Sunday, September 9, 2007
"Educate a child; change the world"-the Sesame Workshop
Sesame Street debuted in 1969 and revolutionized children’s programming. The show combined entertainment and education in a way that paved the media’s ability to educate children for generations to come. Like Sesame Street and the Sesame Workshop, I believe media has a strong effect on children's education. In the time of a constantly expanding digital age, children are exposed to a variety of media including television, film, radio, and the Internet. If parents and guardians monitor children's media use and act as educated media consumers, children can benefit both socially and academically from media exposure.
According to ChildrenNow.org educational programming teaches pro-social behavior and enhances academic achievement. The Sesame Workshop claims that preschoolers who watch Sesame Street are more likely to show signs of emerging literacy and numeric skills than non viewers. They also claim the skills learned through the show in childhood last: teens who watched as children had better grades in high school, read more books for pleasure, and placed higher value on academics than those who watched Sesame Street rarely or not at all.
Informative programs such as Sesame Street, The Letter People , and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood taught me lessons about friendship, honesty, spelling, and counting. I would always beg my mom to let me stay home from school because I thought these programs were more educationally appealing than what was being taught in school. According to the article “Why Heather Can Write” by Henry Jenkins things haven’t changed and children still prefer to learn through pop culture, specifically mentioned Harry Potter, rather than textbooks.
The first Harry Potter novel was released in 1997 and the series has significantly affected our culture ever since. According to Scholastic’s July 2006 Kid and Family Reading Report titled Harry Potter: The Power of One Book Harry Potter has a positive impact on kids’ reading and their performance in school. Some interesting results indicate:
-51% of Harry Potter readers ages 5-17 years old say they did not read books for fun before they started reading the series.
-65% say they have been doing better in school since reading Harry Potter and 76% of parents agree.
The Harry Potter series has helped improve children’s performance in school and also changed the learning culture outside the classroom. The Internet has given fans the chance to join online communities such as The Daily Prophet, FictionAlley, and Sugar Quill where they can discuss the series further. These websites allow users all over the world to interact and share their written works regardless of culture, age or sex. Users are given the chance to author their own work and critique and edit the works of others through a peer-review process called “beta reading.” Children are given the chance to improve their own reading and writing skills while helping others at the same time.
CNN.com claims the Harry Potter book series has sold more than 325 million copies and has been translated into more than 64 languages. According to a Sesame Street Season 37 Press Kit approximately eight million people in the U.S. tune into Sesame Street each week. Sesame Street and its international co-productions have aired in over 120 countries, making it the most widely viewed children's series in the world. Harry Potter and Sesame Street along with media advancements have changed children's education.
According to the video "Media Smarts: Kids Learn How to Navigate the Multimedia World," the average American young person spends more than six and a half hours in front of some kind of media screen each day. Children are easily influenced by media so it is important to expose them to educational, informative, healthy areas of television, radio, film, and the Internet. Organizations such as Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Cable in the Classroom, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation are working hard to incorporate educational media into the classroom and expand children's media literacy. ¶ posted by Stephanie Lauren Kahan at 1:31 PM •
According to ChildrenNow.org educational programming teaches pro-social behavior and enhances academic achievement. The Sesame Workshop claims that preschoolers who watch Sesame Street are more likely to show signs of emerging literacy and numeric skills than non viewers. They also claim the skills learned through the show in childhood last: teens who watched as children had better grades in high school, read more books for pleasure, and placed higher value on academics than those who watched Sesame Street rarely or not at all.
Informative programs such as Sesame Street, The Letter People , and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood taught me lessons about friendship, honesty, spelling, and counting. I would always beg my mom to let me stay home from school because I thought these programs were more educationally appealing than what was being taught in school. According to the article “Why Heather Can Write” by Henry Jenkins things haven’t changed and children still prefer to learn through pop culture, specifically mentioned Harry Potter, rather than textbooks.
The first Harry Potter novel was released in 1997 and the series has significantly affected our culture ever since. According to Scholastic’s July 2006 Kid and Family Reading Report titled Harry Potter: The Power of One Book Harry Potter has a positive impact on kids’ reading and their performance in school. Some interesting results indicate:
-51% of Harry Potter readers ages 5-17 years old say they did not read books for fun before they started reading the series.
-65% say they have been doing better in school since reading Harry Potter and 76% of parents agree.
The Harry Potter series has helped improve children’s performance in school and also changed the learning culture outside the classroom. The Internet has given fans the chance to join online communities such as The Daily Prophet, FictionAlley, and Sugar Quill where they can discuss the series further. These websites allow users all over the world to interact and share their written works regardless of culture, age or sex. Users are given the chance to author their own work and critique and edit the works of others through a peer-review process called “beta reading.” Children are given the chance to improve their own reading and writing skills while helping others at the same time.
CNN.com claims the Harry Potter book series has sold more than 325 million copies and has been translated into more than 64 languages. According to a Sesame Street Season 37 Press Kit approximately eight million people in the U.S. tune into Sesame Street each week. Sesame Street and its international co-productions have aired in over 120 countries, making it the most widely viewed children's series in the world. Harry Potter and Sesame Street along with media advancements have changed children's education.
According to the video "Media Smarts: Kids Learn How to Navigate the Multimedia World," the average American young person spends more than six and a half hours in front of some kind of media screen each day. Children are easily influenced by media so it is important to expose them to educational, informative, healthy areas of television, radio, film, and the Internet. Organizations such as Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Cable in the Classroom, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation are working hard to incorporate educational media into the classroom and expand children's media literacy. ¶ posted by Stephanie Lauren Kahan at 1:31 PM •
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Great post. It doesn't get much better than this.
I did wonder WHY you think kids need sugar with their medicine.
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I did wonder WHY you think kids need sugar with their medicine.
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