Sesame Street: Word on the Street

By heather on January 12, 2009

OK, so as I write this I’m watching Sesame Street with my 2 year old.  This big-feathered muppet just announced that the Word on the Street is, get this…Struggle.  I kid you not.  I guess times are tough even on Sesame Street.  

Foreclosure on Oscar’s trash can? 

Cut backs on chocolate chips for Cookie Monster?

Did Big Bird invest with Madoff?

Anyway, one of the things that I have always loved about Sesame Street is their fearless approach to real life.  When Mr. Hooper (the actor) died, Big Bird mourned the character as a means to teach their audience about death.  When the actress who plays Maria was pregnant, did they cover her belly to hide the reality of pregnancy?  No. They wrote it into the script.

So here we are in tough economic times and, once again, in true honest form, Sesame Street is acknowledging that even 2 year olds are perceptive enough to know when Mom and Dad are having a tough time.  

Sesame Street has always taken it upon itself to work in conjunction with life, not denying its realities, but giving children the tools to handle those issues with humor and grace.  It holds parents’ hands and takes on a part of the responsibility we should all feel in the raising of our world’s children.

I have blogged in the past about the equation of student success.  I wish to amend my equation.

Successful students are a direct result of:

School + Parents + Student + Government + Society