesame 
Street" was diverse, multicultural, "street smart." It remains to this 
day one of the most successful endeavors in children's programming, 
having won more Emmys and been the subject of more postgraduate theses 
than any program in television history.

Nearly 38 years later, our newest initiative has also come in for 
criticism. Upon launching "Sesame Beginnings," a series of videos for 
parents and children under the age of 2, the nonprofit educational 
organization Sesame Workshop was immediately accused by some "experts" 
of "betraying children and families." Somehow, by merely entering the 
market, we are promoting television as babysitter when caregivers should 
be engaging in hands-on parenting, free of TV.

But the reality is that with the explosion of media, more families are 
allowing their youngest children to watch television, whether we like it 
or not. (And in families with older siblings, younger kids are being 
exposed, whether intended or not). This conflicts with the American 
Academy of Pediatrics' nearly decade-old recommendation that no children 
under 2 should ever watch television.

Despite that directive, a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study found 
that millions of young children are watching TV and videos -- that 68 
percent of all children under 2 use some form of screen media on a 
typical day. Much of what they view is aimed at older kids -- some even 
at adults. "Sesame Street" videos are among those frequently viewed by 
the under-2 set, even though the content and curriculum are for older 
children.

In dealing with this reality, we decided to take a pragmatic approach. 
First, we embarked on extensive evaluation and research. As with all 
Sesame Workshop projects, we worked with an advisory board of child 
development and media experts, and we joined with ZERO TO THREE, another 
nonprofit organization of pediatricians, child development experts and 
researchers dedicated to the healthy development of infants and 
toddlers. Together, we decided to provide quality content for parents 
who choose to use media with their children.

The materials we provide are designed to promote parenting skills in the 
hope that songs and activities will help create special teachable 
moments between parent and child. They encourage child/caregiver 
interaction when the TV is turned off, in contrast to other products on 
the market.

We live in a world where media are ubiquitous. Today's parents were 
raised around television and are comfortable using media in the home. 
More must and should be done to fully examine how media developed for 
the under-2 set affect a child's learning.

Television is a powerful teacher. Research to date has looked more at 
total viewing time than content. What we've learned, with our own 
decades of research on the impact of "Sesame Street," is that content 
does matter -- programs designed to be age-appropriate educational 
viewing experiences do have beneficial educational effects.

That is why we support a closer look at media for children based on 
content rather than screen time. We need to examine whether marketing 
guidelines are required for products and whether parents have the 
information they need to make informed decisions. Most important, we 
have to make sure we take an honest look at the reality of media today 
and base our decisions on the real-world needs of parents and children.

We believe "Sesame Beginnings" has done precisely that. Nearly four 
decades ago, Sesame Workshop tackled the challenge of using television 
to promoting literacy, numeracy and social and emotional skills -- with 
long-lasting positive effects.

"Sesame Beginnings" provides a research-based, developmentally 
appropriate precursor to "Sesame Street," one that will promote positive 
engagement with media for our youngest children and those who are 
raising them. I suggest our critics view these videos first, before 
firing the salvos they are so ready to set off at a moment's notice.

The writer is president and CEO of Sesame Workshop.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/30/AR2006043000868.html
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